I. CONTEXT: EVOLUTION OF THE TOOLS.
1. Digital Illusion, Virtual Reality, and Cinema. Introduction.
History.
The ImmersaDesk (IDESK).
Cinema.
Biography.
2. The Construction of Experience: Interface as Content. Introduction.
Interfaces Are Content.
The Tricks of the Trade.
Virtual Spill.
Conceptual Spill.
The Experience of Being.
Human Interfaces as Belief Systems.
Beyond Literal Simulation.
Designing the Experience of Being.
Haven for Safe Interaction.
Theoretical Claustrophobia.
The Power of Randomness.
Summary.
Biography.
3. The Past Was No Illusion. Are We Really at the Front of the Line?
Getting There: Unbounded Immersion.
The World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago: New Edges of Imagination.
The Paris Fair of 1900: Changing Context, Rising Expectations.
It's No Fair.
Tickets, Please.
Bibliography.
Biography.
II. INFRASTRUCTURE: ALL THOSE LINES OF CODE.
4. Graphics Internetworking: Bottlenecks and Breakthroughs. Introduction.
Connectivity.
Content and the World Wide Web.
Virtual Environments.
Economics.
Applications.
Personal Impacts.
Projections.
Summary.
References.
Acknowledgments.
Biography.
5. Creation and Use of Synthetic Environments in Realtime Networked Interactive Simulation. Introduction.
What Constitutes a Synthetic Environment?
Applications Using Synthetic Environments.
Constraints on Making Databases.
Steps in Making a Synthetic Environment Database.
Trade-Offs.
Effects of Networking.
Interoperability and Interchange.
Tools.
Summary.
Biography.
6. Networked Synthetic Environments: From DARPA to Your Virtual Neighborhood. Introduction.
History of Networked Virtual Reality in the Military.
Breakthrough Novelties of Distributed Simulation Technology.
DIS in the Private Sector.
Future Developments.
Summary.
Biography.
7. VRML: Low-Tech Illusion for the World Wide Web. Introduction.
3D Plus Hyperlinks.
Building a Standard.
Early Applications.
The Birth of the VRML Industry.
VRML 2.0.
Current Applications.
The State of VRML.
Biography.
8. You Are Hear: Positional 3D Audio. Introduction.
Sounds in the Real World.
Binaural Audio.
Summary.
Biographies.
III. CONTENT DESIGN: PUTTING IN THE MAGIC.
9. Real Interactivity in Interactive Entertainment. Introduction.
Interactivity.
Degrees of Freedom.
Storytelling.
Achieving Interactivity with Today's Technology.
Clever Algorithms.
Real People.
Summary.
Biography.
10. Avatars and Agents, or Life Among the Indigenous Peoples of Cyberspace. Introduction.
The Mind-Body Problem-Procedural Animation and Behavioral Scripting.
No! Go that way!-Navigating Virtual Worlds.
The Indigenous Peoples of Cyberspace-Autonomy for Autonomous Agents.
I feel like a number.-Personality Definition for Agents and Avatars.
What to do, What to do . . .-Decision Making in Autonomous Agents.
The Tail That Wags the Dog-Inverse Causality in Animation.
Lights, cameras, action!-Behind the Scenes on the Virtual Soundstage.
To be or not to be . . .-The Possibilities for Interactive Drama on the Virtual Stage.
Reality Bytes-At Home on the Mean Streets of the Metaverse.
Summary.
Biography.
11. PLACEHOLDER: Landscape and Narrative in Virtual Environments. Virtual Reality as Entertainment.
About PLACEHOLDER.
A Note on Authorship.
Capturing the Sense of a Place.
Narrative and Interaction in PLACEHOLDER.
Technology and the Senses in PLACEHOLDER.
Bibliography.
Biographies.
12. Beyond Shoot Your Friends: A Call to Arms in the Battle Against Violence. Violence in Games: The Dirty Family Secret.
Why Are Video Games So Violent?
A History of Recreational Violence.
A Brief History of Computer Games.
Virtual Violence.
The Military Entertainment Complex.
Now That We've Surveyed the Past, Let's Return to the Future.
References.
Acknowledgments.
Biography.
13. Applying Game Design to Virtual Environments. Introduction.
Game Design Principles.
Problems Inherent in 3D Environments.
Summary.
Biography.
14. Live: What a Concept! . . . Networked Games. Introduction.
Dropout.
Dropout Compensation.
Timing.
Dramatics.
Nazis and Dorks.
Group Size.
Free Text Versus Regulated Inputs?
Egalitarianism.
Biography.
15. Entertainment-Driven Collaboration. Introduction.
Parts of Speech.
Where's the E?
What Do People Want?
The Collaboration-Learning Opportunity.
Collaboration Support Components.
Summary.
References.
Acknowledgment.
Biography.
IV. HARDWARE: BEYOND SHADOW PUPPETS.
16. Personal Image Generators. Introduction.
Configurations.
Image Generation Requirements.
Physical Design Constraints.
Architectures.
Applications and Progress.
References.
Biography.
17. Designing and Developing for Head-Mounted Displays. Introduction.
Enabling Technologies of Virtual Reality.
HMD Psychophysics.
Stereoscopic Versus Monoscopic Designs.
GUI for HMD-Based Games.
3D Audio.
