Alchemists - Virtual Reality

3D Web

The internet and its webs make for a perfect host for data content made 'real' in three-dimensional cartesian space and time. The net and its webs is of course hyper linked and interactive, and always in the present tense. It is where we do our works.

Our interests in 3D interactive environments, scenes, worlds, go back to early theater design courses (conducted by Al Razutis & Catharine MacTavish at Banff in the '70s) where film projections were directed towards a 'volume' screen) used in staging. Further work by Al Razutis in Banff, Bellevue WA, Saturna Canada included the creation of UROBOROS in VRML 2.0 and other interactive in 2D or 3D "worlds" with 2D & 3D motion pictures as textural mappings. Legacy narrowband VR creations include of VRML movie-mapped worlds ('virtual drive-bys')

Our focus has been on art experimentation and integration of motion-picture multi media in interactive virtual spaces (anything, including the web) awaiting a networked 3D virtual reality. Technology and novelty is not our game. Creation of new spaces for the imagination is.

Avatar Mall from the 90's: VR as Shopping, Play, and Movies

How the VR Worlds Started on their Journey of Being Real

'Virtual Reality' refers to the creations of 3D interactive environments, scenes, worlds, and as presented on the web or other networks. These are 'worlds in progress', they can be abstract and fluid or architectural and solid, and their rules are made up by consortiums of software engineers and visionary designers. The goal is the construction of synthetic and three-dimensional environments that are experienced 'with others' on the world wide web. The successful (commercial) tactic sees these worlds populated with movement and recognizable characters and shapes that form 'interactive playthings' for the netizen users. It's the colonization of 'virtual reality' that is taking place and this colonization can be performed by anyone and everyone, artists included.

In our terminology, 'reality' is an imagined adventure, that is created as a interactive 'virtual image' (in the computer or video screen) of a 'world scene'. The 'adventure' of creating 'virtual worlds' is related to the other adventures of 'virtual reality': holographic imaging and stereoscopic 3D video. The fundamental difference between computer virtual reality and holographic or stereoscopic 3D video is the difference between 'interactive' and 'passive' viewing experiences. It is clear that there are numerous intersections among these various disciplines, intersections that produce interesting and new forms and hybrids.

( XAl Razutis )

2001 - 2009: 'Talking and walking with the Avatars'

Speech-interactive human characters

'Avatar Mall' - Legacy VRML 2 demo page.

'Speech Interactive avatars' demo page

Speech-interaction graphical interfaces (you are talking, not typing or employing pointers) are inevitable for game and other applications like web browsing, chat, entertainment, security, remote control, medicine, e-learning.

Issuing voice commands is more 'human interactive' than punching hotkeys to generate actions.

1997 - 2004 Archives: 'From Legacy Worlds to Multi-media 3D Web'

The VRML Legacy

Although we are still romancing Neuromancer, 'Virtual Reality on the Web' has undergone major shape shifts since it's inception (as VRML (1.0) ) in the 90's. VRML was designed for the web to allow real-time 3D interactive virtual worlds featuring low-poly low bandwidth rendering in a HTML environment.

Legacy VRML 2.0/VRML97 world samples (with animation) are also below.

VRML (node structure) has evolved/mutated to X3D and much of it is incorporated into the MPEG-4 standard. VRML browsers have evolved (see the flavors in the menu information page), and new X3D browsers greatly expand on the earlier VRML 97 standards with extended media and texture/lighting capabilities. The VR field is as wide as open source and proprietary standards allow. Open-source (SGI, now CA) Cosmo VRML browsers are still in use (12% web users, by last year's count, compared with 40% for standalone Netscape browsers). Current 3D web offerings includes game engines (Quake, Aurora, freeware Nebula, etc.) which feature faster animation, better lighting, ray tracing, and better multi-user support for 3D environments. All software mutates, recombines, splits apart, and VR will continue to evolve into future forms, including stereoscopic 3D browsing and 3D gaming.
( XAl Razutis )

'Numbers are beautitul' ^ 'Immersive Designs' Immersive 3D VR Cave presentations have become more sophisticated and common place, including in art exhibitions. For avatar creations, facial animation is now real-time from simple video input with 3DS and Maya via plug-ins like FaceStation (Eyematic - Vidiator). Video clips of VRML worlds and Legacy VRML For those without Java or VRML client software: with Avatar Struts and Movie Screens VRML movie-map scenes - .WMV Video clip 1.8 MB Win Media Video - Broadband recommended 'Place of the First Time' VRML 2.0 World in video clip - YOU TUBE video VIRTUAL REALITY VRML CHECK OUT 'QUASIMODO'S POEM' - VRML 2.0 Full screen VRML poem 'concrete' SAMPLE LEGACY VRML 2.0 WORLDS Click images to launch VRML 2.0 worlds - VRML PLAYER REQUIRED - allow worlds to LOAD before navigating. 'Jane Fontana - Virtual Stage' MPEG-1 MOVIE-MAP WORLD 'Place of the First Time' FLY-IN NAVIGATION 'Fieldsquare World' MOVIE-MAP TEXTURES 'Venetian Scene' ANIMATED AVATAR SCENE 'Office Models Strut' ANIMATED AVATAR SCENES 'UROBOROS Master World' MULTIPLE INLINE WORLDS Site Home Page - HTML 3D WORLDS authored in COSMO, 3DS - MAX, or other programs are convertible to most (SHOUT3D, CULT3D, ATMOSPHERE) players and are presented here in VRML 2.0 in low-bandwidth web mode. For 3D Consulting - Virtual Worlds Design E-Mail: alrazutis@ymail.com Resume - Demo Web Visuals FLASH required [ 'ALCHEMISTS' HOME ] VRML Worlds - Copyright 1996-2016 Al Razutis (XAR) - all rights reserved TOP OF PAGE