DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds

Week 4 Session

6pm – 9pm

Tuesday, August 13th, 2007

Owen Macindoe and Kathryn Merrick

DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, August 2007

Announcements

We’ve had a few more class changes: check the website for group allocations

DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, August 2007

Overview

The FBS framework Gu and Maher’s 4 design phases Issues in Second Life

Homework discussion Work on Task 1

DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, August 2007

Gero’s FBS Framework

A model of design activity

Function What is it for?

Behaviour What does it do?

Structure What is it?

DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, August 2007

FBS in Virtual Worlds

Function drives design Architecture is just a metaphor

S is not visual representations of objects S -> B connections may not map across Behaviours tied to scripting Take world norms into account

But the metaphor is useful

DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, August 2007

Phases of Designing Virtual Architecture

Layout Volumes and

adjacencies

Configuration Object placement

Navigation Circulation and

way-finding

Interaction

DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, August 2007

Building in SL using an imported floor plan

Layout

Intended activities Required space Relative space Spatial adjacency Spatial ordering Vertical layout Teleportation

DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, August 2007

Tower layout from the CRC for construction innovation

Configuration

Spatial boundaries

Affording activities

Functional cues Metaphors Decoration

DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, August 2007

Ning Gu’s virtual classroom

Navigation

Circulation Sight lines Maps and signs

DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, August 2007

_blacklibrary’s guide bot

Teleportation Agents and bots

Interaction

Scripting Permissions Animations Poses Agents and bots

DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, August 2007

Dancing using pose balls in SL

Issues in Second Life

Flight Teleportation Scale Prims Phantom objects Physical objects PermissionsDESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, August 2007

Flight

Allowed or not? Ceiling heights Open interiors Entry points Immersion

versus convenience

Sky boxes

DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, August 2007

Coke’s SL presence is a sky box

Teleportation 1

Pros Smaller world Neat special

effects Hypertext-like

Cons Can be disorienting Inconsistent with

spatial metaphor Skips content

DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, August 2007

eLumenta University teleport HUD

Teleportation 2

SL methods Landmarks Sit-teleporters Landing points Signage

Other worlds Warping Triggers Inter-server

DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, August 2007

Reuters teleport directory

Scale

Distances seem smaller

Teleportation bypasses spaces

Chase cameras need space

Bounding boxes and collisions

DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, August 2007

The Sentient in Second Life

Prims

512m2 = 177 prims

Performance issues

Transparency

DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, August 2007

Side view of a tree made from textures

How to cheat Prim deformations Creative texturing Sculpties

Top view of a tree made from textures

Phantom Objects

Uses Vines, beads,

curtains, gases Secret doors Script triggers Traps

Can disrupt immersion

DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, August 2007

Phantom prims used to simulate water

Physical Objects

Uses Realistic

movement Force transfer Can be rolled,

pushed, knocked Weapons Vehicles

Unpredictable

DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, August 2007

Vehicles use the SL physics engine

Permissions

Land Access Objects and

scripts Pushing Damage

Objects Sharing Move and copy Modify and transfer

DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, August 2007

Permissions control panels in Second Life

Other Issues

Doors Require scripting

Elevators Bump avatars

Water Streaming media

Sound Video

Notecard dispensers Hyperlinks Generative design

Grey goo

DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, August 2007

Ning Gu’s grammar-generated floor plans

Today’s Tutorial

10 minute break now

10 minutes group discussions of the two buildings you found for homework

Choose one site to share with the class Short discussion as a class

Work on Task 1

DESC9180 Designing Virtual Worlds University of Sydney, August 2007