Hot Worlds in the Passport Universe
Official Web sites from Black Sun
The Black Sun home page is at http://www.blacksun.com/.
The Avatar Gallery is at http://ww3.blacksun.com/cool/gallery/index.html.
Companies and individuals who are building
worlds can be found at http://ww3.blacksun.com/cool/builders/index.html.
The Worlds Travel Guide is at http://ww3.blacksun.com/cool/guide/index.html.
Worlds built by the community of Black Sun users
Some of these worlds can be visited with the old CyberGate program
from Black Sun (which is called CyberGate and runs independently
of Netscape). CyberGate is an impressive application, and
if you are having trouble with Passport, I recommend that you
try CyberGate (download it from the Black Sun Web site. The new
program (called Passport) can be used to visit all the worlds.
Pool World
Gerry (a.k.a. Prince Charming) invites us all in to take a dip
in his virtual swimming pool, complete with fish and shells decorating
the outside. Dive in! You can actually submerge yourself in the
water, but watch out for the shark! If you get too tired from
doing flips off the diving board, take a snooze under the palm
trees, or order a drink from the bartender. No tipping, please.
Passport client users can open Pool World
by pointing to: http://www.simberon.com/vrml/pool/poolwrl.htm.
CyberGate users can enter this URL: http://www.simberon.com/vrml/pool/pool.wrl.
Beach World
Figure 11.26 ch5ea.jpg
Simberonís
Beach World.
At Beach World, life truly is a day at the beach. In this exciting
world, you can let loose under Black Sun skies, climb the lighthouse,
or just relax in a beach chair and listen to the soothing sound
of waves splashing upon the shore. Want to save this moment? No
problem, Beach World has a resident photographer that will take
your picture for you! This one's not to be missed .
Passport client users can access Beach World at http://www.simberon.com/vrml/beach/beachwrl.htm.
CyberGate users can enter this URL: http://www.simberon.com/vrml/beach/beachwrl.htm.
The Castle
Full of wonder and magic, you never know what you'll find in the
Castle. Speak with the Spider King; be dazzled by the Master of
Colors. Join the magic banquet, and revel in the chaotic festivities.
But don't get lost in the maze!
Passport client users can access the Castle at http://www.blacksun.com/vrml/castle/entrywrl.htm.
CyberGate users can enter this URL: http://www.blacksun.com/vrml/castle/entry.wrl.
Flames
Feeling hot, hot, hot? This fiery environment will definitely
warm you up. Run among the volcanoes or dance around the animated
flaming spritesóthis place is the location for venting
some anger or toasting your marshmallows on a cold winters eve…you
may want to visit Pool World after a stint in Flames!
Passport client users can access Flames at http://www.ccore.com/flames/flames2wrl.html.
CyberGate users enter this URL: http://www.ccore.com/flames/flames2.wrl.
Gotham City
Discover the darkened streets of Gotham, but keep an eye out for the Caped Crusader! Fly through skyscrapers, or prowl through murky back alleysóbut be aware, Gotham is a city full of mystery and danger…always keep an eye out for the Bat Signal, you never know when Batman may appear, or when you may need his help.
Passport clients can access Gotham City athttp://www.ccore.com/city/gothamwrl.html.
CyberGate users enter this URL: http://www.ccore.com/city/gotham.wrl.
Mayan World
Explore ancient Mayan ruins and climb the temple steps of the
Sun God, but be careful…the ancient ones are always watching!
Once you have visited the towering pillars and stone monoliths
of Mayan World, you will see why this is one of the favorite meeting
places under the Black Sun.
Passport client users can access Mayan World at http://www.ccore.com/mayan/mayan2wrl.html.
CyberGate users enter this URL: http://www.ccore.com/mayan/mayan2.wrl.
Winter Wonderland
Come play in the snow in this fantastic Winter Wonderland. Watch
the snow fall, the North Pole spin, and hear a holiday angel sing
carols and greetings. You can also select one of the custom penguin
avatars and instantly join the flock of fluttering winter birds!
For a surprising treat, take a couple of steps back to see where
you're really at.
Passport client users can enter Winter Wonderland athttp://www.simberon.com/vrml/winter/winterwrl.htm.
Companies building Black Sun and other virtual worlds
Barnegat
Communications is an Internet service
company specializing in providing a Web presence for small- to
medium-sized companies. It offers high-quality page design, site
hosting, virtual domains, search engines, and more to create rich
VRML worlds.
CGI Inc.
combines its expertise in 3D graphics, animation, and modeling
to create rich VRML worlds and Web site design. It offers a wide
range of design formats including HTML, Java, and VRML, created
with the latest tools.
Cybercore Design
specializes in creating virtual worlds tailor-made to suit your
every need. Their first priority is to give you high impact scenes
with minimal file sizes for quick downloads.
Cybertown
is a futuristic off-world town with entertainment, information,
community, and interactivity. Cybertown's design division also
creates sophisticated VR worlds for other companies.
IntelLink
Inc. combines decades of expertise in
3D graphics, animation, programming skills, and (most
importantly) marketing savvy to create exciting interactive
VRML worlds and dynamic Web sites. Its wide range of design talents
include VRML, HTML, Java, and CGI (PERL and C)ócreated
with the latest tools. IntelLinkís creativity was the driving
force behind the creation of Passport clientís launch contestóCyberRoute
96.
Lost Wax Media
Limited is a VRML research, design, and
production company based in London. It specializes in designing
and building multi-user virtual worlds for corporate and financial
sector clients. Please e-mail lostwax@pobox.com
for further details.
Market
Central Steel Studio is now creating
commercial virtual worlds for progressive Internet sites. It is
continually releasing new models with enhanced features, so stay
tuned.
