Playing without Limits: Treasures of the University Library in Virtual Reality

The event starts at 11 am in Room 4, the multifunctional room on the ground floor of the Central Library at Hubland. The event ends at 5 pm. All available games originate from a cooperation between the University Library and the Games Engineering research group, headed by Professor Sebastian von Mammen. Short lectures and guided tours of individual objects from the special collections of Würzburg University Library round off the programme.

Cultural Storytelling - Experiencing History through Play

All games have their starting point in one or more very special objects from Würzburg University Library. In the plots specially developed for the VR games, historical events from Würzburg, the history of science at the University of Würzburg or the history of Würzburg University Library come to life: Players move through times and worlds long past and learn more about the valuable cultural artefacts stored in the special collections of the Würzburg University Library in a very low-threshold way. Anyone who wants to can marvel at the originals, which are narrated in the VR games, on a guided tour in the Special Collections reading room.

Three Historical Events, Excitingly Conveyed in Three Games

One of the virtual journeys takes you to Würzburg in the Middle Ages. In "Barlock", a fictional episode based on the famous chronicle of the bishop's secretary Lorenz Fries, the aim is to search for the Würzburg ducal sword during an exciting hunt through medieval Würzburg.

In the VR game "BibVirtuell", players find themselves in the former library hall of the University Library, which was magnificently decorated around 1720 by Balthasar Neumann and his students in the Old University in Domerschulstraße. This baroque hall was destroyed in the air raid on Würzburg on 16 March 1945 and has since been irretrievably lost. In "BibVirtuell" it has been possible to recreate this hall virtually: You can move around in it and browse through selected precious manuscripts from the University Library.

The third game, "Beringer's Figurine Stones", introduces you to one of the biggest scientific scandals that took place in Würzburg 300 years ago: Back then, Johann Bartholomäus Adam Beringer published a "Würzburger Gesteinskunde", in which he had figurine stones depicted and tried to "explain" this find with the fossilisation theories known at the time. The delicacy of the matter was that the stones were not real fossils, but fakes, which turned the initially localised scholarly dispute into a supra-regional scientific scandal.

In short presentations between the game sessions, visitors will learn more about the objects from the VR games as well as details about the technical background of the games and games engineering research at JMU.

Programme

11 to 11:30 am - Welcome and overview of the topic

Prof. Dr. Sebastian von Mammen (Chair of Games Engineering at the Department of Computer Science IX): Why computer game technologies were, are and will remain a driver of innovation

Dr. Hans-Günter Schmidt (Head of Würzburg University Library): Bringing history(ies) to life - virtual mediation as a task for libraries

Dr. Katharina Boll-Becht (Deputy Head of Würzburg University Library): Three events - three games: an overview

11:45 am to 5 pm - Playing without limits(register for the game slots here)

12 pm & 2 pm - Guided tour in the Special Collections Reading Room

The originals behind the games - Würzburg Bishop's Chronicle, Lying Stones and the Old Library Hall (Dr. Hans-Günter Schmidt, Dr. Katharina Boll-Becht)

Further Information - Information on Accessibility

Admission is free. As VR games are involved, the event is suitable for adults and young people aged 13 and over. To avoid waiting times, we recommend booking time slots for the individual games. It is not necessary to register for the short presentations or the guided tours.

The event will take place in room 4 of the Central Library at Hubland. The building is barrier-free. Information on the homepage.

Further information about the event.