181Cameras and Collaborative Spaces (the Ideagora)
4. Make the screen part of the gathering circle, on the oor, or someplace where all the participants
can view it easily.
5. Consider the use of whiteboards/learning interfaces, such as SLOODLE (Simulation Linked Object
Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment) [14] or media on a prim [15] which can be setup in the
Build/Edit/Texture menu.
6. Audio should be active so all who wish to can hear the discussion, but remind the audience members
to mute their own mikes during the presentation. Members of the discussion should also be encour-
aged to add the salient points of their talk into the chat log so the idea is supported visually as well.
7. The space should be designed with a consideration of the “Design for All” standards (http://www.
designforall.org/). Physical, visual, and aural accessibility are important.
8. Take the default camera positions of your attendees into consideration when you design the space.
Make sure the entranceways and overhead elements are high enough so their third-person avatar’s
camera does not whack into anything as they enter the space.
9.4.2 fosTering The ideagora spiriT By personalizing The spaCe for your group
One of the most creative and prolic build groups in Second Life is the MetaHarpers Cabal founded by
Arrehn Oberlander. A visit to their hangout will show you the kind of environment that exemplies the
Ideagora in its most creative form. In Figure9.5, you can see a wide shot of their hangout in Second Life.
It’sa space lled with random objects from past and present projects that inspire a relaxed fun-loving mood,
FIGURE 9.5 A view of the Metaharper’s hangout in the Harpers Region of Second Life. This is a collaborative/meeting
space for the whole group decorated with mementos from their various projects in Second Life.
182 Virtual World Design
and open the conversation to a creative spirit. Blank walls inspire blank minds. Your environment has a
direct impact on your creative energies, and the inclusion of art, toys, and other kinds of objects that represent
your group’s accomplishments, ideas, and sense of identity will enhance the collective imagination of the
group. This collection of stuff should be curated as well so it stays in constant rotation, and the environment
is always changing.
Now, before you go on to make your Ideagora into a curio shop, remember that the surroundings should
be interesting and comfortable but not distracting. This is a ne balance and may take a bit of ddling to
get it right, but the richness these kinds of objects bring to the group experience is worth the time it takes to
arrange them in your meeting spaces.
In his classic book and lm Social Life of Small Urban Places, William H. Whyte, who worked with the
New York City Planning Commission, lists the basic essentials of a shared public space [16, 17]. He and his
staff lmed behavior in public meeting spaces all around the United States in the early 1980s. They observed
that popular public spaces have the following elements in common:
1. There are lots of steps and places for people to sit and watch other people.
2. The area is not too sunken, too raised, or too large so that line of sight is lost.
3. There are water features such as fountains that can be accessed and played in.
4. There is food available.
5. There are shops nearby and an open-market feeling.
6. There is a sort of cave-like or slightly protected feeling to the area due to overhead trees or hanging,
awning-like elements.
If you look at the ancient agora in Athens, Greece, on Google Earth, you see the remnants of just such
a place. Here is the essence of it: If you provide an area where people can meet, mingle, communicate, and
feel safe and yet are not trapped, great ideas will be fostered, just as the idea of democracy was fostered in
the agora of Athens.
9.5 DESIGNING FOR THE FUTURE AND MOBILITY
Virtual meetings are just beginning to gain popularity. What is now a 2D webcast event will no doubt
become an almost universal 3D experience that you access from your ofce on a daily basis. It will be driven
by the need to pull together globally situated talent-diverse individuals for time-delimited projects within a
user-friendly environment that is cost effective and can be accessed from any device.
9.5.1 inTerneT Trends ToWard moBile plaTforms and hoW They affeCT design
In her 2012 report on Internet trends [18], Mary Meeker, a partner at Kleiner, Perkins, Caueld & Byers,
raised some interesting points for discussion regarding how business will use the Internet in the future. The
use of tablets, smartphones, and other mobile devices is rising rapidly worldwide, while the use of desktop
computers is dropping. This clearly points to a need for “lightweight” viewers that will allow access to virtual
worlds on a mobile device, and there are several in the early development stages. Web viewers like Pixieviewer
(http://pixieviewer.com/) and Radegast’s 3D viewer (http://radegast.org/wiki/Radegast) are competing with
the more established Unity-based web viewers such as Jibe. Lumiya (http://www.lumiyaviewer.com/) has
183Cameras and Collaborative Spaces (the Ideagora)
created an Android-based tablet app for Second Life, and as tablet use increases, more virtual world applica-
tions for them will appear. This in turn will probably have an impact on your design considerations, perhaps
by limiting the amount of 3D detail you can do or the amount of texture memory you will have available.
