12 October 2021 press release

From book to VR: Starting 19 October 2021, visitors are invited to experience Goethe's Faust I and II, a classic of German print literature, in a virtual reality environment at the German National Library. Visitors can play “Goethe VR” at the Library's sites in Leipzig and Frankfurt am Main.

“Goethe VR” is an interactive VR experience that adapts the two parts of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s “Faust” tragedy into a digital world, making it possible for visitors to experience one of the best-known works of literature in a completely new way. Presenting this literary classic as a VR experience within the German National Library is also a reminder of the Library’s collection mandate. The Library collects works in many different editions: as comics, in adaptations for children and in translation, and its collection includes almost 3,000 different editions of Goethe's Faust Parts I and II.

Equipped with a VR headset and other tools, players will be acvtively involved in the story: they will sign the pact with Mephistopheles, travel to the Witch’s Kitchen, meet Gretchen and look for the proverbial “poodle’s core”. Seven cut scenes will transport players along a journey that is both literary and emotional, creating an ongoing plot with its own arc of suspense. One of the key elements of this adaptation is the way it keeps close to the original text and includes the original language.

This creates a virtual world whose atmosphere and content reflects the literature it is modelled on, allowing players to experience the themes of the original work in a visually appealing way. The aim of the experience is for players to encounter the plays’ conflicts, central characters and leitmotifs, as well as learning about the author and how the text was created.

In terms of its subject matter, the VR experience focuses on contemporary aspects and refers to passages that can be interpreted as a reflection on human existence in our current times. The protagonist’s relentless search for the new, his restlessness and his desire to experience the perfect moment form the backdrop to this digital version of Faust. Goethe’s scepticism about capitalism, which was beginning to take shape during his lifetime, also comes into play in the adaptation – the more anyone wants to possess, the more they will destroy. “Goethe VR” is set in a deserted landscape with an aesthetic drawn from surrealist painting. The minimalist expanses of the deserted landscape not only set the scene for the objects, but also remind players of humanity’s exploitation of nature, a key issue in how this adaptation interprets Goethe’s texts.

“Goethe VR” will be available in nine languages: German, English, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, Indonesian Bahasa), Polish, Czech and Arabic. Visitors can play “Goethe VR” for free from 19 October 2021 during opening hours at the German Museum of Books and Writing in Leipzig in its permanent exhibition, as well as in the foyer of the German National Library in Frankfurt am Main. The game takes roughly 15 minutes to play.

“Goethe VR” will be premièred at a preview on Sunday 17 October between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. in the German Museum of Books and Writing in Leipzig, where the game’s designers and others involved in the project at ZDF Digital will be present.

A production created by ZDF Digital in cooperation with the German Museum of Books and Writing at the German National Library, the Goethe Institutes and the Goethe Museum in Düsseldorf, with funding from the Federal Funding for Computer Games.

Goethe VR. Goethe’s Faust as an interactive virtual reality experience

In Leipzig: Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00
Thursday 10:00 to 20:00
Public holidays 10:00 to 18:00
Closed on Mondays
Admission free

In Frankfurt: Monday to Friday 9–21:30
Saturday 10–17:30
Closed on Sundays and public holidays also in the period from 24 December 2021 to 2 January 2022
Admission free

Further Information: dnb.de/goethevr

Background

The book has shaped our culture and civilisation like no other medium. For centuries our knowledge about the world and its peoples has been stored in books. The task of the German National Library’s German Museum of Books and Writing is to collect, exhibit and process evidence of book and media history. Founded in 1884 in Leipzig as the Deutsches Buchgewerbemuseum (German Book Trade Museum), it is the oldest museum in the world in the field of book culture, and also one of the most important with regard to the scope and quality of its holdings.
Alongside manuscripts, historical prints, coloured papers and modern book art, its collections contain archive materials and estates on the history of writing and typography. Together with the world’s largest watermark collection and a host of writing implements and machines for producing books and paper, the museum’s collections facilitate an interdisciplinary approach to issues in cultural and media studies.

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Images for editorial use

Images for editorial use with reports on the exhibition. Press image material is only available in German.