After its premiere at Raindance 2022, Singer Studios’ beautiful latest work, THE PIRATE QUEEN, began an exciting new journey at Tribeca 2023, taking home the Immersive 2023 Storyscapes award. We had the opportunity to meet with director and executive producer Eloise Singer to discuss with her the exceptional cultural and historical accuracy of the work, the importance of balancing narrative and interactions, and the fascinating protagonist of this story: the pirateess Cheng Shih, a real-life woman unknown to most and who, through this work, can now reclaim her role as a pioneer for gender equality.
THE PIRATE QUEEN is the forgotten story of Cheng Shih – a woman in 19th-century China who became one of the most powerful pirates in history. When the leader of the fleet dies suddenly, a widowed Cheng Shih faces the possibility of losing her status, security, and even her life. Players take on the identity of Cheng Shih to complete a series of puzzle-based tasks, outsmart enemies and become THE PIRATE QUEEN.
THE PIRATE QUEEN: A FORGOTTEN LEGEND
On Tribeca and winning Immersive 2023 Storyscapes award
AGNESE – Congratulations on Tribeca and the award! What was the experience like for you?
ELOISE SINGER – Winning was incredibly surreal and exciting, especially considering we were up against many other fantastic projects at the festival! What Ana Brzezińska, the curator, put together was amazing: a brilliant lineup that included thought-provoking projects such as IN SEARCH OF TIME (by Pierre Zandrowicz and Matthew Tiernay) on AI, alongside lighter projects like PIXEL RIPPED 1978 (Ana Ribeiro) or MONSTRORAMA produced by Atlas V.
For me, then, one thing that is always enjoyable is seeing old faces and meeting new ones. The immersive community is small, but we are a very welcoming group, so there is always a good atmosphere at events like Tribeca.
A. – What about the audience? What was your perception of people’s reaction to your work?
E. S. – Lovely! And very busy! We didn’t expect so many people to show up on the first day, it was crazy! We had three-hour queues, which was pretty surreal in this respect… but so much fun! THE PIRATE QUEEN is designed to be informative but also engaging and interactive, and seeing people take off their headsets with huge smiles on their faces was the most rewarding thing for me, especially since our team has worked so hard and long on the project.
A. – How long have you been working on it?
E. S. – When we started developing THE PIRATE QUEEN, we were originally thinking of making it into a movie. We are still making it into a movie, but that was initially our main goal. However, the global pandemic ground that idea to a frustrating halt. We realised we could still tell the story, but in a different way, and that’s when I met Dave Ranyard, who used to be the Head of Sony’s European HQ Studio in London. We were sharing project ideas, and he asked, “The story is so good – have you ever thought about making a game out of it?” I, at the time, was thinking about how the story of THE PIRATE QUEEN could make for a spectacular VR experience, – it has a compelling narrative, a stunning environment and fun gameplay options. So that’s the pivot we made, which was supported by Creative England giving us funding to make a short version that we presented at Raindance Immersive in 2022.
This version was then shown to Meta, who decided to fund its development into a full game. So, yes, we have been working on it for a while, for more than a couple of years!
THE PIRATE QUEEN: an informative but fun project
A. – One thing I appreciated about your previous work, Mrs Benz, is that it introduced me to a story I had never heard of… and it was a true story! I discovered a person, Mrs. Benz, who I had never heard of and whose life was remarkable though mostly forgotten! You are doing the same with THE PIRATE QUEEN. How did you discover this fascinating lady?
E. S. – It was a friend of mine who told me Cheng Shih’s story for the first time. Like you, I didn’t believe it was true, but the more I researched her fascinating life, the more I realized it really happened, and I wondered, “Why don’t we know about her? Why is nobody talking about her remarkable story?” I felt very excited but at the same time somewhat frustrated, so I was compelled to tell Cheng Shih’s story because, after all, it’s such an important part of history. Not only did she become the most powerful pirate of all time, which in itself is extraordinary, especially for women at that time, she also helped to pave the way for gender equality. For instance, she created laws that demanded that women and men be treated equally on her ship, which was unprecedented: in short, this woman challenged gender inequality at a time when it was very difficult to do so. That’s part of the reason why I think she was remarkable, and makes for a compelling lead character in THE PIRATE QUEEN.
The other very interesting thing about Cheng Shih is that she was not all good! There is an outdated idea that when you tell a story about women they should be nice and kind; But the truth is that she was complex to say the least, and I think that makes her story all the more interesting to discover.
A. – Did you do a lot of research to create this work?
E. S. – Yes, a lot! (laughs) Our intention from the very beginning was to ensure that we produced a project that was as culturally and historically accurate as possible. Maja’s (Maja Bodenstein) writing is incredible. She is a London-based writer of Chinese/German heritage who specializes in telling culturally accurate stories, so I knew immediately that this was a project I really wanted to work on with her.
Not only did she become the most powerful pirate of all time, which in itself is extraordinary, especially for women at that time, she also helped to pave the way for gender equality.
E. S. – We also brought in a couple of researchers and sensitivity checkers throughout the process to make sure everything was as accurate as possible. We had artists who created everything on the ship, whether it was mats on the floor or a pot on a shelf. We did not purchase any assets from stores, which is no mean feat! Everything is custom-made and precise, including the fact that Chinese pirate ships of the time had no nails; instead, they were built with dovetail joints. This discovery meant we had to painstakingly remove nails from the hull and interior of an early build of the ship – historical accuracy is central to the project – we all learned a lot! I’m pretty sure our lead artists could write a dissertation on the historical accuracy of Chinese artefacts and time; it’s been hard work, but also a joy.
