Ghosts of the Argonne: Immersion, Presence, and Uncertainty in a Virtual Reality History Simulation

Ghosts of the Argonne is an interactive virtual reality (VR) recreation of the World War 1 (WW1) M1897 “French 75” field artillery gun, intended to teach learners about WW1 and its impact on the world, the role of artillery and artillerymen in this war, and the stories of real soldiers who served. The Ghosts of the Argonne project is also an exploration of design-oriented challenges that arise when attempting to transport learners into virtual recreations of the past. In this design case, we address a variety of such challenges, including the realism and authenticity of VR environments and objects, the capabilities and limitations of contemporary VR technology, the difficult relationship between games, play, and historical representation, the impact of multi-user interactivity on virtual historical recreations, and the challenge of contending with historical uncertainty in the design of VR objects, events, and environments.