Communications and Marketing

Virtual reality and game development: H-BRS with a stand at Gamescom

Thursday 7 August 2025

Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg (H-BRS) will be represented with a stand at Gamescom (Wednesday, 20 August to Sunday, 24 August 2025). Teachers and students will be showcasing current projects from the fields of visual computing, games technology and autonomous systems at the computer games trade fair in Cologne on all five days. Among other things, visitors can use VR goggles to experience what it feels like to be afraid of heights and test the new computer game "Honu" developed by students. Those interested can find the university's programme in Hall 10.1, Stand E016.

All information about the H-BRS stand at Gamescom

171120 H-BRS StA Informatik Projekt Hoehenangst Gamescom

The VR goggles are designed to give visitors as realistic an impression as possible of what it feels like to be afraid of heights.

What looks unspectacular from the outside is completely different as soon as you put on the virtual reality goggles. Suddenly, you are no longer standing on a wooden board at the H-BRS stand in the Cologne exhibition halls, but on a wobbly wooden plank and looking down on skyscrapers and urban canyons. The demonstration by the Institute for Visual Computing aims to offer visitors the most realistic experience possible of the fear of heights in virtual reality. The environment is simulated by the VR goggles. There are also physical effects, as the plank vibrates. Sounds simulate the whistling of the wind.

Students develop game "Honu"

The Department of Computer Science at H-BRS offers a Master's degree programme in Game Technologies and has its own game studio where students can test and develop new games themselves. One result is the adventure and puzzle game "Honu", which is due to be released this year. H-BRS students have been working on it for three years and have founded the GameDev team to drive development forward. Visitors to the fair can test "Honu" and give the students feedback. Next door, the edutainment game "MyJong", which takes up the basic idea of the solitaire variant of the game Mah Jong, involves searching for related pairs.

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H-BRS demonstrates a task from the international robotics competition Robocup Junior with robots developed in-house based on the Open Robotic Board (ORB). Photo: Miriam Kist

In addition to the Department of Computer Science, the Department of Engineering and Communication is also represented at Gamescom. It is setting up a small arena at the trade fair and demonstrating a task from the international robot competition Robocup Junior with a robot it developed itself based on the Open Robotic Board (ORB) . The robot design is an example of the Embedded Systems department.

H-BRS offers around 40 degree programmes

Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg is a research-intensive university with campuses in Sankt Augustin, Rheinbach and Hennef. In Bonn, it operates the Bonn-Aachen International Centre for Information Technology together with the University and RWTH Aachen University. The university offers around 40 degree programmes in five faculties (economics, computer science, engineering and communication, applied natural sciences, social policy and social security), with a total of 9,000 students enrolled in the winter semester 2024/2025. H-BRS recently came first in a study on the satisfaction of graduates. The study was conducted by the Institute for Applied Statistics (ISTAT) on behalf of the NRW Ministry of Science.

H-BRS's research focuses include security research, resource conservation and energy efficiency, visual computing, life sciences and health as well as AI and autonomous systems. A team of students from the Autonomous Systems master's programme, the b-it-bots, became world champions in the RoboCup working robot league in July.

All information about the stand at Gamescom can be found on the H-BRS website:

https://www.h-brs.de/de/inf/gamescom-2025