By TIME and VIVE, Special for USDR.
HTC Corporation and Time Inc.’s (NYSE: TIME) LIFE VR has announced the launch of “Remembering Pearl Harbor,” an unforgettable virtual reality experience commemorating the 75th anniversary of the attack that brought the U.S. into World War II. Launching just before the December 7 anniversary, this engaging narrative VR experience developed by Deluxe VR transports viewers inside key moments of the event’s aftermath through historically authentic and fully interactive VR environments.
“‘Remembering Pearl Harbor’ is a historical and educational room-scale VR experience told through the eyes of Lt. Jim Downing, one of the oldest living survivors of the attack,” said Mia Tramz, Managing Editor of LIFE VR. “As postmaster of the USS West Virginia, Lt. Downing had a unique experience in this pivotal moment in history that we’ve brought to this piece. We’ve created this app with the hope it will bring a new understanding of this event to even the most enthusiastic history buffs.”
The original VR project is enhanced with interactive archival news material from iconic TIME and LIFE publications, the National WWII Museum and the Library of Congress, including famous radio broadcasts from Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill.
“Remembering Pearl Harbor” is available now for the Vive virtual reality system at Viveport (www.viveport.com), HTC’s global VR app store. In the coming weeks, the experience will be made available through Time Inc.’s dedicated LIFE VR app for iOS and Android.
“We’re honored to partner with LifeVR in telling Lt. Downing’s story through such a visceral experience on the Vive,” said Chris Chin, Senior Director of Content at HTC Vive and Executive Producer on “Remembering Pearl Harbor.” “For the first time ever, viewers can immerse themselves in a virtual recreation of World War II America through this incredibly moving and educational narrative.”
“Remembering Pearl Harbor” is a living recreation of a pivotal moment in U.S. history. LIFE VR in conjunction with TIME and Deluxe VR enlisted award-winning author and Pearl Harbor expert Craig Nelson as the project’s historical adviser, ensuring that the content is both rich and accurate. The app is designed to be appropriate for audiences of all ages, with an emphasis on informative and enriching content triggered through interaction with objects in memorable VR environments. Viewers first experience key moments in the days after the attack through the eyes and ears of an average American in 1941. Ultimately they find themselves in the attack’s devastating immediate aftermath, where 2,403 Americans lost their lives, as they listen to moving accounts from Lt. Downing. Throughout the experience, users interact with realistic versions of artifacts from the time, along with iconic photography and archival video, providing a unique and personal view of one of the modern world’s most defining events.
“The attack on Pearl Harbor is one of the most famous moments in American history, and this experience is a way to see that history from a new perspective,” said Lily Rothman, history and archives editor for TIME. “With Lt. Downing as our guide, the personal impact of the attack is brought into focus.”
Added Liz Ronk, photo editor, LIFE + TIME history, “Drawing from the extensive holdings of the LIFE archive, we were able to feature original issues of LIFE magazine that would have been in the homes of Americans at the time along with photos by the staff photographers throughout the experience.”
LIFE VR and HTC Vive have collaborated to bring “Remembering Pearl Harbor” to two major museum exhibits commemorating the 75thanniversary of the attack. The VR experience will be open to the public at the following:
– December 5-11 at the Newseum in Washington D.C.
– December 6-7 at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City
Vive has also worked with Deluxe VR on a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the app in “This is Real: Remembering Pearl Harbor,” featuring interviews with Lt. Downing and key people behind the project. The video is available on the HTC Vive YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/reD19A-9mO0.
“Remembering Pearl Harbor” for HTC Vive is available now for $9.99 USD at www.viveport.com.
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