Brandyn Webb addresses the 3D avatar Forum in his "ChezWhat" world (Adobe Atmosphere)

Running nightWorld.js...

Loading spider model

Running torch.js...

Lighting torch1

Lighting torch2

Lighting torch3

[lisa] is anyone out there?

[lisa] hello

[lisa] hello

[tester] Hi

[Jae] hi

[mike] hello, is Jae there?

[Jae] i am here

[mike] alright! we are talking, but we can't chat in ChezWhat world

[Jae] mike, can u bring jbox avatar here so i can use it

[Windy] Wow, am I confused!

[lisa] how did you take your head off?

[tester] I'm so confused, my head fell off

[Jae] funny

[lisa] ha ha

[UserBeta] You folks are cardboard, and I am a little bored card.

[tester] Ho Ho

[UserBeta] I'm in a box!

[mike] we have a meeting in ChezWhat today at 5 PM PDT

[mike] we are hoping to meet Brandyn Webb there today

[UserBeta] bored card in a cardboard box.

[UserBeta] I'm exposed!

[UserBeta] Ahhh, safe again.

[tester] We don't want to know

[UserBeta] I'm on the hut.

[lisa] scary

[UserBeta] Where are the other boxes?

[mike] they are coming

[UserBeta] What's the meeting about?

[UserBeta] Now I'm on the flat tree.

[mike] Brandyn Webb built this world

[mike] we hope to interview him about his world

[lisa] we are going to discuss how the world is made

[mike] if the spiders don't get in our way

[UserBeta] The torches get louder as you get closer.

[mike] hi Userbeta, we can't hear the torches right now, we've heard them before

[UserBeta] Are you on NT?

[mike] oh, no, we're on 2000 but on SGI NT machines

[mike] the sound card is very tough to get working

[al] hi

[al] how come the spider always go after me???

[lisa] how do i open another browser

[kachina] I think I'm in the maw of the spider!

[bdamer] guys a better space for the forum might be the new atmospherian station

[bdamer] guys drag and drop this icon

[bdamer] then we can go there later

[simon] do spiders have maws?

[simon] help

[kachina] jaws, maws, pawws.... whatever!

[malkuth] well... this is where the party is at...

[simon] hey mike

[mike] hey simon

[bdamer] hi mike

[bdamer] bruce damer here

[bdamer] i am at adobe today

[mike] hey bruce

[bdamer] we are speaking with brandyn on the phone now

[kachina] aha

[bdamer] brandyn is going to come in

[bdamer] go to the station

[bdamer] you wont be attacked by spiders

[bdamer] hi brandyn

[brandyn] Howdy.

[mike] hello brandyn

[mike] welcome to our first CyberForum

[bdamer] so folks, does that make sense, to meet in atmospherian station?

[brandyn] I didn't know this was on -- was expecting final details! Fortunately, Michael gave me a ring. :)

[bdamer] the spider will attack you throughout the session otherwise

[bdamer] welcome brandyn!!!

[simon] hi brandyn

[bdamer] thanks this is the new commuity center

[bdamer] designed to help the Atmosphere community develop

[brandyn] groovy.

[bdamer] it is a train station metaphor

[bdamer] links in over 120 worlds

[bdamer] we have galleries with regular shows

[bdamer] a bar

[kachina] and the ladies/gentlemen areas? Do ppl go to different places?

[bdamer] platforms leading to other worlds

[bdamer] complete with graffiti

[bdamer] this was launched today

[OUCH] cool station

[kachina] very realistic for a convention space

[brandyn] nice world.

[UserBeta] The spider is dancing on me.

[mike] the spider is very aggressive

[mike] he keeps pushing me to the corner

[kachina] over here, under the LiveMotion banner

[tester] as

[UserBeta] Do we all see the same spider?

[mike] don't know if we see the same spider, how can we tell?

[UserBeta] Where is the spider that you see?

[mike] on top of me now

[UserBeta] That is pretty cool. We are seeing different spiders.

[mike] that's neat!

[UserBeta] We each see a spider that chases us.

[mike] i would have thought we'd see the same "world"

[UserBeta] Pretty tricky. I wonder how that is done.

[UserBeta] It looks like you are stuck in the ground. Want a hand?

[bdamer] hi all

[mike] funny, i'm only seeing one

[tester] hi

[tester] newbie here

[UserBeta] I only see one, too, but it is the one that is chasing me. The one you see is the one chasing you.

[tester] anybody there?

[tester] it seems so fantastic

[UserBeta] Go to Navigation, turn off gravity, use SHIFT upArrow to rise a bit, turn gravity back on.

[UserBeta] It looks like your spider is shoving you around as much as mine is shoving me around.

[UserBeta] You are still stuck in the ground whether you realize it or not.

[UserBeta] Only half of your body is visible.

[UserBeta] This happens sometimes.

[UserBeta] I can see your legs dangling below.

[brandyn] All over the place. Try here:

[brandyn] “http://sifter.org/~brandyn/worlds/ChezWhat/ChezWhat.aer"

[mrk] no, don't go back there

[mrk] we are sending people here

[mrk] stay in double instances of here

[kachina] they all left ChezWhat because of the spider...did they go back?

