Ethiopian Software Engineers use VR to Remember African Heroes

VR News: For those who don’t know, or have forgotten “The Battle of Adwa” was the climactic battle of the First Italo-Ethiopian War. The Ethiopian forces defeated the Italian invading force on Sunday 1 March 1896, near the town of Adwa. The decisive victory thwarted the campaign of the Kingdom of Italy to expand its colonial empire in the Horn of Africa. The team hope that this will help young people embrace their African heroes instead of American comic book types. You can find out more about this project here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-africa-62580391

Our Thoughts: While I appreciate what the team are trying to do here there is enough conflict in Ethiopia without having to “make a fun experience (in the words of the developer) about a conflict that causes vast bloodshed on both sides. I love that VR is once again being used in an educational way, but putting people into a first-person situation of a war zone is only going to leave them afraid of the past, and not respecting it.