Ubisoft launches VR experience in which players must put out a fire in Notre-Dame

Ubisoft is working on a VR experience where players will have to fight the conflagration of Notre Dame as firefighters. The famous Paris cathedral was partly destroyed by a major fire in April 2019. The game should be released in VR arcades in March.

Ubisoft is collaborating with film company Pathé and filmmaker Jean-Jacques Annaud for this game, Variety writes. Annaud is the director of the docudrama Notre-Dame on Fire. This film is also due to be released in March and is about how the firefighters were able to contain the blaze and prevent the building from completely collapsing. The characteristic towers, among other things, remained standing.

The VR gaming experience has the same name and should be seen as a typical escape game with the necessary puzzles and in which cooperation with others is very important. The goal is to make your way through the cathedral, fight the fire and get your hands on relics. It’s about saving Notre-Dame within a certain amount of time.

Ubisoft designers have worked closely with the filmmakers. The screenplay was also looked at, but not everything from the film has been translated directly into the game experience. Because the release had to come out in the same period as the documentary, there was not enough time for a full VR game. That is why we chose an experience in VR centers that Ubisoft works with. There are 630 of these worldwide. The game can be played there as a one-hour VR experience.

Assassin’s Creed Unity assets were used for the VR game. For that game, the French publisher already made a 3d model of the cathedral. That model also forms the basis for the free-to-play VR experience Notre-Dame de Paris: Journey Back in Time.