Anija Manor, a historic estate in Estonia, aimed to enhance its exhibition dedicated to the golden age of manors by incorporating modern technology to engage visitors, especially children. They enlisted Onix to develop a VR experience with gamified elements to make the exhibition more interactive and educational.
Project Scope
Onix’s VR team was tasked with creating a VR museum experience featuring games in five digitally rendered areas of the manor. The objectives included:
- Developing a VR game for each of the five selected areas.
- Ensuring the experience was accessible in multiple languages spoken in the region.
- Designing the application to be user-friendly for all ages, allowing users to start playing immediately after putting on a VR headset.
Development Process
The client provided specifications, wireframes, graphic design elements, and other resources, enabling Onix to commence VR game development promptly. The project team comprised one VR developer, one quality assurance engineer, and one project manager. Adhering to Agile principles, specifically the Kanban framework, the development phases included coding the required functionalities, testing performance and usability, and deployment.
Game Structure and Features
The VR game at Anija Manor takes players on an engaging virtual tour through five interactive levels, each set in a different room of the historic estate. Guided by Anna Hedwig, the lady of the manor, players embark on a quest to uncover her secret by completing tasks before midnight.
These tasks include identifying historical figures in the Dining Room, addressing a rat infestation on the Porch, managing 18th-century estate activities in the Salon, arranging Estonian historical events in the Great Hall, and tidying a haunted Vestibule while evading ghostly distractions. Each level combines gamification with cultural education, offering a captivating and educational journey through Estonia’s history.
Challenges and Solutions
• Realistic Panoramas: The team created 360° photo panoramas to accurately recreate the manor’s interiors and the ambiance of a haunted mansion on a winter evening. Challenges included correct positioning of the player within the 360° images and accurate rendering of visual and interactive elements relative to the player.
• Game Management: To streamline content adjustments, the game was developed to facilitate changes to game levels’ content and interfaces in a centralized manner, allowing for efficient removal or addition of mini-games. Testing tools were implemented to expedite the testing process without navigating through all levels each time.
• Localization: The application was successfully localized into several languages, including Estonian, English, Finnish, Russian, and German, ensuring accessibility for a diverse audience.
Outcome
Onix’s VR game development created an immersive museum experience that brings Estonia’s history and culture to life through multi-sensory interactions, enhancing the exhibition’s appeal with modern technology. It enables both on-site and remote visitors to explore and learn about Anija Manor, showcasing how cultural institutions can use VR to deliver engaging, educational experiences while innovatively preserving historical narratives.
COMPANY: Onix
