The VR game that takes you to medieval Visby

Using a VR helmet, you can try your hand at archery in 14th century Visby. This new VR game has been developed by the game company Disir, which was founded by a game developer and three archaeologists, two of whom are researchers at Uppsala University.

THE GAME CONSISTS of five levels with different degrees of difficulty, inside and outside Visby’s town wall. The player draws the bow and shoots arrows using handheld controls. We find ourselves in medieval Visby with its town wall, buildings, marauding soldiers and lots of period-authentic details.

Everything is based on research, to provide a correct picture of what it looked like at the time. The game is loosely based on historical events related to Valdemar Atterdag’s invasion in 1361.

“The vision was to build up medieval Visby in virtual reality and show what it looked like, both for educational and entertainment purposes,” says John Ljungkvist.

AN EARLY VERSION of the game was tested at Visby’s Medieval Festival in August last year and the final version was demoed at a medieval Christmas event in Visby at the end of the year. The game is now available to buy on the net.

“But additional investments are needed to continue developing the game and for it to become a commercial success,” according to Ljungkvist.

Ljungkvist and Daniel Löwenborg are researchers at the Department of Archaeology at Uppsala University. In connection with a research project in Old Uppsala, they began researching different digital solutions for visualising history.

“It grew out of research on Old Uppsala, where John had led an archaeological dig and I had worked with digital solutions in archaeology, like GIS (geographic information system) and compiling data. From the start, it was about both expanding our understanding and communicating our interpretation of history,” says Löwenborg.

WHEN THEY STARTED the company, they were three archaeologists and a game developer, who does lots of the work. They developed a mobile app to visualise the burial grounds in Old Uppsala in the Viking Age. Using augmented reality (AR) technology, the app shows on the user’s phone what a place may have looked like at some time in history. A VR version was later developed that can be used by museum visitors. The company has also developed an AR platform for five historical destinations in Uppsala.

The archery game is their first game, and it has allowed them to take another step in bringing history to life.

“Here it is less about facts and knowledge and more about communicating a sense of immersing yourself in history and integrating with it,” says Löwenborg.

– Annica Hulth

John Ljungkvist draws his bow in a virtual Visby.