On April 26, 1986, Reactor No. 4 of the Chernobyl power plant suffered a catastrophic power increase, causing the reactor to overheat and explode. This disaster caused 31 deaths, and to this day cases of cancer and other health problems caused by radiation mutations connected to the accident are still being investigated. Polish game developer The Farm 51 announced an update to their VR documentary of the Chernobyl Disaster 30 years after the catastrophe. They also released a 3D teaser video that you can find here
The Farm 51 is getting involved with many organizations and people that will help them turn their experiment into a donation vessel. Proceeds will be donated to victims affected by disaster and victims of Chernobyl. They made a model in which there will be many prices to choose from. The same game will be offered, but the price differs in amounts of donation.
The developer originally announced this project as somewhat of tech-demo, to demonstrate their in-house VR technology. The experience contains 3D real-life scans of the environment that once was a booming city. Providing an educational commentary on the events that transpired that day with the lasting effects on the world. You will get to explore the deteriorating and eerie city as the game also throws some excitement into the midst of the learning experience. The developers heavily iterated in their original announcement of the project that they do not want to make Chernobyl an action only game. As they also want to pay homage to the people and areas that were affected by the disaster. The experience will be first released on the Oculus Rift. Later it will be compatible with PlayStation VR and the HTC Vive.
“The enthusiastic response we saw to our announcement of the Chernobyl VR Project made us realize how important the topic was,†said Wojciech Pazdur, CEO of The Farm 51. “So, we decided that this should not be a solely commercial project. We aimed to reach the people, for whom the disaster had an intimate, private, and sometimes family aspect to it.â€
The developer is excited to share their project as they used 3D scans, spherical photography, and the hand-made models that they crafted to put you in the middle of the Forbidden Zone. The VR project is set to release in June this year. If you would like to learn more you can visit, http://www.chernobylvrproject.com or to keep up to date with their progress, visit their Facebook page here