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9/11 virtual reality app puts you in the WTC

Developers say the controversial experience showing a World Trade Center worker’s perspective, called “08:46,” is a “tribute to the victims”

ANGOULEME, France — A new virtual reality app lets users experience the 9/11 attacks from the perspective of one of the office workers inside the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

The app, called “08:46,” is named after the time the first airplane, American Airlines Flight 11, crashed into the North Tower, between floors 93 and 99.

The project’s creative director, Anthony Krafft, told Tech Insider the game is “a tribute to the victims of our generation-shaping experience.”

The game was developed as a student project for the French school ENJMIN by a group of six people in collaboration with two actors for voice and motion capture.

Krafft said the team wanted to approach the historical events from an individual perspective, and they tried to be as accurate as possible out of respect for the victims.

The controversial experience has already generated negative feedback, Krafft said.

Because the user experiences the attack from the 101st floor, there is no escape. The sequence ends by either fading slowly to black to simulate suffocation or by the user jumping from the window.

You can watch a reviewer use the app below. (Warning: This video includes strong language and has graphic content that may upset more sensitive individuals.)

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