overview :: download :: explanation :: future
::overview
Concrete World is a realtime VRML (virtual reality modeling language) environment. You control a virtual person (avatar) who can walk, examine, rotate, pan, fly and slide around this world. Depending on where you go and who you find, different sounds will be added or taken from your world. This is a computer music piece that you control.
Concrete World was created in Spazz3d and uses sounds created in Peak, Digital Performer and MAX/MSP. It is based on and influenced by Joran Rudi's Concrete Net. Concrete World is a final cumulative project for MUSI435 and MUSI439, taught by Matthew Burtner at the University of Virginia.
::viewing concrete world
Windows Users: Click here to download Blaxxun Contact, a plug-in required to view VRML worlds (.wrl files). Once you have successfully installed Contact, click here to enter Concrete World! If you're having problems, check out Blaxxun Support. The speed of the program depends on your computer's available disk space (try re-sizing your browser to a smaller window for faster navigation). The version you'll be playing is a streamlined world with sound effects over a basic drum beat. The actual version (as performed at UVA's Digitalis concert on April 29, 2002) used large sounds and voices in 16-bit wav files, much too large to play well over an internet connection.
Macintosh Users: Although there are several Macintosh VRML browsers in development, they aren't perfect and currently none support sound nodes. Check out macweb3d.org for more info about Mac VRML.
::getting around
When you first enter Concrete World, you'll be in a first person-perspective. This is perfectly fine but you'll probably find it easier to walk around if you view your avatar (the little blue guy in the above pictures). You can pick this option by right-clicking the screen and selecting "View My Avatar" from the menu.
You can either use the mouse or keyboard to control your avatar; mouse users left-click and drag, keyboard users hit the arrow keys. For more advanced and fun controls such as flying and running, check out the Blaxxun Manual.
Anywhere you see a blue transparent box indicates a sound region. If you enter any part of this box, a sound will play. There is one main background melody that loops infinitely (if you walk through the first box, which you can also choose to avoid). Other sounds will mix together and will grow quieter or louder depending on how close you are to their source. In total, there are ten sounds, including three "hidden sounds" that you can only get by clicking on certain objects. The first one is found by clicking the yellow bird on top of the big tree...it's up to you to find the other two. One last fun thing: by choosing the "bird" or "frog" viewpoints from the right-click menu, you'll follow the paths that they travel, setting off various sound files along the way.
::what's next
As VRML continues development and sound files become compressed into smaller sizes, bigger and more complex worlds will be possible. VRML can also make multi-user environments (as seen in Cybertown), so actually several people could enter a world at the same time and set off different sounds together. An ideal environment would let users upload their own sound files to share with others and implement in the virtual sound world. Check out web3d.org for more VRML info.
Please send any comments or questions to dave@okaysamurai.com. Thanks for visiting!
Copyright 2001 Dave Werner. Other sites: okaysamurai.com :: secondnature.web.com