Some of you guys may remember the 3D library program I developed a couple of years ago. Over the last couple of weeks, I adapted the programming technology to create a framework for building real-time 3D web pages, which I call WebWorlds.
I have not released this to the general public yet, but I wanted you guys to have the first look at the first proto-type, which you can find here: http://myknexus.com/WebWorld.html.
This will launch a real-time 3D environment in your web browser. The proto-type is based on my 3D virtual library model. It is a fully navigable 3D world much like a Tex Murphy world. I have temporarly disabled the movement boundaries, so you can move through the walls, floor and ceiling for fun. The books are just like hyper-links in a normal web page which link to other web content.
Here's what I'm thinking: The proto-type is a library because I already had one made up. But the 3d environment could be anything. For instance, I could build a 3D Chandler Ave. in which you can move freely around on. You could click on Chelsea's magazine stand to link to the "Latest News". You could walk on down to Louie's and click on the diner to link to the Message Board. You could got to the Electronics Shop for tech help, etc. You get the idea.
Anyway, what do you think? It wouldn't take a lot of effort to build a 3D interface to the Unofficial Tex Murphy site to be the world's first true 3D fan site. The site, as it is, would remain completely in tact. Don't have to change a thing. The 3D site would be in parallel and link to all the existing content.
If you try my proto-type, please give me some feedback. And if you have any questions, please ask.
I have not released this to the general public yet, but I wanted you guys to have the first look at the first proto-type, which you can find here: http://myknexus.com/WebWorld.html.
This will launch a real-time 3D environment in your web browser. The proto-type is based on my 3D virtual library model. It is a fully navigable 3D world much like a Tex Murphy world. I have temporarly disabled the movement boundaries, so you can move through the walls, floor and ceiling for fun. The books are just like hyper-links in a normal web page which link to other web content.
Here's what I'm thinking: The proto-type is a library because I already had one made up. But the 3d environment could be anything. For instance, I could build a 3D Chandler Ave. in which you can move freely around on. You could click on Chelsea's magazine stand to link to the "Latest News". You could walk on down to Louie's and click on the diner to link to the Message Board. You could got to the Electronics Shop for tech help, etc. You get the idea.
Anyway, what do you think? It wouldn't take a lot of effort to build a 3D interface to the Unofficial Tex Murphy site to be the world's first true 3D fan site. The site, as it is, would remain completely in tact. Don't have to change a thing. The 3D site would be in parallel and link to all the existing content.
If you try my proto-type, please give me some feedback. And if you have any questions, please ask.
I watched the video, that looks neat... I just might consider that for the office... Nice work there Doc...
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I'm suddenly reminded of 90s Hollywood where movies about hacking had 3d interfaces that didn't exist in reality so the viewer could "see" the hacking in progress.
It's pretty fun, actually. It's more of a novelty than it is practical, but I'm all for fun!
Two things though, since you asked for feedback. It might be my machine showing its age, but the fluidity would benefit from improvement. Going up and down or left and right is good as is. Back and forth is alright. Mouse movement though, I don't know if it's just a sensitivity thing or it it's the applet itself but it gets slightly annoying.
Second thing is just a detail but I'd personally prefer it prompted links in a new window instead of the actual one, so I could easily be back into the lair and open multiple links.
You know what I'm thinking for this sort of 3D surfing? What I absolutely loathe about MySpace is how everything is so damn cramped into the page, with music and videos starting left and right, info pack absolutely everywhere and ugly themes that make me sea sick. More than a novelty, this could bring a MySpace-type of page to a whole new level. Imagine a teenage bedroom or apartment design, with a stereo machine and CD Rack to play favorite songs, a tv or pc for videos, a library for book/interests, and so on and so forth, with of course the possibility of decorating/personalising the themes. Judging by the Sims phenomenon alone, I think this could kick the living crap out of Facebook, so long as the whole thing remains instinctive and practical in design.
I always thought those pages lacked depth, both literally and figuratively, and a 3d engine would solve the issue rather well.
It's pretty fun, actually. It's more of a novelty than it is practical, but I'm all for fun!
