Few events in history have inspired such universal awe as Apollo 11’s landing on the Moon. Millions watched, dreaming of leaving their mark on another world.
Apollo 11 VR recreates this historic moment through virtual reality. The experience takes you step by step from President Kennedy’s speech through liftoff and atmospheric entry.
Apollo 11 VR is an educational game
The Apollo 11 VR experience offers you the chance to become Neil Armstrong on one of mankind’s greatest feats: space travel. It puts you into the cockpit as your spacecraft blasts off from Kennedy Space Center and into space, culminating in an accurate simulation of moon landing that allows for full exploration of its surface. Available both on PCs and PSVR systems alike, this engaging virtual reality adventure makes an excellent educational tool.
This game draws upon real NASA archives and recordings to create an authentic experience for students, teaching them about human spaceflight history while giving them greater respect for astronauts who made it all possible. Furthermore, its dramatic and cinematic scenes combined with stirring music add an unforgettable dimension that will leave a lasting impression in their memories.
Now for the first time ever, you can step into the shoes of American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin during their historic mission into space. Experience humanity’s greatest achievement and its first steps into space first-hand using virtual reality to tell this incredible tale! It truly shows what potential VR holds to tell stories!
Apollo 11 VR HD was developed for educational use by Immersive VR Education of Waterford, and will now be made available on Samsung Gear VR mobile headsets. Redesigning for Samsung’s smaller touchpad input presented a particular challenge; making sure its interface was easy for people to navigate while reconfiguring interactions with gamepad controllers were necessary tasks to overcome.
The app starts off with John F. Kennedy’s moving speech to set the scene before taking you through every step of JFK’s mission to land on the moon – from launch preparation and launch, all the way to docking with lunar module, reentry into earth’s atmosphere, landing and finally triumphant human spirit scene that will stay with you for years afterward.
It’s a good game
Apollo 11 VR first debuted to virtual reality users more than two years ago, yet the experience remains compelling today. Utilizing original archive audio/video as well as accurate recreations of spacecraft, crew members, and locations, the game provides a full immersion into this momentous historic event. Designed as an informative journey that will bring it all back home – with complete self-contained experiences like Apollo 11 VR!
Gameplay in LEM Odyssey consists of multiple levels or experiences that chart its mission from launch through reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere, from sitting in a 1960s living room watching President Kennedy give his iconic “One Small Step” speech, to seeing LEM launch and land on the Moon and then bounce about on its surface. There is an effective sense of scale here and using actual NASA radio recordings adds authenticity.
Apollo 11 VR’s graphics may not be top tier, but they still do an admirable job of conveying an immersive sense of place. While not as detailed as modern VR games would demand, their stunning sense of space and music-rich soundtrack provide an amazing sense of atmosphere and spacecraft realism; its cockpit details are meticulous and dramatic scenes take place during reentry into Earth’s atmosphere are highly realistic.
Overall, Apollo 11 VR is an excellent way for anyone interested in the history of America and NASA to experience virtual reality (VR). This game can be played both with HTC Vive and Oculus Rift headsets – although Oculus Rift provides better support for Windows Mixed Reality headsets.
Titanic VR provides an engaging virtual reality experience. This action-packed simulation lets you dive down to the bottom of the ocean using your MIR submarine to explore an actual shipwreck!
It’s a bad game
Apollo 11 VR is an immersive virtual reality experience which recreates events which took place from July 16th to July 24th 1969, leaving visitors feeling inspired and with great respect for all those involved. Utilizing original archive audio/video and recreations of spacecraft/locations set against inspiring music. It is truly immersive!
It’s best to think of it more accurately as scenes. These begin with President Kennedy’s stirring “one step” speech and continue through to Apollo 11 on its launch pad, blast off into space, crossing vast amounts of space to land on the moon all set to some stirring music. Each scene adds drama through use of real NASA radio recordings that help bring all that technical wizardry alive.
Some scenes allow you to take control of LEM and make small adjustments; unfortunately, however, these simple interactions feel cumbersome both from a tactile point of view (using a large circular touchpad as something similar to a D-pad) and within the overall game context.
Immersive VR Education’s game can be downloaded for free from Oculus Store and Steam; however, compatible headsets must also be purchased. Their Mars Rover experience is also included within this project and plans exist to create further projects regarding NASA missions in the near future.
It’s a mixed bag
Oculus Rift and HTC Vive launch titles are undergoing an exciting rework, incorporating new assets, Windows MR support, and enhanced audio. Not a traditional videogame experience but more like an immersive cinematic documentary length documentary where users watch Apollo 11 take off from its launch pad, travel through space and land on the moon – this version will allow more users to experience it first hand!
The Smithsonian has outshone Google with their virtual reality experience that transports users inside Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit and command module, using hotspots to explain various parts of each suit and craft. A must-see for anyone curious about human spaceflight history; available for free on Android devices.