A CONVICT STORY

Team: Anrick Bregman (Creator, Director), Shehani Fernando (Director, Producer), Ruyi Meer (Creative & Project Manager), Yann Ryan (Data)

Runtime: 5 minutes

Projected production date: September 2020

Budget in place: $10,000

Projected budget: $150,000

Country: UK, US

A Convict Story is an interactive VR project built on The British Library data where we bring to life a story discovered by the linking of data from centuries ago, using data research powered by machine learning. The story follows Mary Randall, who was sentenced in 1792 for petty theft that resulted in deportation to Australia, alongside 16 fellow convicts. Mary is one of many unforgotten people of a past very distant from us, however the life she lived, the injustice she experienced, is easy to empathize with. Her reality was not that different from ours, today. In A Convict Story, we bring the forgotten story back from history, into the physical space through mixed reality.

More broadly, A Convict Story explores how historical narratives can be engaging on the individual, as well as data level. And seek to show that data can help uncover stories by looking at the aggregate.

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Play area: Room scale

Number of players: Singe-player

Built with: Unity

Compatibility: Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive

Distribution: Festivals, Steam, Oculus Store, Museums, Cultural Mediators