Two things though, since you asked for feedback. It might be my machine showing its age, but the fluidity would benefit from improvement. Going up and down or left and right is good as is. Back and forth is alright. Mouse movement though, I don't know if it's just a sensitivity thing or it it's the applet itself but it gets slightly annoying.
Second thing is just a detail but I'd personally prefer it prompted links in a new window instead of the actual one, so I could easily be back into the lair and open multiple links.
You know what I'm thinking for this sort of 3D surfing? What I absolutely loathe about MySpace is how everything is so damn cramped into the page, with music and videos starting left and right, info pack absolutely everywhere and ugly themes that make me sea sick. More than a novelty, this could bring a MySpace-type of page to a whole new level. Imagine a teenage bedroom or apartment design, with a stereo machine and CD Rack to play favorite songs, a tv or pc for videos, a library for book/interests, and so on and so forth, with of course the possibility of decorating/personalising the themes. Judging by the Sims phenomenon alone, I think this could kick the living crap out of Facebook, so long as the whole thing remains instinctive and practical in design.
I always thought those pages lacked depth, both literally and figuratively, and a 3d engine would solve the issue rather well.
Part-Time Nomad
Hey Frank, thanks for the input.
The smoothness of the mouse motion is a function of the angle step-size. I can make it smoother, but it will slow down the panning speed.
The links should be opening in new windows or new tabs. There are a couple of reasons why they might not be, (that I know of and probably some I don't.) When you first launch the applet, a dialog box should appear which asks if you 'trust' the content. If you select cancel instead of run, the browser security policy won't let the applet open any new windows or tabs. That could be the problem. Also, it may have to do with your browser settings. I set my Firefox and IE browsers to open new windows in new tabs and they both work ok.
With regard to this being practical or a novelty, I agree that, for a small site, it is a novelty. However, for websites with a large amount of content, it ican be very practical. For example, web sites with large amounts of content, like those belonging to universities or large corporations, often require you to navigate through several layers of web pages to finally get to the content you want. If you return to the site at a later time, it is often hard to remember how you navigated the maze of web pages to get where you want. The content can be presented much more efficiently and easily in a 3D environment, making navigation of large content sites more straightforward and practical.
Those are the kinds of applications that I'm really aiming for.
The smoothness of the mouse motion is a function of the angle step-size. I can make it smoother, but it will slow down the panning speed.
The links should be opening in new windows or new tabs. There are a couple of reasons why they might not be, (that I know of and probably some I don't.) When you first launch the applet, a dialog box should appear which asks if you 'trust' the content. If you select cancel instead of run, the browser security policy won't let the applet open any new windows or tabs. That could be the problem. Also, it may have to do with your browser settings. I set my Firefox and IE browsers to open new windows in new tabs and they both work ok.
With regard to this being practical or a novelty, I agree that, for a small site, it is a novelty. However, for websites with a large amount of content, it ican be very practical. For example, web sites with large amounts of content, like those belonging to universities or large corporations, often require you to navigate through several layers of web pages to finally get to the content you want. If you return to the site at a later time, it is often hard to remember how you navigated the maze of web pages to get where you want. The content can be presented much more efficiently and easily in a 3D environment, making navigation of large content sites more straightforward and practical.
Those are the kinds of applications that I'm really aiming for.
Last edited by Frank on December 23, 2008 • 11:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
For some reason I couldn't get it to start on Firefox, which is why I used Explorer. You're right of course, it appears to be my IE setting that automatically takes me to the new location in the same page. I'm so used to right-clicking that I never actually modified the option.
I can definitely see the practicality on a larger scale, considering how often I look up the site map because the amount of links and datas is just insane and ridiculously designed. It seems government websites have the same infuriating logic as government bureaucracy.
I'm wondering about the balance between instinctive approach and eye candy though. The necessity of 3d is definitely there, but at the same time you can't walk for hours to get where you want, and it would have to be something different than the 3d equivalent of hyperlinks disposed all over the place. Don't know if you see where this poorly worded thought is getting at or not.
Edit: I very much like the idea of Chandler avenue and "entering" other parts of the TM site as we enter in different places. That would be truly original and kick some serious ass.
