Apollo 11 VR Experience
Summary: History comes to life and you are there. Apollo 11 VR Experience sprinkles very small/short game elements in this educational experience.
3.1
History comes to life
The Apollo 11 VR Experience is a bit of a hybrid game. It is an educational experience that takes the viewer on a recreation of the Apollo 11 mission from July 16 and July 24th 1969. However it does have some game elements to keep things a bit interesting. You really do get the sense of the true dangers of the realities of space exploration. Of course there are no replays in life, but there are replays in this VR experience. So the greatest journey ever of the human race is experienced from launch all the way to orbit and then time jumps a bit ahead to first being closer to the moon and then all the way down to the landing and walking on the moon.
The Apollo 11 VR experience visuals jump from first person, to more of a cinematic over view and fly overs and around. It is during the ‘fly arounds’ that some may experience motion sickness. It is understood that developers want to enhance the visuals and inspire the viewer, but now with virtual reality, developers really need to consider the comfort level of the viewer. Not just the general cinematic, because in VR it effects the viewer much more than just emotionally.
The experience is accompanied with some pretty cool visuals as well as a musical track that shares the hope and aspirations of the truly historic moment. However as mentioned this not a game in a true sense, it is more of an educational experience with some gaming elements sprinkled with in. The experience comes from that you are there feeling in this well done virtual reality experience that is Apollo 11 VR.
The gaming elements that are there run from very enjoyable to just a general lip service nod to a gaming experience. Apollo 11 gaming elements really shine when the player gets to pilot two different ships. These are after just leaving earth where you have to dock and capture another craft for the mission and the second time is landing on the moon.
Once on the moon, Apollo 11 VR allows the player to move around and deploy different experiments. While these can be considered a gaming moments, they are not the strongest in the program. All it encompasses is going to designated areas, deploying the experiment and then more of the learning part of Apollo 11 VR Experience kicks in. Each experiment then gives you a run down on what the experiment does and what scientists have learned from it. For instance some may not know or if they did know, they may have long ago forgotten that the moon is actually moving further from earth.
One of the experiments gives that data, so as a learning experience the Apollo 11 VR program really delivers. However nothing super in depth but really brings the sciences of space travel and study to life. I can see something like this developed more in depth about the solar system and the planets, moons and space bodies in our system.
Final Thoughts?
The Apollo 11 VR Experience is breathtaking and immersive as only VR can bring to the player but just don’t go into it thinking it is a game. Apollo 11 VR is more of an educational VR experience but if you have had the least bit of curiosity about real space travel and its history, then this little program is for you. Also, it’s worth the time if your into the sciences and history.
Have fun, play games. Edwin Millheim
Game Details
Title: Apollo 11 VR Experience
Developer: Immersive VR Education Ltd.
Publisher: Immersive VR Education Ltd.
Format: PC Oculus Rift (Also available on STEAM)
About the Author
Edwin Millheim Edwin Millheim is a freelance writer since the 1980's has worked in comic book scripting and story writing, for such magazines as Shadis magazine, Anime A2. and also has worked on role playing game creation and adventure creation in the role playing industry as a freelancer (For such companies as Hero Games ,Palladium Books Rifts Index and Adventures Vol 1 hook line and sinker story contributor) working over the years with his editor and co writer for many projects, Donna Millheim, his wife, together... wrote the "electronic games" article for Funk And Wagnalls Encyclopedia Edwin has also worked as writer on comic adaptations to some of his writer/created role-playing games such as Bright Future (Sci Fi) and Unknown Eagles (Based in World War II), and Moonsfar: Warrior's Creed.(Sword and Sorcery) Has also worked as an actor for various live action stunt shows and worked as action fight coordinator and action coordinator for film, and tv and live shows. He is also the Lead singer and Lyric writer for the band Dragon and Berr, who he works with his Drummer wife. Other than the albums they have released over the years, he has also started producing and mixing and mastering for other artists from his wife and his label Loose Bolt Records. All in all likes to keep busy, his first love will always be gaming though.
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