Creating and Using Virtual Reality: A Guide for the Arts and Humanities

by Fernie, Kate; Richards, Julian D.; Austin, Tony (CON); Beach, Rachael (CON); Bergstrom, Aaron (CON); Exon, Sally (CON)

• ISBN13: 9781842170403
• ISBN10: 1842170406
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-02-01
• Publisher: David Brown Book Co

Summary

This Guide to Good Practice is intended for individuals and organizations who are interested in potential ways to use virtual reality within the arts and humanities. It concentrates on the most widely used form of virtual reality today, desk-top virtual reality, which may be distributed and viewed on-line via the World Wide Web.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	ix
Overview and Objectives	1	(4)
Who is this Guide for?	1	(1)
Introducing virtual reality	1	(1)
How to use this Guide	2	(1)
Other Guides in the series	3	(2)
Virtual Reality: History, Philosophy and Theory	5	(8)
What is virtual reality?	5	(1)
Origins of virtual reality	5	(1)
Flexibility and interaction	6	(2)
Applications	8	(1)
Virtual reality formats	9	(1)
Theoretical considerations for the development of virtual reality projects	10	(3)
Virtual Reality Methods and Techniques	13	(18)
Introduction	13	(1)
Good practices for creating virtual reality	13	(1)
User requirements	14	(2)
Building the world	16	(3)
Hardware, testing and maintenance	19	(1)
Bubble worlds	20	(3)
Virtual Reality Modeling Language	23	(2)
X3D	25	(1)
Java and Java3D	26	(3)
Other environments	29	(2)
Collaborative Virtual Environments	31	(6)
CVE technology; how does it work?	31	(1)
User representation	32	(1)
Interaction and communication	33	(1)
Systems overview	34	(1)
Active Worlds	34	(1)
Blaxxun	35	(2)
Documenting Data from a Virtual Reality Project	37	(8)
Planning for the creation of digital data	37	(1)
Project documentation	38	(1)
Documenting the audience	39	(1)
Documenting methods and techniques	40	(2)
Documenting the delivery platform	42	(1)
Reporting project outcomes	43	(1)
Description of archive	43	(2)
Archiving Virtual Reality Projects	45	(9)
Introduction to archiving virtual reality projects	45	(1)
Digital archiving strategies	46	(3)
Archiving particular virtual reality formats	49	(1)
Guidelines for depositing digital archives	50	(1)
Depositing virtual reality with the Arts & Humanities Data Service	51	(3)
Resource Discovery	54	(4)
Access and use	54	(1)
Metadata and virtual reality projects	54	(4)
APPENDIX 1: AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES	58	(2)
APPENDIX 2: DOCUMENTATION CHECKLIST	60	(5)
APPENDIX 3: INFORMATION STANDARDS	65	(2)
GLOSSARY	67	(9)
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND WEB REFERENCES	76	(4)
THE VIRTUAL REALITY CASE STUDY LIBRARY	80	(2)
How to locate browsers and plug-ins	80	(1)
Netiquette in Collaborative Virtual Environments	80	(2)
CASE STUDY 1: BRANCUSI'S MADEMOISELLE POGANY AT THE PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART ANTHONY MCCALL, NARRATIVE ROOMS	82	(3)
CASE STUDY 2: EXORCISING THE FLESH KATE ALLEN	85	(4)
CASE STUDY 3: VIRTUAL SALTBURN BY THE SEA: CREATIVE CONTENT DESIGN FOR VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS CLIVE FENCOTT, UNIVERSITY OF TEESIDE	89	(13)
CASE STUDY 4: LEARNING SITES	102	(3)
Northwest Palace of Ashur-nasir-pal II	102	(1)
Ancient Greece: Town and Country	103	(2)
CASE STUDY 5: VIRTUAL WROXETER: ROMAN FORTRESS SALLY EXON, UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM	105	(2)
CASE STUDY 6: QUEST FOR CANTURBURY'S LOST ROMAN TEMPLE AND METADATA CASE STUDY NICK RYAN, UNIVERSITY OF KENT	107	(5)
CASE STUDY 7: CYBERAXIS MICHAEL GERHARD, LEEDS METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY	112	(2)
CASE STUDY 8: BUILDING BABELL II RACHAEL BEACH	114