When you are designing for multiple platforms, you should always look at the smallest, most limiting one
rst. Make that your benchmark design and embellish the other versions later, once your design runs well on
the smallest platform.
9.5.2 neW user inTerfaCes: TouCh, VoiCe, and gesTure
Meeker’s report also shows us that we are interfacing with the online world more frequently in “natural”
body-based ways; the GUI (graphical user interface) has given way to the NUI (natural user interface) as
we touch, talk, and gesture toward our devices. It is not a big stretch to imagine voice-to-object creation.
KyleGomboy (G23D Studio) has approached that with his new application, called 2Cube. This is a system
that utilizes the Kinect motion capture data in unison with a 3D modeler, allowing users to create 3D models
with their hands and voice. Think of a 3D model building and editing itself as the designers talk about its
structure in a virtual meeting. How would you design a presentation room for that? Perhaps it should be a vast
open space surrounded by seating, like an arena theatre, amphitheater, or agora?
9.6 PROJECT: BUILDING AN IDEAGORA FOR YOUR TEAM
This project is about making a space that encourages ideas and communication for your team members.
Itwould be best done with a group of three to ve people, but you can also try it yourself and show it to
some of your buddies in OpenSim or Second Life. One version of an Ideagora mesh model is provided with
this chapter’s content (Ideagora.dae) and can be found at http://www.anncudworthprojects.com/ under the
VirtualWorld Design Book downloads section. It has been designed as a modular system of screens, walls,
and other parts that you can break apart and assemble in any manner you choose.
9.6.1 seTTing up The Terrain and loading in The elemenTs for The ideagora
9.6.1.1 Setting Up the Terrain
You will need a at, clear rectangular area 50 by 35 meters to accommodate the model provided with this
chapter. In Figure9.6, the custom Ideagora terrain height map and its resultant landform are shown. This was
designed to showcase the Ideagora model; you could alternatively put the model in a skybox or on a plateau
if desired.
9.6.1.2 Loading in the Ideagora
After you have prepared the terrain (or platform), upload the Ideagora. dae le using the afliated Ideagora_
Physics.dae le to set the LOD under the Physics tab in the Upload menu. Now would be a good time to
review the information about uploading procedures in Chapter 2, Section 2.3, if you have not already done so.
Once you get the Ideagora model into your inventory, complete with textures, then drag it from your inven-
tory, and center it on your available space using the x and y coordinates. Lower it into position on the z axis,
when you have it centered on your terrain or platform. In Figure9.7, the Ideagora is located at 128,128 at the
center of the simulator region.
184 Virtual World Design
FIGURE 9.6 Terrain height map and the custom sim region made for the Ideagora installation.
185Cameras and Collaborative Spaces (the Ideagora)
Remember the qualities of the popular small urban spaces described by William H. Whyte and his group
at the New York City Planning Commission, mentioned Section 9.4.2. Using this basic installation, try to
emulate those features in your Ideagora.
9.6.1.3 Personalizing Your Ideagora
Personalize your Ideagora with objects and graphic elements made by your team; set up a leaderboard, a wall
of images such as “awesome team member of the month” or some method of identifying each member of the
group in a special way.
9.6.1.4 Landscaping around the Ideagora
By adding landscaping and additional gathering areas around the Ideagora, you create space that allows for
private casual conversations and provides an escape from the intensity of the central meeting area. Put in
greenery and landscape elements, such as shown in Figure9.8.
9.6.2 seT up shared media
9.6.2.1 The Screens
There are two large 16:9 screens in the Ideagora. They are provided for you to display media you chose for
your meeting. When you get the model loaded in, you should change the texture on the surface of the screen
to a texture that indicates to the visitors there is a media channel present. Sometimes, visitors need to be
reminded to turn on their media channels.
FIGURE 9.7 Screen shot showing the Ideagora installed at the center of the region.
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