From stories to interactions: on the importance of a strong team
A. – For you, how does telling a story in this kind of immersive environment differ from the other media you have used?
E. S. – When I ask myself, “Why should I tell this story in VR?” what I’m really asking is what can we do in VR to make this story feel as immersive and awe-inspiring as possible. I approach it from a slightly different angle than usual: for example, in Mrs. Benz, which is a project we premiered at Venice last year, the story is intrinsically interesting, but what we have to ask is, how can most effectively use VR to allow the audience to recognise that too? One thing we did in that case was to let the user drive the most technologically advanced car in the world at the time, which is something they’d never have the chance to do elsewhere. The same goes for THE PIRATE QUEEN: we asked ourselves, how would it feel to enter a 19th-century pirate ship? It’s not something we can do in real life, so how would it look and feel to experience something as close to the real thing as possible? It’s fundamentally about knowing how to make the most of the medium you’re working in to achieve the story’s potential.
A. – THE PIRATE QUEEN is big on interactions.
E. S. – It’s very interactive and immersive, with lots of innovative and fun gameplay mechanics to boot. Ultimately it’s a game, a bit like Red Matter meets The Room meets Horizon.
A. – How do you balance these many interactions with a good story?
E. S. – By working with a great team, to be honest! Maja is an incredible writer and one of the most talented human beings I have ever worked with. We also have a phenomenal design team. There’s no magic trick or shortcut: just a lot of ongoing conversations and open communication. For example, we do writers’ rooms for every project we create. They normally consist of me as the director, and our writer, lead designer and artist, producer, and usually one of our researchers and a production coordinator. We sit down and sketch out what we want the story to look like. The process always starts with the story, precisely because one of Singer Studios’ main goals is to tell stories that challenge the status quo and spark change.
Many companies and game studios start with mechanics and then put the story into words. We do the opposite. We start with the story first by defining what our character’s story arc will be, what we want the player to feel during the game experience, and by outlining the overall narrative. It is only when those elements are in place that we begin work on the mechanics. Sometimes we even get to a point where we have too much story and not enough mechanics, so we start focusing on the mechanics again and in doing so, figure out how the story can work in harmony with them. It’s a giant, challenging, exciting puzzle, and that’s why you need a good team to solve it.
When I ask myself, “Why should I tell this story in VR?” what I’m really asking is what can we do in VR to make this story feel as immersive and awe-inspiring as possible.
A. – Lucy Liu joined your team as both the voice of THE PIRATE QUEEN and executive producer. What was it like working with her?
E. S. – It was so much fun! She is terrific, lovely, one of the most wonderful people in the industry! I flew to New York for the recording sessions, so we were able to work in person! We talked a lot about Cheng Shih and her motivations. Lucy has a unique ability to wonderfully and fully embody a role. Whenever I would give her notes or a direction, she would not just adopt the idea, but would channel what I was thinking in a way that left me speechless. It was extraordinary-and a bit of a dream come true, actually! I have never met someone who can convey as much depth and nuance as Lucy. And she also has the best sense of humor: it’s been such a pleasure working with her.
Technology is evolving but funding is still a challenge
A. – Over the past few months I have attended several festivals, and I have noticed that if two years ago we were talking about funding and last year we were talking about distribution, now we are all talking about AI. What is your opinion on it? And what do you think is the real challenge today for the work you do? Is it related to technology development or are there other kinds of challenges?
E. S. – It is human nature to fear the unknown. AI right now is the unknown and I can understand why there is a lot of fear and concern around it, it is very reasonable. Optimistically, I think about what we’ve got wrong with the web as we’ve built it, and the regulations and restrictions that could allow developments in AI to be a tool for good. I’m generally optimistic, but I’m also realistic that there may not be enough regulation put in place. Ultimately, if we do view AI as a tool, then we should see it as something we can use to enable us to be more efficient and to grow, rather than as something detrimental in itself. Within the space, we’re looking at how AI can be a tool to move forward in different capacities: we’re looking at how to develop plugins that can actually speed up the process of landscape development in games, for example, which is really interesting and would allow us to create environments that are possibly even more historically accurate and immersive than the ones we already have. So in short, I think there are ways to use artificial intelligence for good.
Everyone is forced to innovate faster – necessity is the mother of invention – which is good for us creators because it means that as the hardware improves, so does our ability to create better content for players
But to be honest, as far as challenges go, the main one is, as ever, securing funding. It’s really hard to get funding, especially for projects that are not ‘mainstream’ like traditional combat games, for instance. We have to try to break the pattern in that sense and create stories that are meaningful, but also entertaining, as a way of proving that they should be supported just as much as more mainstream genres.
Another challenge is hardware limitations. There are things we really want to do that we can’t because the hardware is not up to it yet. I think it’s just a matter of time, particularly given the increasing numbers of players in the VR space. The more players there are, the more hardware providers start to offer (see what Apple did recently, for example). This means that everyone is forced to innovate faster – necessity is the mother of invention – which is good for us creators because it means that as the hardware improves, so does our ability to create better content for players.
Increasing numbers of people are getting into VR and the landscape is becoming more visible, which is great. At Tribeca this year, I enjoyed seeing a range of really phenomenal projects: it’s exciting to be part of a group which is honing our craft, learning from each other and finding inspiration in the work around us! It is such a great time to be in this industry. It’s a close-knit community: many friends I met in Venice are amazing creators, like Celine Tricart, just to name one. And the amount of congratulatory messages I got from people when we won at Tribeca, the amount of love there is in the industry…. it’s beautiful. I feel really blessed to be a part of it!
THE PIRATE QUEEN will be released on Meta Quest 2 in 2024. Stay tuned to for news about its festival run and visit the official website to find out more about this exciting work.
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