TALE OF TALES game demo project

EDEN.GARDEN

http://eden.garden1.1.projects.sfmoma.org

screenshot

VIEWING REQUIREMENTS

  • Liveconnect capable browser required (Netscape Navigator 4 on Mac or PC or Internet Explorer on PC; will not work in Netscape Navigator 6 nor in Internet Explorer on Mac)
  • Pulse3D and Flash plugins required (links available on home page of project)
  • 400Mhz CPU and 3D hardware acceleration on graphics card recommended (right click on the 3D content and select Settings to turn on 3D hardware acceleration)
  • sound amplification


INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Click "Begin..."
  2. Type URL in middle input box in top frame and/or click "Big Bang"
  3. Move through 3D world with arrow keys of keyboard
  4. Click on Michael or Auriea to view the world through their eyes (click on grass to return to normal view)
  5. Click on eagle to fly over the world on its back
  6. F7 to look DOWN, F8 to look UP, F12 to FLOAT
  7. Click buffalo to follow link


CREATORS
 Auriea Harvey: concept, modeling, animation, texturing
Michaël Samyn: concept, modeling, animation, programming, music


DESCRIPTION
 This is our first and up till now only experience with interactive 3D on a relatively large scale. The project was made possible thanks to a commission budget received from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. This budget (12,000 US Dollars) allowed us to buy extra hardware, make motion captures, make 3D scans and research the technology. Without funding, it would have been impossible for us to even experiment with the technology, since everything related to 3D and especially animated and interactive 3D is expensive and very time-consuming.


Despite the complexity of the technology, we did fall in love with the medium of computer games thanks to this project and have been dreaming of a more in depth exploration ever since.


Eden.Garden is based in the Garden of Eden as it appears in the Bible and has become part of Western culture. We consider it to be a sequel or at least an addition to our previously made "Genesis", the first book in our "Godlove Museum" series, that illustrates the Bible as seen through the eyes of two lovers on line in a culture clash embrace.


The user navigates through the world in first person view, to discover the many creatures in the Garden. Which creatures and how many of them are present in the garden, depends on which HTML document located anywhere on the internet the user chooses. In that sense, Eden.Garden 1.0 is a web browser. Apart from clicking on some of the creatures to change viewpoint or load another HTML document, interaction is restricted to navigation. The movements of Adam and Eve are triggered by the text in the HTML document but the user can add to these by typing on the keyboard after clicking in the lower frame.