Twenty Years of Arts Computing
CHArt Twentieth Annual Conference
|
|
FUTURES PAST: Twenty Years of Arts Computing |
Mike Pringle, AHDS Visual Arts, Surrey Institute of Art and Design, UK
A Virtual Disaster: The Rise and Fall of Virtual Reality
Twenty years ago, the promise of Virtual Reality (VR) was that it would change the world. In the future, the World Wide Web would unite everyone in a virtual space, with educated avatars teaching us everything we need to know about everything; head-mounted displays permitting trouble-free visits to family and friends; business and home life flowing seamlessly through a perfect three-dimensional social structure; and sex transformed beyond all description by full body sensors and links to the rest of the planet!
Alas, or perhaps fortunately, VR has not yet fulfilled this early promise, particularly in respect of its relationship with the Internet, where the reality for an end-user was, and still is, often far removed from the aspirations of the creator. Instead, as a suite of advanced graphics technologies, VR has developed in a slightly more logical fashion, in areas where the needs for high levels of visual ‘realism’ can be clearly defined; for example, in dinosaur movies or flight simulators.
This paper describes the journey of the development of VR from its pre-computer origins, via stumbling, poor quality digital models, and on to its position of potential world domination. Using examples of VR models and their associated projects, the paper then discusses the reasons why the technology never seemed to match its potential: a combination of over-extended levels of expectation, zealous marketing and novelty factors, balanced unevenly against a shortfall in structured research, poor political support and a fundamental lack of fitness for purpose.
Finally, the paper describes how, with our increased understanding of image technologies and more user-centred approach to project development, a new model for image presentation has emerged. Founded on software such as Flash, 3D Studio and QuickTime, this model enables the creation of three-dimensional, moving or interactive images that not only work with the delivery technologies of the Internet but also, most importantly, work for the end-user.