Poetic Dimensions

Virtual Rockheim launches today! Rock’n'roll baby!!

Rodney — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:11:28 +0000

The latest virtual world developed by Parallel World Labs for Rockheim - Virtual Rockheim - launched today, providing a multi-user environment to experience the Rock & Pop of Norway over the past 60 years!

CyberSocial Overload…

Rodney — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 02:04:17 +0000

After several hours of playing around I’ve been trying to link all of my various social media accounts so they stay in sync!

Flickr email posts -> Twitter, Blog posts -> Twitter, etc.

The above are some of the key applications I’m using now - after I explore a little more I’ll update on what I think is working well.

Augmented Reality is really coming!

Rodney — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:04:25 +0000

I remember talking about things like this at the Our Visual Landscape conference in 1999 and noting that our impressions of the landscape are not just visual but informed increasingly by outside information.

The Dutch company SPRXmobile has launched the world’s first Augmented Reality browser platform. Layar, currently runs on Android and combines the data from the cellphone’s compass and GPS coordinates identify position and direction. A “radar view” then applies a visual information layer on top of the camera display as you pan around your environment. Later this year there are plans for an iPhone 3G S version.

Currently, and not surprisingly the issue is appropriately constructed and available content. They are working in the Netherlands and UK but this certainly moves the idea forward in a compelling way!

Today’s Play! Tilt-shift photography!

Rodney — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:22:09 +0000

Tilt shifting is a way of processing a photograph so that it appears to be a model instead of the real thing.

Previously, if you’ve wanted to make a tilt-shift image, you had to play around with blurs and masks or filters in Photoshop. But now there’s a website that lets you produce them almost instantly.

Photos shot looking down at an approximate 45 degree angle are suggested as best to work with.

Isometric Joy

Rodney — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:28:13 +0000

Some examples from work a year ago already (trying to catch up on some postings) of a Flash/Flex (well ActionScript 3) isometric engine for the PWL MMO platform. Not entirely complete but mostly integrated with avatar updates/etc. Just thought I would share a little in case it inspires or intrigues. Runs in a web browser, though the map editor is a standalone Adobe AIR application.

Rising from the Ashes :: Design Collaboration for the Future

Rodney — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 16:21:35 +0000

An article by my long-time colleague Prof. John Danahy of the Centre for Landscape Research, University of Toronto related to work using digital design collaboration tools to help inform, educate, and engage in real collaborative debate around a future waterfront region of the Greater Toronto Area. The tools and imagery are generated using the original design collaboration software - Polytrim - that John and I (amongst several others key people - hi Shannon, hi Steve!) worked on in the late 1980’s and 1990’s. Thanks to Steve’s great work and efforts the program still survives and runs today and is one of the most flexible interactive design collaboration tools out there.

A next-generation of these capabilities (and more of course) is under development as the OrbisRT project I’ve mentioned here several times.

Why Virtual Worlds Can Matter

Rodney — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 14:19:33 +0000

Today’s email contained my regular dose of news from Futurelab, an excellent UK group that is worth checking out around education and technology. As I poked around, I found a link to a very interesting article on the Blog of John Seely Brown, entitled “Why Virtual Worlds Can Matter“. Definately worth a read for those interested in the Parallel World. An excerpt to wet your appetite:

To that end, we believe that these games are, at base, learning environments. The kind of learning, as we explore throughout this paper is radically different from what we traditionally think of as the accumulation of facts or acquisition of knowledge. Virtual worlds require us to think about knowing, rather than knowledge, what Cook and Brown have called “knowledge in action.” The problems players face inside virtual worlds, the things that require players to put knowledge into action, are not simply game design problems. While games like World of Warcraft do present real challenges that need to be solved, much like puzzles, the real challenge that these games present is the problem of collective action and knowledge in action. They involve the experience of acting together to overcome obstacles, managing skills, talents and relationships and they create contexts in which social awareness, reflection and joint coordinated action become an essential part of the game experience.

Gartner research indicating a strong future for Virtual World Commercial Activities

Rodney — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 20:18:07 +0000

In my usual daily hunting around the net, I found a blog posting about a recent set of Gartner reports on vCommerce:

By 2010, 20 percent of global Tier 1 retailers will have a marketing presence in online games and virtual worlds. […] These virtual worlds and video games are emerging as places where consumers can shop and retailers need to be ready to respond to this growing demand.

Both the Gartner research and the general information in the Otherland Group Blog will be of interest to those following the evolution of the Parallel World!

Attrition & WASD Gameworks in the News! Toronto Sun, Dec 12, 2007

Rodney — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 20:09:16 +0000

WASD Gameworks is on the move again. Today’s update includes a brief Toronto Sun article featuring the WASD fearless leader Joe Pirotta, and some amazing concept art releases by Dale Andrew Darling, our lead artist.

Technobabble: Windows Vista and 3d Apps/Games - Nightmare time!

Rodney — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 20:01:38 +0000

I’ve made a point of generally avoiding Windows Vista since it lanched. The hassles of saying YES to everything you click in the attempt to be secure quickly drove me crazy (unlike the Mac which asked you on install, but then lets you be). I’ve kept a machine running Vista for testing purposes but recently decided to move it upstream for some of my 3d needs due to a much better CPU than my main desktop. I upgraded to an Nvidia BFG 8800GT OC2, 512MB and all booted/installed fine. Then the nightmare began…

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