Planet 9 Studios
builds virtual worlds on the Internet for business and entertainment
purposes for clients such as Apple, Intel, and Microsoft. It built
the first VRML world, called Virtual SOMA (representing the South
of Market district of San Francisco).
Ross
Finlayson offers services in many areas
of computer systems, including integration of legacy applications,
and cutting-edge applets. Its development experience, combined
with the latest in 3D design, offers rich and exciting VRML worlds.
Simberon
designs, creates, and hosts interactive 3D worlds, along with
custom avatars and bots to enhance the interactivity of these
worlds. Simberon also develops custom worlds, avatars, and bots
for commercial clients.
Superbusiness
NET develops successful Internet business
Web sites for entertainment, high technology, and retail companies,
with an emphasis on interactive multimedia sites, Shockwave, and
VRML design. SuperBusiness NET also
develops high-end database solutions for Intranet and commerce
applications.
3Name3D
offers full-service development capabilities for the game, film,
broadcast, and Internet industries. 3Name3D specializes in 3D
visualization of environments and characters, such as sports stadiums,
dinosaurs, and VRML avatars.
3RD Dimension
Technologies develops and provides 3D
photo textured computer models. This company has hundreds of realistic
looking models for use in your 3D worlds. They also do custom
modeling to meet your needs, and can make your face into a 3D
avatar.
Virtual
Horizons offers multimedia communications
and 3D visualization, with special emphasis on VRML for corporate
and business uses.
Some Individual Userís Sites and Worlds
David Maloneyís (Guy) site athttp://www.execpc.com/~dmaloney/wrls.html,
has dozens of avatars and worlds built in VRML and running in
Passport.
Pam Miller's (Imagica) Flamingo World and other worlds she has
made are at http://www.bluenet.net/after5/flamingo/flamingowrl.html.
Find the Flamingo City Times at http://www.bluenet.net/after5/fct.htm.
A great place for information about world building can be found
at Gerry Paquetteís (Prince Charming) Inner Sanctum at
http://www2.magmacom.com/~gerryp/howtowrl.html,
and Gerryís information on avatar creation is at http://www2.magmacom.com/~gerryp/howtoav.html.
Digiís Diary: Why Virtual Worlds are
not Virtual Reality on the Internet
Sometimes I hear people referring to virtual worlds as ìvirtual
reality,î and I feel duty bound to say ìnot!î
There are several reasons why. I can go on and on about how virtual
worlds are a new form of human contact, and not an artificial
reality, but as real as talking on the telephone. But the best
way to explain the difference is to tell a story.
Almost 100 years ago, Thomas Edison was perfecting his film cameras
and manufacturing a box that came to be called a Nickelodeon.
The Nickelodeon was set up at fairs or popular street corners,
and for a nickel, people could step up to it, bend over, and peer
in to witness a short film loop. These machines created a sensation
for awhile, and were making Edison and others the first returns
from their enormous investment in developing the movie camera
and film. With the Nickelodeon, you got an immersive, private
experience of a short, flickering film. Quite a dazzling experience
for the turn of the century, but it left some dizzy. Moreover,
women did not like the idea of men being freely able to stare
at them while they were bent over the box.
One day, the key engineer who had built Edisonís film camera
(and who has received virtually no credit), came into the great
inventorís office and proposed that he could build a projector
that would place the image on a large white screen. He went on
to say that they could rent a theater or music hall and charge
admission, and audiences could share the experience in large numbers.
Edison was furious, and threw his engineer out of his office,
claiming that such a move would undercut sales of their Nickelodeon
machines, and was also ludicrous.
That engineer eventually left the Edison laboratories, formed
his own company, built the projector, and opened one of the first
cinemas. At the same time, the Lumiere brothers in France were
creating wildly popular cinema experiences.
In the early 1990s, a new kind of Nickelodeon was invented, called
the immersive virtual reality (VR) system. Most of us have seen
itóthe head-mounted display and data glove. Many of you
have probably tried it, as there are a few of these systems at
arcades, cybercafes, or even some home units. I have stepped into
VR systems of all types although most of them made me very queasy
or even nauseous. It is not an experience I have rushed back to.
My girlfriend at the time had even tried it, and she will not
let anyone show the pictures I took of her while she was wearing
all of that gear.
Meanwhile, by early 1995, after years of hearing about VR as the
next big thing, quietly onto the Net emerged the medium of virtual
worlds. Instead of a solitary experience requiring special equipment,
virtual worlds allowed thousands of people viewing a shared virtual
world on their common computer screens to be immersed in a common
story. Like watching a good film, or reading a book, you can immerse
yourself in a social avatar setting, and really feel as if you
are inside the story. Virtual worlds step beyond cinema in that
the story unfolding on the screen is written, directed, and acted
by the citizens in that world. Players in the virtual world can
even design the stage sets and props (as in Passport, AlphaWorld,
or the Palace).
Oh thank goodness! Maybe it is just Digiís own personal
preferences showing here, but I am so relieved that the future
may not bring us hundreds of thousands of people walking around
wearing funny goggles, totally isolated from the people around
them. Hey, with walkmans, cars, and our dangerous and unfriendly
cities, we are already isolated enough! Just imagine if the only
way to play in virtual worlds was with all that strange gear:
the Kindrick baby Mark (who you met in Chapter 9, ìOnLive!
Travelerî) would never have been able to get up out of his
crib and get into the OnLive! Traveler world all by himself. When
we all have wall-sized computer/TV/communicator screens, after
the turn of the century, virtual worlds will really seem like
places we can step into! Perhaps those old VR head mounted displays
will turn out to be useful for some high-powered training or entertainment,
but I expect that we will see many of them find their final homes
in museum display cases.