'The Biggest Heist in Pirate History: VR Experience' by Matt Anderson

Main Outline

An educational and immersive VR experience, placing you as an unnamed pirate aboard Captain Henry Every’s ship. The film will place the viewer in key events throughout Every’s two incredibly successful years of looting and plundering - including one of the biggest heists in history, the Ganj-i-Sawai heist. The VR sections will be interspliced with interviews from historians, as well as artwork from the period, to help give context and educate the viewer. Suitable for all ages, although particularly enjoyable for children and young adults who wish to learn about history in a much more fun and interactive way.

Plot Outline

The film begins in 1694, while Henry Every is working aboard the Charles II, a slave trading ship. He soon throws a mutiny: killing the captain, claiming the crew for himself and renaming the ship from Charles II to The Fancy. For months, the crew plunder English, French and Danish vessels along the African coastline. In 1695, Every teams up with other notable pirate captains and together, they rob the Ganj-i-Sawai, the King of India’s most luxurious vessel which is carrying approx. £600,000 (hundreds of millions in today’s currency). Afterwards, Every sells The Fancy and vanishes, never to be caught for his crimes.

Reason For Using VR

The use of VR allows participants to be fully immersed in the story of Henry Every, feeling as though they are aboard The Fancy with him. This environment will keep young audiences much more engaged with history than just watching a documentary on TV. The ability to look around a pirate ship while Henry Every makes grand speeches and discusses his plans with you directly is exciting and will ensure that the educational value is absorbed by viewers. I believe this could lead to a popular series, with other experiences teaching stories from Ancient Egypt to William Wallace during the First War for Scottish Independence. I would have loved the opportunity to study history like this when I was younger, and am a firm believer that if a subject can be taught in an enjoyable way, children will retain what they’ve learned for longer.

Edited by Conrad Gardner