Category : Blog

Splinter start work on BBC Bitesize games

We’re always excited to work on new projects here at Splinter, but one particularly exciting one has just been awarded to us. It’s a collection of 11 online games for BBC Bitesize KS1 – teaching 5-7 year olds all about science! The existing literacy and numeracy games are hugely popular, so we’re looking forward to the challenge of adding to the collection. It’ll keep us nice and busy for the next 6 months, and above are caricatures of some of the Splinter team done in the KS1/Max and Molly style – drawn by our in-house illustrator Ste.

Splinter to collaborate with James May

Okay, well maybe that’s not quite true… on one of our regular trips to London we decided to pop in to the Science Museum to see if their new interactive displays had been installed and who should we find wandering around learning about lathes? The man himself, James May.

We couldn’t pass up the opportunity of a photo for the Splinter blog, so here I am, grinning inanely. Chris had told him I was ‘his biggest fan’ (very funny Chris) – so he probably thought we were some sort of stalkers. Sorry James!

You are ‘avin a Bafta!

Another exciting bit of news has come through about The Well – the multi-platform project we did Flash work on for Conker Media and the BBC… it’s just been shortlisted in this year’s Children’s Baftas!! And it’s in the Interactive category as well, which we’re chuffed about!

We were brought in by Conker to build the online game that ran alongside the 4-part TV series, alongside fellow local creatives Milky Tea who did the 3D graphics.

We ended up building 11 different mini-games for it in Flash, so it was a hugely entertaining job for us to work on, and we’re delighted that people out there enjoy playing them enough to put the project forward for such a prestigious award!

And if you’re wondering what all the fuss is about then go and try the game for yourself over at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/switch/thewell/game.shtml

Splinter in bed with the Bluecoat.

We have just launched a new website for the country’s oldest arts centre, the Bluecoat. The launch co-incided with the streaming of its popular Bed-In project, which draws on John Lennon’s actions for peace.

For those who don’t know… the Bluecoat is a restored historic building in the centre of Liverpool and its community mixes artists of all types and encourages connections between audiences, participants and artists. It uses its spaces to display talent from all creative disciplines, including visual art, music, literature, dance, and live art.

The site we have produced is clean and practical, allowing viewers to personalise the way content is displayed when they first arrive. It features a wide range of media and functionality including an in-depth events listing, online ticket booking, blogs and forums, panoramic views of the galleries and historic buildings, showcases for the creative community and of course the Bed-In stream.

Why not check it out now at: http://www.thebluecoat.org.uk

Splinter help shape the future of transport in Merseyside

As part of our on-going work with TravelWise, we were asked to put together a new splash page and motion graphic to encourage members of the public and partners to give their opinions on the proposed third Local Transport Plan.

You can see the splash page over on the TravelWise site, or just watch the funky motion graphic we did below!

Chris, caught in the Act!

Chris has always been a huge fan of the classic early-90s comedy flick Sister Act, so he was delighted when, on one of our recent trips into the capital, we came across this… the stage musical version featuring Whoopi Goldberg herself!

A dream come true for Chris, and he couldn’t resist re-enacting the pose.

Splinter go all agricultural!

Denbighshire and Flintshire County Councils’ joint marquee at the annual Denbigh and Flint Agricultural Show was given a clean bill of health by winning the best non-agricultural trade stand for its health and well-being theme.

The first magnetic tag is added to the panel

Featured on the stand was a panel, produced by Splinter, featuring an aerial map of the Clwydian Range and surrounding areas, printed onto a metal sheet. With the aerial photos supplied to us as hundreds of individual images, it was like a monster-sized jigsaw which pushed our Macs (and mental power) to the max!

With the handy magnetic markers we made, members of the public mark places they’ve visited and then record why that place is special to them on a separate postcard. We’re really chuffed with how the project turned out and ultimately the map and postcards will be made available to view over on the Clwydian Range website.

Facebook fooool!

We’re always keen to come up with new ways to connect with folks out there, so on top of our Twitter account, we now have an official Splinter Facebook page as well. It’s so good that Mr T and Hannibal just can’t take their eyes of it.

The power of the packaging!

We recently developed an online game as part of the ongoing Clued Up in Hull project for Hull City Council. For a special educational event we needed to bundle it up on CD to give out to visitors, so we decided to have some fun and produced some nifty packaging to go with it. We’re chuffed with how it came out and everyone at the event seemed to like them, so hooray for that! You can check out full info on the project on the Clued Up On Homelessness project page.

Clwydian Range Website Launched

The newly designed website for the Clwydian Range AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) has been launched. The website includes several exciting features including an interactive walk guide, utilising Google maps. This allows users to select a walk from the map and then plots the route for them. The site also has panoramic view pictures and videos looking down over the range.

The Clwydian Range forms a 35km chain of hills that rises to 554 metres at the summit of Moel Famau in the centre of the area. To find out more about the range then check out the Clwydian Range website here.