A new game for the as-yet-to-be-released to the public Oculus Rift virtual reality headset is causing controversy, as it recreates the dark day that was 9/11 from a victim’s viewpoint.

Titled 8:46 after the time American Airlines Flight 11 slammed into the North Tower in lower Manhattan on September 11, 2001, the game allows users to “embody an office worker in the North Tower of the World Trade Center during the 9/11 events,” according to the app’s makers.

The game was created by 846 Studios, a group of students at ENJMIN University, France, and is said to be the result of “countless hours of research in order to try to properly recreate the atmosphere and dynamics within the top floors of the towers;” the creators of the app further state that it was “designed and developed as a school project during three months by a six members team, working in close collaboration with two actors for [motion capture] and voice acting.”

If the whole idea isn’t macabre enough already (spoiler alert) it’s not a game that can be won, as the worker is on the 101st floor and is unable to escape, with the game ending with a fade to darkness as the worker is either suffocated or decides to jump from the tower instead.

Poor taste?

Naturally (and with reason) critics are claiming that this game is nothing but a “tasteless exploitation” of one of the darkest days in American history, although the team behind it have defended the game as a way to “remind that 9/11 was, for the victims, first and foremost a workday like every other workday.”

“We worked with a lot of references, from an interview with a survivor to plans of the floors or journalistic works such as ‘102 minutes‘ to be precise about the events and the human dynamics in the towers,” the Creative Director on the Project Anthony Krafft told TechInsider.

“In the team, we are all in our twenties,” Krafft added. “And 9/11, on a global scale, changed as much our social interactions as our geopolitical context.”

“It was essential to us to be accurate, as we could never be obscene or sensationalist out of respect for the victims,” he said.

Of note, 8:46 is not a commercial endeavor and is being released for free, so at least it can be said that this isn’t commercial exploitation of the event itself.

For those loved ones left behind, and others, this is undoubtedly a horrendous use of virtual reality, but likewise there is a counter argument in that one of the better ways to relate and remember history is the ability to recreate it.

If you own an Oculus Rift DK2 headset or later you can download the game here.

Image credit: 846 Studios