It’s Christmas! [Insert that declaration but made in the style of Noddy Holder here.] It’s that time of year when everyone gathers around to spend time with their families and give thanks for what they have. This is until about this time in the day, where upon you suddenly remember why you all moved out in the first place. Mum’s in tears, Dad’s gone out to the shed to mess with something. Your brother’s stolen your present, your sister’s sat on hers and broken it. Your Aunt and Uncle are arguing again, your Grandparents are making inappropriate comments and everyone is fighting tooth and nail over the remote. So now the only thing on is that soap opera only half of the others only ‘kind of’ like.
What a day, eh? Makes you want to just get away from it all. Stop the world, I want to get off! Well, funny you should mention that. For owners of one of Microsoft’s Windows Mixed Reality head mounted displays (HMDs) there’s a brand new opportunity to just that.
It’s time to head outwards and upwards, quite a ways upwards – 400km above the surface in fact, going from the comfort of your own home all the way to the International Space Station (ISS). A free experience from Polish studio The House of Fables, in International Space Station Tour VR you’ll have the opportunity to spend time on the ISS and discover just what being an astronaut is like by visiting eight of the modules onboard the station. Getting a close up view of the various tasks and living conditions that being on the ISS entails.
The House of Fables is based in Warsaw and was set up by August 2014. Traditionally the studio focusing on hidden object and adventure videogames however in this instance they’ve taken on a distinctly educational project in 360 degrees. Incorporating European Space Agency photos and videos recorded by Italian astronaut and ISS resident Samantha Cristoforetti.
“Working on ISS Tour VR was a very challenging, yet rewarding experience.” Said The House of Fables CEO Adam Robaszyński-Janiec on the project. “For me, the ability to create apps like this is what VR is all about. Thanks to this amazing technology we can give people the chance to visit places they’d never be able to visit otherwise, and experience things that normally only a few of us can experience – such as visiting the ISS.”
You can see a trailer for the experience below. VRFocus will bring you news of more new releases for Windows Mixed Reality very soon.