ARTIFACT

A virtual reality experience made in collaboration with danish viking museum Ribe Viking Center and film production company Malstrøm. A fun and historically accurate experience is in focus, when you find yourself within a digital replica of a viking smithy to forge your own sword.

Gameplay video of the viking blacksmith coming soon!

The virtual reality experience transports you back to the Viking age where you as the blacksmiths apprentice is able to forge a sword's blade. Your master will sit by your side to give instruction and yell at you if you do things wrong. Hammering out the red-hot iron on the anvil and operating the bellows all take part in making this experience feel authentic and informative.

This game is our most popular and far reaching VR experience and is a great example of how virtual reality can be a gamechanger in historical mediation and storytelling. The attraction brings huge engagement, a memorable experience and unique user satisfaction for museum guests.

User Surveys can be found here and here.

A cinematic trailer of the game showcasing the workshop's best angles.

The Viking Blacksmith has been a provisional attraction at three museums in Denmark: Viking Museum Ladby, Ribe Viking Center & national museum Kongernes Jelling (Jelling of the Viking Kings).

The Viking Blacksmith was available to play in the fall of 2017 at Viking Museum Ladby.

In late 2016, inspired by an ongoing film collaboration between Malstrøm and Ribe Viking Center, we met up with Bjarne Clement (Museum curator, Ribe Viking Center) and Simon Lykke (Partner, Malstrøm) to discuss the possibilities of virtual reality and gamification.

Following the idea of blacksmith experience we visited the museum grounds in Ribe. Here a replica Viking village is built on top of where one once stood over a thousand years ago. A blacksmith workshop is part of the village – Built & used in the most authentic way possible.

A comparison photo of the virtual reality experience and the actual workshop in Ribe.

We interviewed Torben Larsen (Professional blacksmith, Ribe Viking Center) about the process, tools and techniques of the Vikings, while watching him work the bellows, furnace and anvil. We took pictures and measurements – All this contributing to an authentic experience in both process and visuals of the game.

The Nyborg Castle project is a unique and tailormade Virtual Reality experience, set inside the castles knight’s hall. In this experience the user can learn about the past in a fully immersive environment.

“The quality of the product was far beyond expectations.
Attention to detail & user experience was in focus.”
- Nicolai Knudsen
Museum Curator, Østfyns Museer.

Inside the VR experience you find yourself within the knights hall of Nyborg Castle. Here you are able to interact with a miniature model of the castle with several points of interest of which you can read and learn about.

While examining the model of the castle you'll find certain hotspots with information to read about.

Østfyns Museums asked to create a virtual reality experience for the castle, as part of a major renovation project. While visitors won't be able to enter the castle, they can still experience the most impressive and originally preserved room: The knights hall. An immersive and authentic experience like this is only possible through a full VR project.

A side by side comparison on the in-game graphics and the real-life knight's hall in Nyborg.

The game has been part of A Day of Science (Forskningens Døgn), a nation-wide science fair for two years in a row. At this event schools and other educational facilities had the chance to experience Nyborg Castle in VR. A historian shares information about archeological findings and meaningful areas of the castle, while players are immersed in the virtual room.

An early build of the game being used to teach kids about the history of Nyborg Castle at the "Day of Science".

You can experience the interactive history-lesson by yourself when you visit the castle in Nyborg. The project will be available at least until the renovations have finished but will likely become a permanent exhibition.

A cinematic trailer showcasing the visual quality and attention we've put into this game.