Anne Frank would be 90 years old, as her birthday was just past on June 12th. For her 89th birthday, Oculus and Force Field VR teamed up to make a VR experience that would further connect you to not only Anne, but the terrible events that happened during the Holocaust.
The title is called Anne Frank House VR and is one of the only virtual reality experiences that can truly emotionally move you. It was was originally released on the Oculus Rift, Go, and Gear VR. Finally today it will debut on the Oculus Quest. In this you are able to explore the house that Anne hid in from Nazi generals for two years in Amsterdam from 1942 to 1944. In this new version of the experience, you are going to be able to experience more than you have ever before.
The Oculus Quest features 6 degrees of freedom, meaning you will be able to move around freely. You will be able to virtually walk around from room to room. This makes for a more immersive experience than ever, and gives the headset more of a museum vibe than anything else. You can visit the ‘Secret Annex’, where Anne and other Jewish people hid for extensive amounts of time and truly understand what their living conditions were. Each room gives off a different feel, and the designers truly took their time to find out what the details were, and how to make them even better for the Oculus Quest.
Throughout the house, you will be able to find notes, pictures, and even voice accounts of what happened. This was gives the experience something that no other time traveling app will give us. Anne Frank House VR is one of the true transporting experiences that Oculus has ever offered. Downloading the experience is very important to understanding what the Jews living condition was during the terrible second world war.
This is only a slight glance at what VR – especially the Quest – can do for the common education of the public. Because this headset is standalone and completely portable, you will be able to share this experience with nearly anyone that you chose to. Getting the Quest (or maybe even other VR headsets) in classrooms is going to be a big push moving forward. For teachers, showing the kids exactly what it would look like to live where Anne lived could be a true moment in learning for the children. This is an opportunity that shouldn’t be passed up by VR industry leaders.
Anne Frank House VR is currently in the running for the VR Social Impact Award. This doesn’t come as a surprise. Anyone that has experienced this, regardless of what headset, has noticed what kind of moving experience it is. it is the first of many like this the are being brought to the Oculus Quest. Because this app is free, it sets the tone for others like it as well. If you have something to share that potentially move people, do not put a price on it. Let the headset’s consumers gobble it right up.
Education and influencing inside of VR can be a very powerful thing. If you are a developer with a game or experience, it will never hurt to have an underlying message. With this experience, it is clear what they are trying to portray, but others may add messages more sneakily. There are plenty of games and experiences like that already on the Oculus and Steam Stores, but we can expect that number to grow very quickly in the coming months and years.
