FAQs & Support

The tool can be down­loaded on the Steam store. Currently, it is free for everyone.

Histo­ry­Maker VR is designed to comple­ment history and civics classes by adding a virtual reality component to your curriculum. Please see the classroom guide that high­lights potential lessons and activ­i­ties you can use for your learners.

Please follow these instruc­tions to activate a new retail purchase on Steam:

• Go to store.steampowered.com
• Create a Steam account (if you’re a first-time Steam user) and install Steam on the computer you will use for Histo­ry­Maker VR.
• Launch the Steam software and log into your Steam account.
• Click the ​“Games” option in the Menu between ​“Friends” and ​“News.”
• Choose ​“Activate a Product on Steam.”
• Click ​“Next” and then click ​“I Agree.”
• Paste in the Product Key that you received for Histo­ry­Maker VR. You should see an ​“Acti­va­tion successful” window and the name of the game (“Histo­ry­Maker VR”) in the product box.
• Click ​“Finish.”
• Check Your Library to locate Histo­ry­Maker VR. Click on the title.
• Click ​“Install” to install the game.
• Please visit the Steam support page if you have addi­tional questions.

Histo­ry­Maker VR can be played on the Oculus Rift and the Oculus Rift S. Some players are also successfully using the Oculus Quest and Quest 2, with Oculus Link to connect to a gaming computer.

Yes, some players are using the Oculus Quest and Quest 2, along with the Oculus Link to connect to a gaming computer. Histo­ry­Maker VR also can be played on the Oculus Rift and Oculus Rift S virtual reality headsets.

Histo­ry­Maker VR has been developed and designed with students between 6^th-8^th grade. But students in high school might also find the tool helpful as well.

Based on the standards outlined by the US Depart­ment of Education IES SBIR grant program, Phase I and Phase II projects must be based in learning theory with mech­a­nisms of action designed to support student learning outcomes. Addi­tion­ally, project teams must develop, refine, and test usability and feasi­bility of the product with the target audiences. The final step of this process includes conducting a pilot study in schools to demon­strate the usability and feasi­bility, fidelity of imple­men­ta­tion, and the promise of the product to improve the intended outcomes. Though our pilot study has been delayed due to the coro­n­avirus pandemic, we have developed the embod­i­ment-focused expe­ri­ence with extensive end user assis­tance, input, and subject matter expertise.

The expe­ri­ence aligns well with the C3 Framework for Histor­ical Sources and Evidence, and Perspec­tives for the 6^th-8^th grade level, as well as multiple standards for PA Core and PA History. Please see the Classroom Resources section for the specific standards alignment.

Histo­ry­Maker VR requires a PC or VR-ready laptop that meets the minimum require­ments, as well as an Oculus Rift or Oculus Rift S headset. Some players are using the Oculus Quest and Quest 2, along with the Oculus Link to connect to a gaming computer. Oculus headsets are available on the Oculus website, Amazon, Best Buy, or other elec­tronics stores. Please see the ​“FAQ and Trou­bleshooting” document for addi­tional infor­ma­tion.

No, you need to purchase the equipment. To get an idea of the cost, you can review the headsets on the Oculus website.

Histo­ry­Maker VR is completely free for everyone. Once it is down­loaded, you own the expe­ri­ence forever. There is no licensing fee and no expi­ra­tion date. There are no in-app purchases.

You will need to have the correct VR hardware and computer to use the tool. This equipment will need to be purchased.

Histo­ry­Maker VR has diverse eight char­ac­ters from U.S. History: Tecumseh, Abigail Adams, George Wash­ington Carver, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, Sonia Sotomayor, Harriet Tubman, and Mark Twain.

At this time, there are only eight char­ac­ters from which to choose. Please watch the HMVR News page or subscribe to the Schell Games newsletter for any announce­ments on addi­tional character support.

If you are expe­ri­encing issues with the Oculus headset, you can visit Oculus Support for addi­tional assis­tance.

Histo­ry­Maker VR is a content creation tool. While the tool comes with sample scripts and lesson plans for educators to try, it is the respon­si­bility of the educator and learner to make sure the uploaded infor­ma­tion is accurate.