I've helped create critical-darling indie games,
mixed reality installations in iconic cultural institutions,
and platinum-selling XR games for the world's biggest IP.
I break down complex narrative practices into practical action plans. And I build team-wide buy-in and excitement around new, hybrid forms of storytelling.
As Founder and Creative Director of Playlines I've partnered with some of the world's largest cultural institutions to create new kinds of immersive experiences.
Playlines began life producing augmented reality theatre, combining layers of interactive audio with site-specific performance at international festivals.
After a Digital Artist's Residency at the National Gallery and King's College London we've evolved to produce major AR arts installations in partnership with the National Gallery, Royal Academy, Sky Arts, Netflix and Hasbro.
I've written award-winning, critically-acclaimed VR games including A Fisherman's Tale (VR Awards Game of the Year 2019), The Unfinished, Maskmaker (VRNow H@ly Sh1t! Award), A Fisherman's Tale 2, and One True Path.
I designed and co-wrote the groundbreaking Mixed Reality series Crafting Crimes (Winner, Best XR Experience, XR Awards 2025), wrote the world's first accredited VR business masterclass (Gemba), and was Content Editor for the multi-award-winning 80 Days, TIME Magazine's Game of the Year.
As a Lead Game Writer at PlayStation I wrote the first playable demo for PlayStation VR and co-wrote two original Wizarding World AR games with the world's most famous author.
What is a Digital Dramaturge? I came up with this term a few years ago to describe the new role I've played as XR technology converges with immersive performance and location-based entertainment.
I help integrate XR technology and interactive storytelling into live and site-specific experiences. A lifelong theatre kid, I help unite game design, immersive technology, themed attraction design and theatrical practice into coherent experiences.
As a digital dramaturge and XR design consultant my clients include Pixel Artworks, Preloaded, Premier Comms, Seeper, Luna Cinema, dreamthinkspeak, Megaverse, Wake the Tiger and the National Theatre of Malta.
I never get tired of talking about XR storytelling. I'm committed to building opportunities for students and immersive creatives, and passing on what I've learned over a decade as an artist, consultant and entrepreneur.
I've lectured and run workshops worldwide, including hands-on prototyping sessions and intensive spatial narrative residentials.
I'm a Visiting Fellow at King's College London. As a researcher I'm concerned with the sociocultural implications of augmenting reality, and I lecture widely on augmented ethics, including at SXSW.
contact rob AT playlines DOT net