Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 6.21
Screen grab showing the timeline with arrow and pushpin focal points added as well as “Post-it” notes
on the back wall.
visited. These were created in SketchUp from simple geographical outlines. Along the timeline, ind some
times or locations that you would like to “landmark.” Graphic directionals like the arrows and push pins
(also available in the mesh model content) will encourage the visitor to stop at various locations and learn
more about your personal history. You may also want to add some “Post-it” notes or written signage, which
are made with simple prims and texture iles, on your timeline.
The forms and objects you choose could be based on your infographic in Visualize.me or on some theme
completely designed by you. Something to experiment with is making a basic element or two in an external
modeler like SketchUp, Blender, or 3DSMax and seeing how this imports into your build. This array of
forms and graphics is all about
you
, so express yourself. If you are a pilot, bring in a plane model; if you are
a swimmer, make a moving water texture. Whatever you do, “own this build.”
To inspire you further, the next section of this chapter has images and discusses some art/database projects
that were created in Second Life and OpenSim. You will see that there are few limits on this kind of design.
6.10
ART AND DATA VISUALIZATION IN A VIRTUAL WORLD
There are two systems that have to work in concert for data-inluenced art and data visualizations in a virtual
world. One is the external server where the data are stored in a database, and the other is the internal server
that holds the virtual world system. As Ben Lindquist said: “To put it in the simplest terms possible, virtual
world data visualization is a mapping of data dimensions—a column in a spreadsheet, for example—to
virtual world dimensions such as color, height, or distance along an axis” (from email conversation, 2012).
In Figure 6.22 (top section) are images from three works created in 2010 on the Beach Ride region of
Second Life for a Sculpture Park sponsored by Alchemy Sims. Layton Destiny created “Ancient Sun and
a Fresh Kansas Breeze,” a windmill that responded to the winds of Second Life. Arrehn Oberlander built
