Few will ever forget where they were on Sept. 11, 2001, the day New York's World Trade Center fell victim to a vicious terrorist attack. A new virtual reality experience called [08:46] tries to show you what the day was like for the people who were closest to the disaster.
The concept drops you into the shoes of an office worker in the WTC's North Tower, which was the first one struck. There's a brief control tutorial that ends just as the first plane reaches its target.
The creators of [08:46] describe it as a "narrative-driven experience" for Oculus Rift on their website. The listing on the Oculus Share website gives a little more detail on their process and goals:
"Based on countless hours of research in order to try to properly recreate the atmosphere and dynamics within the top floors of the towers, [08:46] was designed and developed as a school project during three months by a six members team, working in close collaboration with two actors for mocap and voice acting."
We haven't yet had a chance to sample [08:46] firsthand, but it's hardly the first work of fiction to deliver an on-the-ground portrayal of 9/11's devastation. The 2006 film United 93, directed by Paul Greengrass, captured the events that led to the crash of the titular airplane, which was to be used by the terrorists as a fourth makeshift bomb.
Of course, there's a wide gulf separating the passive entertainment of a film and the active involvement that a VR experience demands. We recommend proceeding with caution if you plan to try this out, especially if you were personally affected by the events of 9/11.
[08:46] has been available as a free download from Oculus Share since it launched on Sept. 11, 2015. You can download it right here and learn more about the experience on its official website.
UPDATED Oct. 29 2:17 p.m. ET: It appears that [08:46] has been removed from Oculus Share. We're not sure why, but we've reached out to both Oculus VR and the experience's dev team for clarification.
We heard from 846 Studios and they were unaware of the Oculus Share removal. We're still waiting to hear back from Oculus, but you can use this alternate download link (provided by the devs) to get [08:46].
UPDATED Oct. 29 2:27 p.m. ET: And now it's back on Oculus Share.