Re: Huh?
At 05:50 PM 2/14/99 -0800, Chris Crawford wrote: I have but one observation to offer. I counted at least 3 references to an ultimate goal of using VRML for storytelling. Yet most of the discussion centers on polygon models, fps, texture, language utility, execution speed and reliability, and of course, 3D. Now, maybe I'm dumb, but I just don't see the connection between these two fields of endeavor. Both are good, honorable, challenging, important, and interesting -- but they don't have anything to do with each other. This seems very much like a "render unto Caesar" problem. VRML appears to be an attempt to get 3D imagery running over the web. That's good. But why attempt to force this poor horse to do something it wasn't designed to do? I would think that, if you wanted to do storytelling you'd worry about things like plot, character, climax, denoument -- that kinda stuff. And if you wanted to do 3D, you'd worry about things like polygons, texture, execution speed -- the kinda things that VRML worries about. Am I out of touch with VRML reality? It's true that if you want to put on a play all you really need is actors and a script. But it's nice to have a richer experience which is why most drama programs include instruction on makeup, costumes, set design and construction, etc. If you're going to tell stories in VR (on the web or otherwise) you have to deal with the infrastructure that you're working with. I believe this list *is* about storytelling, but it's focus is on storytelling using VRML (or other VR) as the medium. So a discussion of the technical aspects is in order, especially since the technical difficulties often get in the way of the storytelling. This reminds me of a joke: Q. What's the difference between photographers and painters? A. Painters don't sit around talking about brushes. Cindy __ | | | Cindy Ballreich | |\ | Technical Director - 3D Visualization | _/ .`-| Computer Associates International, Inc. |, \ .4 |[EMAIL PROTECTED] |\__// `--'\| [EMAIL PROTECTED]|`--' C|__|
Re: Huh?
Sandy Ressler wrote: Bingo! You got that one right...VRML is an output medium, a technology for displaying 3D graphics over the web. Storytelling is a motivation for many people involved with this technology but is quite separate. He :P Have to stick my nose in here for a second (well need something else to think about for a moment:) my 2 euros I don't know Sandy, but I sort of dissagree on that a little bit. IMHO and to me it's the fundamental difference in the defenition of the word "storytelling" that is somewhat confused here. The defenition of storytelling I'm working by now (and which is also the very base on what I work with) is somewhat more information orientated. In simple (abstract) words it would mean that it's the how we present some piece of information to the viewer, ie - The path of which we lay out the data which in its turn is the ground for the information we want to communicate to our viewers (puhh, you can start breathing again now:). To me VRML is that very path. As it seem to me I often have several possible ways to present the information in. The way I choose is pretty much based on How (or the way) I want it to be presented and the way is very much tech-oriented. This is where stuff like polygon counts, fps etc etc comes into play. Ok, I can agree on that we maybe shouldn't adjust the storytelling itself from the type of media, but in real life you don't make money that way I would say (at least not in the business I'm working in). We normaly work with storyboards for our projects. The only difference from the ones Disney (for example) use is that ours show a snapshot of information in a surtain fraction of time state or maybe different views of the same information(?). If you would define the Disney version of story telling I think you would still see very much resemblence. Even thought it's up to others than me to define, my opinion about it is that you could see Disney storyboards like a snapshot of the message (every Disney movie have a message right) in a surtain augenblick. The development of technologies for their own sake is fine for pure engineer science types but the development of technologies driven by other motivations (storytelling, education, e-commerce) is much richer. That is something I agree on. If we remeber what the *real* vision (or at least the thing that join most of us) for VRML is (talking cyberspace) it's not that very far from the thruth ither. That's maybe why we so often seem to mix tech with philosofy in these community, like on this very list?! /Niclas -- niclas olofsson christian doegl virtual real-estate gmbh mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] breite gasse 3, a-1070 vienna http://www.dc.co.at fon: ++43 1 526 29 67 fax: ++43 1 526 29 67 11
