The Gothenburg riots in virtual reality

Abstract

The shooting at Vasaplatsen during the Gothenburg riots in 2001 has become known for several reasons, the main one being the misrepresentations in the prosecutor’s evidence that was used against the protesters. This master thesis aims to create a proof of concept in the form of a reconstruction of the Vasaplatsen shooting and allow users to experience it in virtual reality (VR). VR today allows us to participate in unique events without physically being there. It also makes it possible to experience what has already happened.

The thesis has included several steps in determining which parts of the shooting can be reconstructed to make it resemble the real event and if this contributes to more knowledge about the shooting. We have also looked at what is important when reconstructing a historical event and if it is possible for these types of reconstructions to be used for crime investigations.

The final VR reconstruction is 2 minutes and 10 seconds, showing the shootings at Vasaplatsen. It is based on an already-made reconstruction by the Swedish director Göran du Rées, who created a documentary using collected images and videos from the event. In our VR reconstruction users can relive the moments before and when Hannes Westberg gets shot by the police as if they were there. The thesis has focused on presence and immersion, and to understand important aspects of when recreating a real event in VR. The report discusses these based on literature and our experiences developing the VR experience. Furthermore, to create a basis for future work, user tests were carried out at the end of the project to gather improvement suggestions.