RESURGAM
Resurgam: The Lost Pearl of Plymouth is an adrenaline pumping multilocational game fusing live performance and creative technology in an immersive adventure.
“To call it breathtaking would be an understatement […] a thrilling historical drama, a promenade performance, a gaming challenge, a bonding experience and a swashbuckling pirate party, all in one […] a wholly immersive imaginative adventure […] it felt as if we were extras in a fantasy action movie.” – Western Morning News
”We had a great time solving the clues and puzzles, interacting with the others in our group and with the characters, and, of course, running for our lives! This was really well put together and extremely creative, from the writing, integration of the story, app and locations to the organisation and excellent acting […] A truly cutting edge, modern gaming experience!” – Player
”I thought the connection between history, fiction and modern day issues such as global warming was really clever and made it really relevant and easy to connect with.” – Player
”I can honestly say one of the best evenings we have had.” – Player
”It was a great version of Punchdrunk for the South West.” — Player
You join the hunt. You take the risks. You become the hero…
Resurgam brings together theatre, gaming, history and literature in a pioneering immersive cultural experience using a city as a stage.Written by Hannah Wood, created and produced by Story Juice, Mutant Labs, i-DAT and Rogue Theatre, it sees players embark on a quest to find the magical Pearl of Plymouth and escape capture by sea monsters in a three-hour race against time across the city.Legend has it that an Atlantean pearl the size of a crystal ball and entrusted to the city of Plymouth for safekeeping, holds the balance between land and sea. Protected through the generations by the Order of the Pearl—whose members include historic figures linked to the city such as Margarent Smith, Sir Walter Raleigh, Nancy Astor, Emmeline Pankhurst and Scott of the Antarctic—the pearl was lost in the turmoil of World War II when Plymouth was devastated by The Blitz. With the pearl lost, the balance between land and sea was disrupted; sea monsters now roam the city as the ocean begins to reclaim the land. The fate of Plymouth lies in the hands of players who must use their smartphone ‘quest kit’—the game’s bespoke mobile app—to navigate the city, raise the ghosts of those long lost figures, and solve puzzles, clues and riddles to find the pearl and save the city from being lost under water forever. In a nail-biting adventure, players travel in teams to locations including churches, museums, an immersive dome, parks, a lighthouse and lido, working out how to avoid getting caught by sea monsters, and unlocking characters and locations; their experience culminating in an epic finale performance set on board a ghost ship.
Explore the storyworld further in these two short films…
The teaser released before the game.
The documentation video released after the game.
visit the game website resurgamthegame.com
“The paths charted on your palms bode well for this journey. I see the fortitude of tides in your eyes. You may fall but you will rise again...”
Resurgam script extract © Hannah Wood
Get ready for a new type of adventure…
The game began online a couple of months before the live event, with a call to action to find the pearl from Dr Cara Jones, a marine scientist based at University of Plymouth, whose ancestors were connected to its history. Her blog and social media profiles engaged thousands of players across the world, some of whom emailed her from countries including Germany and Canada with their own ideas on where the pearl was hidden. There was also a launch event at Plymouth Museum and Art Gallery where players first met Cara and were introduced to a storyworld that blurred the boundaries between fiction and reality, participating in a ritual to raise the ghosts of the Order of the Pearl to guide them. The app, for Android and iPhone, features a unique decoder for translating Atlantean symbols and at key locations across the city, members of the Order Of The Pearl enlist players help to complete physical game challenges, in turn revealing a series of these symbols. Decoding the symbols correctly unlocks the next location on a map and reveals information about characters and places, the fiction illuminating a sometimes hidden history and heritage of the city.
“They condemn my rum drinking, but never do they think of my thirst. A beast taught me to drown my sorrows...But my sorrows, they can swim. Which kind soul can help me quench my thirst?”
Resurgam script extract © Hannah Wood
The Resurgam game world is embedded with stories players enncountered as they progressed through the game, including of this demon mermaid washed up on the shore singing her haunting siren song: 
The intent in combining theatre, roleplay and location-based gaming was to reveal new perceptions of people and places. By celebrating the city and stories of past (sometimes underrepresented) pioneers, we sought to tap into players’ own courage and belief that they can make change in the world from Plymouth too, especially in relation to global warming and climate change. This attracted coverage on BBC news and radio, in regional newspapers, and on gaming blogs. The pictures in the gallery below are by Dom Moore, University of Plymouth and Hannah Wood. 
