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Return-Path: [email protected]
Date: Thu, 10 Nov 94 11:03:12 +0100
From: [email protected] (Jasminko Novak)
Message-Id: <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Virtual Environment Servers and VRML
Hi all,
Just a quick response.....Darn, I really oughta find some time to sit down and
finaly put some things on "paper" and post it to this list...well, soon enough
;-)
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I have been thinking about creating a protocol for interacting with a
Virtual
Environment Server. Virtual Environment Servers (or VES) is just a term
which some of the new generation of 'advanced' muds prefer to be known
by (new
generation of mud being those such as MOO which are used for more than
just
games).
The goals of the protocol would be to use a dynamic (i.e. non static
text)
interactive environment, but to also have each scene/room described in
VRML
(Even though VRML is non-interactive this can be very useful in giving
people
the ability to visualize a location, and the static scene can change as
various objects and people are introduced or removed from it). To be
able
to distinguish the difference between various 'pipes' on the connection,
and
to be something which could become an addition to currently existing
MUDs
and VESs without large driver overhauls.
If anybody is interested in defining such a protocol contact me. If
there
is enough response I will create a list on the whole topic. Whatever
the
result I will be doing at least the server end of such a protocol at a
Server I am writing.
-Brandon Gillespie-
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A (significant) part of the project that I'm working on is exactly what Brandon
is thinking about. Initially the idea was to combine a MOO with 3D visualization
and a GUI (instead of typing commands like in the present MO/U*s). When this
VRML thingie popped up I adopted it for the 3D stuff description "protocol".
"All" current internet services should be accessible from within that
environment thus eliminating the need for the user to be familiar with all the
clients necessary to actually access those services.
Of course, Mosaic already does that for a wide variety of protocols and http is
a great thing. I thought of trying another step forward in terms of providing an
environment which would (in terms of "navigation") as much as possible resemble
the "Real World" thus making the process of actually getting the desired
information as natural (for the layman-user) as possible.
To iluustrate: say I want my favourite book from a NYC library, what I'd do is
"go" to NYC, "walk" into the library, "look aorund" (or "ask" an assistant for
that matter) and "take" a book.
Now, what these "go", "walk", "look", "ask" etc. mean in terms of this
environment i.e. how exactly is the user going to express his intentions to do
so is another story (one of these days I'll hopefuly present some of the ideas I
came up with so you have a chance to comment on those).
Ok, I said it was gonna be a quicky one :) more coming up soon.
Till then, thanks all of you who've been posting and keeping us 'lurkers' (;-))
happy, I found the discussions quite enlightening.
Jasminko Novak (Jas)
Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
University of Zagreb
CROATIA
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