Photo Department 1949
Technology
VR
Client
Center for European
Meetings "Światowid"
Industry
Education
Goals and challenges
The main goal of the project was to show the inhabitants of the city of Elbląg the realities of life in their city destroyed during the war, which was undergoing cultural changes at that time. The challenge was to show history in an attractive way for both children and teenagers as well as adults. Another challenge was to faithfully reproduce the style of interiors from that period in order to reflect the atmosphere of the post-war times as much as possible.
Solution
In order to implement the project, we created a VR application that interactively allowed users to completely immerse themselves in the history of post-war Elbląg. We designed the building with two rooms of the photo studio from 1949. We have also introduced the character of a photographer who, turning to the user, tells various stories from the old days. In addition, it shows him several scored tasks to perform that engage the user and introduce elements of competition.
Result
As part of the order, we made a VR application, which consists of 3 scenes. In the first scene where the user begins their adventure, you can see an old photographer's building designed in a style that matches the region and time. Around us we can see the post-war ruins of the city. The atmosphere is dark and shrouded in fog, which highlights the difficult and poor post-war times. At this point, we can choose a tutorial or start the game. The voiceover invites us to enter through the door of the plant. After crossing the building, we are greeted by a photographer who greets us each time in a different way, referring to the realities of those times. We are in the main room, which has been designed in detail in cooperation with specialists in historical interior design. Then the photographer takes us to another room - a darkroom, where the user has 60 seconds to collect as many photos of post-war Elbląg as possible on visible ropes. For each collected photo, the user receives points. After completing the task, we move back to the main room. There, the photographer instructs us on the next task, which is to find the missing photo of the market gate, which is hidden in a different place for each user. For finding a photo, the user receives extra points. At the end, we can sign up on the scoreboard, which is a great attraction especially for younger users.
The application entertains and at the same time teaches users of all ages and is a fantastic attraction for children, teenagers and adults who want to learn about the history of the post-war city of Elbląg. In addition, the application promotes innovation of the contracting authority and the entire city.