dragons²

A live video game and collaborative storytelling event — in development.

Created by Patrick Blenkarn, Laurel Green, and Milton Lim
Commissioned by Green Thumb Theatre and Théâtre la Seizième, and produced in association with STUDIO FUNFUG

Two young dragons. One serious debate: do they even want to be dragons at all? Inspired by Eastern and Western mythologies and folklore, where the same creature is at once a luck-bringing water spirit and a fire-breathing monster, dragons² (pronounced “dragons squared”) is a custom-made video game for the stage about becoming mythological figures of power — and not necessarily knowing what to do about it. Played by its audience, dragons² asks what it means to hold power, what it means to share it, and what it takes to transform the world you've inherited.

Teenagers and dragons have a lot in common: they bring chaos when unleashed, and they struggle to live up to the expectations the adult world places upon them. dragons² is a show for the curious, the thoughtful, and the playful — for anyone who has ever felt weighed down by who they’re supposed to be, and wondered what it might feel like to become something else entirely.

Two video game controllers sit at the front of the stage. A large screen fills the back wall. dragons² is performed by its audience, two players at a time, led by two Game Masters who deliver the game, host the space, facilitate the experience, and weave narrative commentary around every choice the players make. No prior experience with video games is required.

The story begins with two young dragons fighting, egged on by a crowd. But when the fight breaks up, they find themselves in a serious debate — about whether or not they want to be dragons at all. What follows is an adventure of self-discovery and transformation, played out collectively and in public, with the whole room cheering, helping, laughing, and shaping what happens next.

Built in the Unity game engine and played with custom-built arcade cabinets and controllers, dragons² combines role-playing game elements across genres, mixing old arcade forms with contemporary character creation, co-op mechanics, platformers, logic puzzles, memory games, and explorable environments with both cinematic and playable cutscenes. Every performance, the story is shaped by those in the room.