Consumer-Grade Head-Mounted Displays.
Summary.
Biographies.
18. The Haptic Illusion. Introduction.
Types of Haptic Feedback Devices.
Applications.
Haptic Software.
Haptic Hardware.
The Future of Haptic Feedback.
To Probe Further.
References.
Acknowledgments.
Biographies.
19. First Person, Multiple: Images, Video, and the New Realities. Introduction.
The Next Generation Has Begun.
How Will You Be Morphed to Your Avatar?
Deeper into Technology-Past, Present, and Future.
Your CPU (by Itself) Won't Soon Render Your Personalized VR.
Real Soon Now.
Further in the Future.
Biography.
20. If VR Is So Great, Why Are VR Entertainment Systems So Poor? Introduction.
Complex Systems.
Many Specialties.
Limitations in Technology.
Summary.
Biography.
21. Interactivity and Individual Viewpoint in Shared Virtual Worlds: The Big Screen Versus Networked Personal Displays.
Introduction.
Interactivity Using a Display Shared by Many People.
The Nature of Interactivity.
The Problem with Interactivity on the Big Screen.
Networked Personal Displays.
Economic Factors.
Reproduction of Experience.
The Sensorama.
Summary.
References.
Biography.
22. Beginnings: Sensorama and the Telesphere Mask. Introduction.
Cinema of the Future.
Summary.
Biography.
V. SERIOUS FUN.
23. Disney's Aladdin: First Steps Toward Storytelling in Virtual Reality. Abstract.
Introduction.
System Description.
Guest Selection.
Novices' Experiences.
Telling Stories in VR.
Research Challenges.
Conclusions.
References.
Acknowledgments.
Biographies.
24. Adrenaline by Design. Introduction.
History.
Designing an Attraction.
Theme Parks Today.
Digital Extrapolations of the Parks.
Summary.
Biography.
25. Beyond Fear and Exhilaration: Hopes and Dreams for Specialty Venue. Entertainment.
Introduction.
Immersion Theaters.
Simulation Films: More Than a Gag?
Our Immediate Future: Business as Usual.
New Forms for New Consumers.
The Hybrid Future: Form and Content.
Biography.
26. Seafari: An Expedition into Motion Base Ride Filmmaking. Introduction.
The I Word.
Definition.
An Historical Aside.
The Process.
Where Is This Going?
Biography.
27. McKenna on Digital Production. Introduction.
The Process.
Some Solutions.
Some Harsh Reality.
Summary.
Biography.
28. Seamlessness. Introduction.
Multiplicity's House of Mirrors.
High Technopia: A New Film Species.
Rendering: Batman Returns with Penguins.
In Space, There's No One to Provide Fill Light.
Flexibility on the Set.
Audiences, Nuance, and Pixels.
Kicking the Soda Machine.
Biography.
29. Theme Parks: Laboratories for Digital Entertainment. Introduction.
Reaching the Audience.
How Can We Inspire the Industry to Experiment?
Experimentation as Entertainment.
The Future: Vision Versus Illusion.
Inventing the Future.
Operation Entertainment: Inspiring an Industry to Experiment.
Toy Scouts: Innovation in Fun.
Technological Playground of Ideas and Dreams.
The Arena of Play: The Importance of Location.
Capacity.
The Cultural Phenomenon of the Sports Arena.
Off the Beaten Track.
Biography.
VI. TRENDS IN THE BUSINESS OF ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY.
30. Coin-Op: The Life (Arcade Videogames). Introduction.
Why the Coin-Op Arcade?
How the Industry Works.
...Meanwhile, Back at the Manufacturer.
The Locations (and Their Customers).
Where Those Boxes Came From.
Content = The Game.
History of Content Creation.
Rules of Game Design: Pierce's Top Eleven Gameplay Attributes.
The Seven Genres.
What the Future Holds for Coin-Ops.
Summary.
Biography.
31. The Stories We Played: Building BattleTech and Virtual World. Dungeons, Dragons, and Microcomputers.
Stimulating Simulation.
Do-It-Yourself.
Real-World Prototyping.
Building BattleTech.
On to Virtual World.
Tesla and MUNGA.
Learning Ergonomics (and Other Greek Words).
The More Things Change.
Biography.
32. The Virtual Squadrons of Fightertown. Introduction.
Financing with Sticks and Throttles.
Refining the Concept and Making the Numbers Work.
Where's the Audience?
Lots of Wannabes; Few Pilots.
Who's the Audience?
Planning for Obsolescence.
Show Business.
Summary.
Biography.
33. Supercharging the Cultural Engine: Advanced Media at Heritage and Educational Attractions.
Introduction.
The Museum as Attraction Model.
The Audience: Improvement and Infotainment.
The Museum as Cultural Engine.
The Promise of the Future: Converging Engines.
The Risks of Disassembling the Cultural Engine.
References.
Biography.
34. Virtual Communities: Real or Virtual? Introduction.
Quality, Sensibility, and Richness.
The Gates.
Illustrations Approaching Market Reality.
Biography.
35. Surreal Estate Development: Secrets of the Synthetic World Builders. Introduction.
Historical Background.
New Opportunities.
Technology Developments.
The Skills.
Realtime Content Production.
Team Breakdown.
The Application.
Summary.
Biography.
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