I can definitely see the practicality on a larger scale, considering how often I look up the site map because the amount of links and datas is just insane and ridiculously designed. It seems government websites have the same infuriating logic as government bureaucracy.
I'm wondering about the balance between instinctive approach and eye candy though. The necessity of 3d is definitely there, but at the same time you can't walk for hours to get where you want, and it would have to be something different than the 3d equivalent of hyperlinks disposed all over the place. Don't know if you see where this poorly worded thought is getting at or not.
Edit: I very much like the idea of Chandler avenue and "entering" other parts of the TM site as we enter in different places. That would be truly original and kick some serious ass.
Part-Time Nomad
Are you using the Most Up to date Firefox??? I didn't have a problem viewing it with Firefox... I do know that they just came out with an Update just a couple of days ago... If you don't remember getting it, you might was to check under the Help tab and check for updates to see if you missed it...Frank wrote:For some reason I couldn't get it to start on Firefox, which is why I used Explorer.
Just trying to help...
The Paved Straight Road, Won't Always Get You Farther Than The Winding Dirt Road...
Can You Run Your Game??? Click Here And Find Out...
*Note, Not All Games Have Been Tested & Therefore May Not Be Listed...
Can You Run Your Game??? Click Here And Find Out...
*Note, Not All Games Have Been Tested & Therefore May Not Be Listed...
I'm afraid I don't understand what you're getting at there. Could you please give it another shot?Don't know if you see where this poorly worded thought is getting at or not.
Meanwhile, I'll take a stab at what I think you're getting at. Maybe you're thinking that a visitor would have to wander around the library or WebWorld too much to find what he or she is looking for. That's certainly possible in a Chandler Avenue type of environment. In the library, I think it is not the case.
The library demo that I've posted has a few other features that have been temporarily disabled that will help in this regard. (Plus, the library is not a large environment even though it can hold thousands of links.) For instance, when I reactivate the wall boundaries, movement along the shelves, is much more natural and easy to browse. I also will reinstate the shelf labeling. This will provide signs, readable from across the room indicating section labels to easier locate what you're looking for, as if you were in a book store. Also, clicking on the card catalog (currently disabled) will open a search dialog. You can type in a key word and it will list books that are possible matches, give the summaries for each book, show a map where the book is located and also provide a button to launch the book without having to travel to it.
These are all features that I've already developed in my original program but have been temporarily disabled here as part of the applet development process.
Does this have anything to do with what you were getting at?
Um you may want to read up on William Gibson's works since they explain that technology way way way better than those 90s cyberpunk films ever could. Having used VR during the period where science fiction was crazy about it I know for a fact that Gibson's explanations of 3D Internet Environments were more close than we could have imagined back in the 1980s.I'm suddenly reminded of 90s Hollywood where movies about hacking had 3d interfaces that didn't exist in reality so the viewer could "see" the hacking in progress.
So does this mean DrPaul is going to build the matrix that Gibson spoke of? Not exactly but he's going to come pretty close IMO. I think this needs to happen.
I just added a slightly more practical WebWorld demo to my site. It's a computer game fan site called The Zork Library. The Zork Library is a Zork fan site, sort of like The Unofficial Tex Murphy, but not quite as active as UTM. Anyway, The Zork Library naturally uses a library theme, so what more natural application. I figured, since I already have a library environment, I could build a 3D version of the existing Zork Library site very easily. So I did.
I re-activated the wall boundaries, so it is easier to browse the books, and I gave it darker paneling to give a different mood and wider field of view. I will need to replace the pictures on the walls with some proper Zorkian images and maybe make a more Zorkish background. It only took me about three hours to build it.
Anyway, check it out. You can get to it the same way as the demo that I linked to in post one. I've simply added an additional link on that page to link to The 3D Zork Library.
I re-activated the wall boundaries, so it is easier to browse the books, and I gave it darker paneling to give a different mood and wider field of view. I will need to replace the pictures on the walls with some proper Zorkian images and maybe make a more Zorkish background. It only took me about three hours to build it.
Anyway, check it out. You can get to it the same way as the demo that I linked to in post one. I've simply added an additional link on that page to link to The 3D Zork Library.