8:46 (video game)

Last updated
8:46
8h46 Logo.jpg
Developer(s) Anthony Krafft
Engine Unreal Engine 4
Platform(s) Windows
Release2015
Genre(s) Simulation
Mode(s)Single-player

8:46 is a 2015 simulation video game based on the September 11 attacks. The game takes place in the World Trade Center and during the plane crash into the North Tower. [1] The name comes from the exact time that American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Gameplay

The player plays as an unnamed office employee working on the 101st floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center during the September 11 terrorist attacks. They do their morning telemarketing work in a room with one other employee. Suddenly, during their work, the building shakes and multiple ceiling tiles fall out of the ceiling. The door is jammed shut, and they and the other employee are trapped within the room. [5]

A man kicks open the door and hands them a flashlight. They are warned about the slowly encroaching fire. They are trapped in the darkness of the floor after every door is tested and is jammed. They are trapped within these confines. They hear as their co-workers make phone calls to their families saying their final goodbye as smoke fills the room. The man breaks open a window to the outside. As the player stands there, they have to make the choice between dying from smoke inhalation or jumping out of a window and falling to their death. [6]

Reception

When the game first released in the year of 2015, many news publications gave negative viewpoints on the video game, calling it "disrespectful", "horrifying", "distasteful" and "offensive". [7] [2] [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virtual reality</span> Computer-simulated experience

Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs 3D near-eye displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment, education and business. VR is one of the key technologies in the reality-virtuality continuum. As such, it is different from other digital visualization solutions, such as augmented virtuality and augmented reality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oculus Rift</span> Virtual reality headsets by Oculus VR

Oculus Rift is a discontinued line of virtual reality headsets developed and manufactured by Oculus VR, a virtual reality company founded by Palmer Luckey that is widely credited with reviving the virtual reality industry. It was the first virtual reality headset to provide a realistic experience at an accessible price, utilizing novel technology to increase quality and reduce cost by orders of magnitude compared to earlier systems. The first headset in the line was the Oculus Rift DK1, released on March 28, 2013. The last was the Oculus Rift S, discontinued in April 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palmer Luckey</span> American entrepreneur (born 1992)

Palmer Freeman Luckey is an American entrepreneur best known as the founder of Oculus VR and designer of the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality head-mounted display that is widely credited with reviving the virtual reality industry. In 2017, Luckey left Oculus and founded defense contractor Anduril Industries, a defense technology company focused on autonomous drones and sensors for military applications. Luckey ranked number 22 on Forbes' 2016 List of America's Richest Entrepreneurs Under 40.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reality Labs</span> Virtual and augmented reality products company

Reality Labs, formerly Oculus VR, is a business and research unit of Meta Platforms that produces virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) hardware and software, including virtual reality headsets such as Quest, and online platforms such as Horizon Worlds. In June 2022, several artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives that were previously a part of Meta AI were transitioned to Reality Labs. This also includes Meta's fundamental AI Research laboratory FAIR which is now part of the Reality Labs - Research (RLR) division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samsung Gear VR</span> Virtual reality headset by Samsung

The Samsung Gear VR is a virtual reality headset developed by Samsung Electronics, in collaboration with Oculus VR, and manufactured by Samsung. The headset was released on August 21, 2015.

"Grounded Vindaloop" is the seventh episode in the eighteenth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 254th episode overall, it was written and directed by series co-creator and co-star Trey Parker. The episode premiered on Comedy Central in the United States on November 12, 2014. The episode lampoons virtual reality headsets including the Oculus Rift using various science-fiction movie references, and customer service call centers.

Oculus Touch is a line of motion controller systems used by Meta Platforms virtual reality headsets. The controller was first introduced in 2016 as a standalone accessory for the Oculus Rift CV1, and began to be bundled with the headset and all future Oculus products beginning in July 2017. Since their original release, Touch controllers have undergone revisions for later generations of Oculus/Meta hardware, including a switch to inside-out tracking, and other design changes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virtual reality headset</span> Head-mounted device that provides virtual reality for the wearer


A virtual reality headset is a head-mounted device that uses 3D near-eye displays and positional tracking to provide a virtual reality environment for the user. VR headsets are widely used with VR video games, but they are also used in other applications, including simulators and trainers. VR headsets typically include a stereoscopic display, stereo sound, and sensors like accelerometers and gyroscopes for tracking the pose of the user's head to match the orientation of the virtual camera with the user's eye positions in the real world. AR headsets are similar to VR headsets, but AR headsets enable the user to see and interact with the outside world. Examples of AR headsets include the Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3.

Tilt Brush is a room-scale 3D-painting virtual-reality application available from Google, originally developed by Skillman & Hackett.

