About us
We founded the UK’s first festival of pervasive games in London in 2007, which is now the Hide&Seek Weekender, taking place every summer on London’s South Bank. We run the Sandpit, a series of events around the UK and a thriving network of artists, game designers and players. And we create social games and playful experiences for clients in the commercial, public and cultural sectors.
Our values are centred around our belief that play, as a theme, a way of being, and design tool, is integral to understanding how culture will develop in the 21st century
Email hello@hideandseek.net to get in touch.
People
Founder / Director: Alex Fleetwood
Alex Fleetwood founded Hide&Seek in 2007 and has had a hand in all its projects since then. As well as Hide&Seek, Alex has produced projects including The Eternity Man, a film opera for Channel 4 / ABC Australia. The film reached a global audience of half a million people and recently won the Rose d'Or, one of the most prestigious awards in television. Alex sits on the London advisory panel for Artists Taking the Lead, the main commissioning programme for the 2012 Cultural Olympiad, and recently won the British Council UK Young Performing Arts Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
Development Director: Margaret Robertson
Margaret Robertson is a game designer and consultant who has worked on award-winning games for the commercial, cultural and educational sectors. A top-rated speaker on the principles and philosophies behind game design, she has helped run labs for both experienced and novice game designers around the world. Recent clients include EA, Sony, Channel 4, GameCity, Free Radical Design, Kuju and the Rank Group.
General Manager: Andrew Birley
Andrew has worked extensively in both the public and private sectors and joined Hide&Seek from digital agency Fudge, where he led on client services. Prior to that, he was employed by the Creative Industries Development Service as Projects Manager, The Library Theatre Company as PR & Communications Manager, and Manchester Solutions as Client Liaison Manager. Andrew has had articles published in the Times, The Drum, EN Magazine, Northwest Insider and a range of websites in relation to digital development, marketing and brand strategy.
Lead Game Designer: Holly Gramazio
As well as working on game design for Hide&Seek and her own projects, Holly Gramazio curates the Sandpit, Hide&Seek's regular pervasive gaming night. Prior to joining Hide&Seek, she worked on game projects primarily for local councils and arts organisations, and on completing a PhD focused on online fiction. There's more about her at Several Bees.
Game Designer and Technologist: Tom Armitage
Tom Armitage is the newest member of the Hide&Seek creative team. As well as designing games, he’s a writer and developer, working primarily on the web. He has spoken on games, technology, and social software at conferences in both Europe and the US including ETech, Reboot, Develop, and GameCity. Tom joined us from Berg, where he worked as creative technologist and writer.
Advisory Board: Clare Reddington
Clare is Director of iShed and the Pervasive Media Studio, the creative technology parts of Watershed in Bristol. Clare works with a brilliant community of artists, creative companies, technologists and academics to produce content, applications and services. Some are commercial, some are cultural, all are fueled by ideas, curiosity and generosity. More at http://www.pmstudio.co.uk/collaborator/clare-reddington
Advisory Board: Paul Grindey
Paul Grindey is an experienced media executive with a background in film, television and law and with broader interests including digital social innovation, cross-platform art and the future of the media/cultural sector.
Currently Head Of Business Affairs, Scripted Content at Channel 4, he supervises Channel 4’s transactions across film, drama, comedy and other scripted content (recent highlights include Hunger, Slumdog Millionaire, the Red Riding Trilogy), as well as being involved in various other Channel 4-wide matters such as Channel 4’s future strategies for film, on-demand and its public service role in the digital age.
Advisory Board: Chris Ford
Biography to follow