[mrk] we are all meeting here

[mrk] not chezwhat

[mrk] hi mike helm

[lisa] i don't see anyone

[mike] well, kachina, there is something wonderful about Chez

[brandyn] Who knows! Someone just told me Mike wanted me back in chez what.

[mrk] you made it!

[mike] Chez is a hyper active world, not for discussion it seems

[mike] it drives you to move up and out, up the ladder and out to the Arhces

[mrk] can we stay here?

[malkuth] i miss my spider :(

[mike] it would best if we used the Quiet Chez, right Brandyn

[mrk] brandyn, are you still in both instances of this world?

[brandyn] So... where ...

[kachina] Not to suggest we leave, but being dragged about by the spider actually isn't a problem. It doesn't hurt after all

[brandyn] Yes, and ChezWhat -- the quiet version.

[brandyn] “http://sifter.org/~brandyn/worlds/ChezWhat/ChezWhat.aer"

[mrk] you decide

[mrk] ok, please send the bookmark

[mike] let's go back to the nutty world

[DaveR] lol

[mrk] which?

[brandyn] But we've got a good crowd here...

[mike] the spider obsessed, driven environment

[malkuth] yah! nutty spider worlds!

[mrk] lets stay here

[mrk] at least we are all here now

[Jae] mike? where are we suppose to be? T_T

[mike] okay, brandyn, you want to talk here about Chezwhat, then

[mrk] brandyn, are you in both copies of this world now?

[malkuth] what is this - some sort of Atmosphere cult?

[malkuth] dont eat me!

[mike] tell us, brandyn, why a world where you can hardly chat?

[mrk] ok, lets all stay here since we are here now

[brandyn] Nobody but Sam in the other copy.

[DaveR] morning

[bdamer] this cloning problem will be solved folks :)

[mrk] brandyn should be in two copies of this world now, in case more people show up, right, brandyn?

[malkuth] cloning? we are the BORG...

[brandyn] Hey, we got 10 here. The transition cache must have worked. :)

[bdamer] the car doesn’t load for us

[mrk] yep, it works

[brandyn] Yes, right.

[mrk] ok, interview away mike!

[mike] the Station has a totally different atmosphere

[mrk] yes

[kachina] yes

[Jae] ^^ i see

[Jae] i am at the right place now.

[mike] can we address ChezWhat outside ChezWhat?

[mike] we've been trying to use 3D to create topic-specific spaces

[mike] that is, each 3D event should have an concept correlate

[mike] and the correlate for ChezWhat is....? fear, anxiety?

[bdamer] the station is correlate for "a place for travel to worlds" and "meeting" at the same time

[kachina] ChezWhat: -- disembodied reflexes?

[brandyn] ChezWhat was my jungle hideaway until that spider invaded.

[bdamer] soothing sound, undecipherable announcements, a train station

[mike] brandyn, was the spider a welcome idea for you?

[kachina] so Nature overrides technology, even at the outset?

[mike] haha, kachina was hunted too....

kachina] relentlessly, but then i decided to surrender, and it wasn't so bad actually

[brandyn] I keep a version w/out the spider. :)

[brandyn] “http://sifter.org/~brandyn/worlds/ChezWhat/ChezWhat.aer"

[mike] ChezWhat points out the gap between action environments and chat environments

[mike] brandyn: which version of your world do you prefer?

[brandyn] which version of... (ChezWhat?)?

[mike] yes, which version of ChezWhat – with or without the spider action?

[brandyn] The one w/out the spider. :)

[bdamer] mike kaplan has come in a mech, and he will shoot down anyone becoming to philosophical

[mike] haha, but the one we've come to know is not your favorite then?

[brandyn] tis true.

[brandyn] the one you know is the result of evolution gone awry.

[mike] but the Chez we know has the cool spiders

[brandyn] it was a test world...

[brandyn] kind of like the island of Dr. Moreau

[mike] yes, very much the Dr. Moreau world especially from your point of view!

[mike] and today we noticed that the spider differs for each user, no?

[kachina] was it true that the spider only goes after human avatars?

[mike] students here really like the action in ChezWhat

[mike] maybe because some of them are gamers

[brandyn] [Oh good, Mrk isn't the mech anymore so I can be philosophical] Perhaps the spider is only in your mind.

[mrk] spider, not spider...

[kachina] I think the spider is good because it gives avatars something to do over which they have only limited control

[mike] yes, kachina, some people also like bots for that reason

[brandyn] The wonders of virtual reality -- everyone gets to have their own subjective spider experience.

[kachina] that makes the world experience more realistic in a sense

[mrk] maybe the other users are simply fleeing their own imaginary spider, after all, I KNOW the spider is really chasing ME!

[mike] mrk: yes, it certainly feels like it's chasing me

[mike] brandyn: is that actually the case that we can never see the same spider action in ChezWhat?

[brandyn] correct (as presently implemented)

[kachina] cool!

[mike] is it then feasible to program a self-identical world spider?

[brandyn] [Presuming you mean: see the same as someone else sees]

[mrk] but future versions will allow synchronized events

[mike] interesting! the multiple viewpoints offers fascinating opportunities ....

