Augmented reality storytelling: Narrative design and reconstruction of a historical event in situ

Abstract

How may we best utilize mobile augmented reality for storytelling when reconstructing historical events on location? In this article we present a series of narrative design considerations when developing an augmented reality application recreating the assault on Omaha Beach in the early morning on DDay. To what extent may we select existing genre conventions from, for example, documentary film, and adapt them to a location-based audio-visual medium like AR? How can we best combine sequence and access, the narrative flow of an unfolding historical event with the availability of background information, in order to enrich the experience of the story, but without distorting its coherence? To what extent may we draw from existing and well known media representations of the Omaha Beach landing? How was the battle documented with contemporary means? We present the rich documentation of photos, films, drawings, paintings, maps, action reports, official reports, etc., and discuss how these have been employed to create the published AR situated simulation. We also describe and discuss the testing and evaluation of the application on location with visitors, as well as online tracking of its current use.