<i>Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope</i> 2017 video game

Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope is a 2017 first-person shooter game for virtual reality (VR) developed by Croteam VR and published by Devolver Digital. One or two players fight waves of enemies, including bosses, across five thematic planets. The enemies approach from a 180° field and the player can use dual-wielded weapons while moving across a limited space. To develop The Last Hope and experiment with other VR implementations, Croteam VR was established as a specialised division of Croteam. Devolver Digital announced the game at E3 in June 2016 and launched it in early access that October. After several updates, it was released in September 2017 for Windows with compatibility for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift VR headsets. The Last Hope received mostly positive reviews, with post-release reception lauding the game's gameplay and visuals while criticising difficulty spikes and issues with the online multiplayer mode.

<i>Batman: Arkham VR</i> 2016 video game

Batman: Arkham VR is a virtual reality adventure video game developed by Rocksteady Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation 4 and Windows. Based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, it is part of the Batman: Arkham series and the first installment to use virtual reality headsets, allowing players to experience the game world from Batman's perspective. Arkham VR was released worldwide on October 11, 2016, for PlayStation 4 and on April 25, 2017, for Windows for VR headsets.

<i>Robo Recall</i> 2017 video game

Robo Recall is a virtual reality first-person shooter game developed and published by Epic Games for Oculus Rift and Oculus Quest platforms. The game was released for the Oculus Rift on March 1, 2017, and an Oculus Quest version titled Robo Recall: Unplugged was released on May 21, 2019. Players that activate their Oculus Touch virtual reality controllers with its software are able to download the game for free.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virtual reality game</span> Video game played in virtual reality

A virtual reality game or VR game is a video game played on virtual reality (VR) hardware. Most VR games are based on player immersion, typically through a head-mounted display unit or headset with stereoscopic displays and one or more controllers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oculus Go</span> Untethered virtual reality headset by Oculus VR

The Oculus Go is a discontinued, standalone virtual reality headset developed by Meta Reality Labs in partnership with Qualcomm and Xiaomi. It is in the first generation of Facebook Technologies' virtual reality headsets, and the company's first device in the category of standalone VR headsets, which was a new category at the time of the Go's release. The Oculus Go was unveiled on October 11, 2017 during the Oculus Connect developer conference, and released on May 1, 2018. Xiaomi launched their own version of the headset in China as the Mi VR Standalone on May 31, 2018.

<i>Five Nights at Freddys: Help Wanted</i> 2019 video game

Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted is a 2019 virtual reality (VR) survival horror video game developed by Steel Wool Studios and Scott Cawthon. It is an anthology of different minigames based on the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise, where the player must complete tasks without being jumpscared by homicidal animatronic characters. The minigames include VR adaptations of the main entries in the series and several new experiences. Hidden inside the levels are coins that unlock collectable objects and cassette tapes that provide insight into the game's metafictional plot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oculus Rift CV1</span> Virtual reality headset by Oculus VR

Oculus Rift CV1, also known simply as Oculus Rift, is a virtual reality headset developed by Oculus VR, a subsidiary of Meta Platforms, known at the time as Facebook Inc. It was announced in January 2016, and released in March the same year. The device constituted the first commercial release in the Oculus Rift lineup.

<i>Boneworks</i> 2019 video game

Boneworks is a 2019 first-person shooter game developed and published by Stress Level Zero. The game is designed to be entirely physics-based, with the player controlling a full virtual body that responds not just to the player's real-world input but also to obstructions in the game world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SexLikeReal</span> Virtual reality company

SexLikeReal (SLR) is a virtual reality pornography sharing site, VR live cam streaming, production company and VR technology developer. It was launched in 2015 with the top Studios such as VR Bangers, VR Conk, BadoinkVR, Virtualrealporn and more than one of the largest Netflix-like platforms for VR pornography, SexLikeReal has been featured by XBIZ and other major media outlets in the adult entertainment industry. According to Venture Beat, SexLikeReal is pioneering in merging adult entertainment with VR technology.

References

  1. "This 9/11 VR Game Takes You Inside The World Trade Center At '8:46' [Video]". Inquisitr. October 29, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "9/11 Oculus Rift Game '8:46' is Horrifying and Distasteful". eTeknix. October 12, 2015.
  3. Dave Smith (Oct 29, 2015). "Makers of the 9/11 virtual reality app explain why they made the controversial game". Business Insider .
  4. "Virtual reality game takes players inside World Trade Center during 9/11 attacks". KFVS-TV . Nov 3, 2015.
  5. "Oculus Rift game [8:46] will portray the events of 9/11 | Gamespresso". 2021-09-26. Archived from the original on 2021-09-26. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
  6. Laukkonen, Jeremy (2015-10-29). "This 9/11 VR Game Takes You Inside The World Trade Center At '8:46' [Video]". The Inquisitr. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
  7. "'Disgusting' new virtual reality simulator allows players to experience horror of 9/11 from inside North Tower". New York Daily News . November 2, 2015.
  8. eTeknix.com (2015-10-30). "9/11 Oculus Rift Game '8:46' is Horrifying and Distasteful". eTeknix. Retrieved 2023-04-23.