Battle Abbey Visitor Centre

Battle Abbey Visitor Centre stands next to the site of one of the most famous invasions in British history. In 1066, William the Conqueror defeated King Harold II and his Saxon army in an epic battle 6 miles north of the city of Hastings. In 2006, Newangle and HMC Interactive created three software programs for the new Battle Abbey Visitor Centre that brings to life the history and importance of the battle for England.

The £2.6m English Heritage visitor centre allows visitors to discover the story of the Battle of Hastings from both a Norman and an English perspective. Touch screen kiosks and interactive tables allow you to explore the series of events that led up to the battle and learn how English history was forever changed after the invasion. Discover the heritage of common surnames, investigate artefacts from the invasion and even trace the family trees of William and Harold.

The centrepiece of the exhibit is an interactive round table that shows you just how far each army had to march before the battle began. Using a joystick to navigate around a scale map of England, you can follow the journey made by each army to get to Hastings.

HMC Interactive's biggest challenge was to create software that presented each side of the story in a unified exhibition. Combined with the requirement for a multilingual experience, the solution was a set of database driven kiosks that could present each side of the story through a common interface. This flexible solution was an effective way of delivering complex content in an engaging and effective manner.

Design & production: Newangle Software programming: HMC Interactive