Time Investigators Wins @SXSW 2023

Congratulations to the team behind Time Investigators who were the SXSW Innovations Awards Convergent Game Winner! The multisensory AR game from Picture This Productions and Mary Rose Museum is a one-of-a-kind experience. Timed to the 500th anniversary of the sinking of Henry VIII’s favourite ship in 1545, the Mary Rose allows the players to go back in time and board the ship. Your phone is the central part of the experience allowing you to navigate this experience.

Directed by Charlotte Mikkelborg of Picture This Productions, Time Investigators highlights Mikkelborg’s love for historical events, especially cultural sites. Born during the lockdown in June of 2020, Mikkelborg was conjuring ways to preserve museum culture. Since there was such a dip globally in museums during the pandemic, Mikkelborg combined her experience in virtual storytelling and her love for history to raise awareness.

The sinking of the Mary Rose will forever be a conversation piece. Over 500 soldiers and sailors perished when the Mary Rose sank. So it’s up to you to investigate what truly went through picking up clues through conversations. Once you gather enough evidence, you present your case to the King at the end of the mission.

Diversity in History

When we perceive Tudor England, we think of a homogeneous society of white women and men. Scientific studies have shown that a third of the 173 skeletons that were found in the wreckage were non-English. Many of them came from North Africa and the Mediterranean. One of the highlights of Time Investigators is to show the diversity of a historical event like the sinking of the Mary Rose. Participants use their phones as magical spyglass to pick up clues through conversations in the past. Furthermore, you are able to smell the backdrop of the ship which puts you in real-time with this multisensory experience. You must be diligent to bring your conclusions about the wreckage at the end of the game to the King.

Time Investigators is the first of many more to come from Picture This Productions. It will bring the AR experience of history to life at key cultural sites in the UK and overseas.

The app is available with scent at the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Also, for remote play (without scent) on iOS App Store and Google Play Store here: https://maryrose.org/time-detectives/

Director Charlotte Mikkelborg and Emanuela Maggioni had a chat with FERNTV about Time Investigators during SXSW 2023.

www.picthisproductions.com