[mrk] in future versions you will be able to do that (the single synchronized spider), but currently it is local to each person

[kachina] rashomon anyone?

[mike] exactly! rashomon!

[kachina] lol

[mike] at the same time, chat itself seems to require some shared third-person objects

[brandyn] (is that microphone loaded?)

[mike] i see this problem with ChezWhat: It is an action world, pure action like Quake

[bdamer] Station here is a different world, one oriented to social, movement

[brandyn] Have you seen Solo?

[mike] Solo?

[brandyn] It's a game world.

[kachina] tell us about it

[mike] yes, please tell

[brandyn] Umn...

[brandyn] It's 2000+ lines of javascript...

[brandyn] It's "solo" because there's no chat... (it's a puzzle world, to solve...)

[mike] separate scripts or one biggie?

[brandyn] one biggie. Reasonably partitioned, but...

[mike] oh, a puzzle world, but couldn't that puzzle be solved ensemble?

[brandyn] yes, but this raises synchronization questions...

[mike] ah, yes

[mike] so synchronization will offer new options in Atmosphere

[brandyn] definitely.

[mike] collaborative problem solving requires it...

[kachina] I get the impression that the full uses of chat/socialization are still being pondered in Atmosphere?

[bdamer] yes

[kachina] for instance, if you even accidentally bump into a link, it can take minutes to get back in, and the chat is apparently the last function to return. Is it me?

[brandyn] I think Atmosphere is fundamentally an artistic tool, evolving from there.

[mrk] the chat startup problem is pretty unique to ChezWhat because it involves a lot of setup time

[mrk] most worlds start up much faster

[kachina] well, Atmosphere certainly does make beautiful stuff! I'm just trying to understand it....

[mike] brandyn, do you see the evolution as going from web enhancement to 3D web?

[brandyn] To be a 3d web, if you think about how the web started, it needs to be broadly accessible -- meaning anybody can pick it up and do something interesting and creative with it -- something they'd want to show. That was a goal...

[brandyn] Not just to be a 3d display technology, but a 3d canvas.

[mike] a deeper canvas than HTML...

[mike] so brandyn, how do you see the connection between avatar and chat, between mind (talk) and body (action)?

[kachina] where do you see the development going in terms of negotiating the line between gamers and artistic play for the masses?

Atmosphere [brandyn] How often do people walk-and-talk in the RW vs. sitting and chatting? :)

[mike] good point...

[bdamer] welcome jake bowman

[bdamer] i am too uncoordinated to walk and talk

[kachina] mind body split still alive and kicking...lol

[mrk] but I like to see the stuff happening while I chat with somebody

[mike] the virtual offers a flexibility, the ability to express ideas that are not in physical space

[akejay] like what?

[brandyn] Kachina: as hardware performance continues to improve, and the javascript and other APIs evolve, the gap between canvas and action field will narrow until it is gone.

[kachina] well, hallelujah and let's get down to it!

[akejay] how do you see javascript and APIs evolving?

[brandyn] Mike: note that your avatar can be scripted to be expressive according to your words....

[brandyn] If you wanted, for instance, you could make it fling it's arms up, or have its hair stand up each time you say something ending in "!"

[mike] so (if my machine worked better today) i might change avatars to make a different point?

[mike] oh, i see, automated expression, chat triggers...

[akejay] that could have some amusing repercussions

[[akejay] like the word of the day in peewee's playhouse

[brandyn] Akejay: evolution pretty well describes the process: what's needed will be added... so as long as people "want", there will be growth.

[akejay] motivations

[akejay] what about lock-in?

[brandyn] Clarify?

[akejay] evolution is constrained

[akejay] legacy systems

[brandyn] akejay: absolutely; as much forethought as possible has and continues to be put in to avoid those traps. Call it forward-thinking evolution. :)

mike] brandyn, i realize that you are an epistemologist, but we've kept you here for nearly an hour now...

[mike] and i want to thank you for entertaining our questions and for entertaining us with

[mike] ChezWhat

[mike] we really enjoyed the ChezWhat experience and were inspired

[mike] we might let you go and offer our sincere thanks for coming today to join us

[bdamer] yes thanks brandyn

[bdamer] sorry about the cloning confusion

[brandyn] Ok, good talking to y'all.

[bdamer] we are continuing to evolve the atmosphere platform

[mike] next time i hope we will have more machines working smoothly and the world will support our meeting even more than it does now

[kachina] take care!!!

[mike] thanks brandyn!!!

[kachina] applause!!!!

[mike]

[brandyn] bye

[akejay] cheer!

[bdamer] chheers

[kachina] handkerchief waving!!!!

[bdamer] well i am glad we reached him by phone

[bdamer] glad i was here at adobe today :)

[mike] very rough and exciting cyberforum in atmosphere

[akejay] whew

[bdamer] feel free to explore the station folks

[mike] thanks bruce for all your good support!

[mike] bye now -- as we get back to dreaming more worlds...

[akejay] thanks b for the good tech support

[kachina] bye Mike

[bdamer] bye mike