Yesterday, VRFocus reported on British virtual reality (VR) studio Hammerhead VR announcing a new project created in collaboration with The Viking Planet and Ridley Scott Creative Group’s RSA Films called Virtual Viking – The Ambush. A historical experience designed to take viewers back in time to a famous era in Norwegian history, VRFocus caught up with Hammerhead’s Head of Content, Erin Bower to find out more.
The studio was tasked with making a historically accurate scene for a VR experience which would be centre stage at the new Viking Planet Centre Oslo in Norway – which opens today. Using HP Reverb headsets, 40 guests at a time will be able to sit in a Viking longboat style arrangement, put on the head-mounted displays (HMD) and find themselves whisked back in time to view a Viking raid.
What makes the experience rather unique is the attention to detail and the volumetric capture. Actors were dressed in historically accurate clothing and given similarly matching props. They then acted out their scenes in Dimension Studios’ 360-degree greenscreen rigs, made up of 106 cameras which generate 10GB of data per second. This means that while the environments are computer generated, all the actual characters themselves are real, giving that extra sense of being there and seeing the virtual world come alive.
Virtual Viking – The Ambush was specially created for the Viking Planet Centre Oslo to enhance guests understanding of this famous period in history. At just 11 minutes long the experience is just a brief glimpse at the Viking way of life. Should the attraction prove to be popular Hammerhead VR did mention further additions could be on the cards.
Check out the full interview with Bower in the video below, as she goes into greater detail regarding Virtual Viking – The Ambush and how it was made. If you want to see it for yourself, then as mentioned, you’ll need to head to Norway. Or if you happen to be in Oslo then don’t forget to stop by and take a look at the new 1,600 square metre Viking Planet Centre. For lots more interesting VR use cases around the world, keep reading VRFocus.
