ArchéoLab explores the past in virtual reality, and it's amazing!
“Portal to the Past” reconstructs three historical periods based on archaeological finds. Secrets of making a successful attraction.
Four stations allow you to put on a VR headset and grab a controller to travel back in time.
Keystone/Cyril Zingaro
- The “Portal to the Past” exhibition offers a virtual reality experience.
- Three scenarios illustrating different eras of Bole.
- Visitors can play as characters and observe their daily lives.
- Teenagers aged 10-15 are the target audience.
- Real artifacts inspire these immersive and educational stories.
The museum walls have been replaced by a night sky vault. Among the stars, on a transparent platform, three silhouettes wait. All you have to do is give the person of your choice an hourglass to be viewed on their time. Immediately, in a narrow, candlelit corridor, a young girl asks you to go and serve wine to the gentlemen. On the other side of the wall, sounds of a banquet are heard. In the orange light of the end of a long summer day, four people enjoy oysters and shrimp, reclining at a table while chatting. Around you stands the summer wing of the abbey's Roman villa, as it was in the 2nd centurye century AD.
The “Portal to the Past” exhibition offers a unique virtual reality experience. Four stations allow you to put on a VR headset and grab a controller to play as Sura, Servilus, or Clothilde. Their three distinct stories showcase the archaeological discoveries of Boule – in the Neolithic, in the Roman, and in the Burgundian period.
One scenario shows a banquet in the summer wing of the monastery's Roman villa in IIe Century AD advertisement
ArcheoLab
Although we are required to have some interactions with other characters, the main goal is to watch everyday life taking place around us. “We tried to imagine how relationships take place between individuals, their interactions and intimacies,” explains Aurel Sellier, ArchéoLab curator and curator of the exhibition.
Designed in partnership between ArchéoLab, a scientific committee, and studio Vevey Digital Kingdom, the three stories required a year of work for a roughly twenty-minute gaming experience. “Many compromises had to be made due to technical, budgetary or scientific constraints,” notes Aurel Celrier. For example, the characters we meet don't have faces, because their animation is complicated and would be expensive.
One year of work
To guard against Motion sickness (seasickness) that can raise the stomach when moving in virtual reality, the developers have implemented a teleportation system. Using the controller, all you have to do is point to the location you want to go to and click on it. Getting started with the game controls is easier thanks to a quick tutorial in the welcome sequence. It is recommended to turn around and look up and down to fully enjoy the architectural and landscape reconstruction. For people who can't stand headphones or miss real references, the version on the touch table allows you to explore scenarios.
Teenagers as a target audience
The museum also displays a selection of objects that have inspired the creation of virtual reality scenarios. In the windows, visitors will recognize, among other things, a boar's tusk pectoral pendant from the Neolithic period, a bronze oil lamp with a horse's head from the Roman period or even fibulas (clothes-holding clips) from the Burgundian era.
“With this system, we mainly target teenagers between the ages of 10 and 15. Immersion and interaction are a way to arouse their interest in a subject that does not necessarily attract them immediately. It also allows us to put them in situations in which they are active and which make them responsible for the knowledge they Whether they will acquire it or not, the experience is surprising and will also appeal to all those for whom the world of 3D video games remains a mystery.
“Portal to the Past”, ArchéoLab in Poli, until June 29, 2025. From 8 years. By registration (Wednesday 2pm-6pm and Saturday-Sunday 11am-6pm). School visit from October 28th Archeolab.ch
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