Engaging Digital Landscapes

Dr Andrew Thomas, Technical Developer, DHH

For the Digital Cloud

A Technical Developers Perspective

A time far, far agoMany years ago (well, at least ten) computer

graphics and virtual landscapes were a little less sophisticated than they are now. And, if you

wanted to immerse yourself in a 3D environment, you needed plenty of money and space.

They were exciting times! But now things are even more exciting. We’re at a time when Web-Apps can

bring 3D digital landscapes to our computers, tablets and phones easily and cheaply.

Digital landscapes and the HubWe’ve been collaborating on using

technology to create engaging virtual landscapes. It’s made us question what is

‘digital’ and what is a ‘landscape’?

Can a digital landscape effectively communicate the important features

within it? Can we create landscapes to help us make sense of objects, thoughts and

emotive content?

And, can we make them engaging for anyone, anywhere, anytime?

Harnessing the power of WebWhat makes us think the modern web is so exciting as a platform

for creating engaging digital landscapes:

Javascript is now amazingly fast, even on mobile. WebGL allows simple coding of 3D content.

Lots of libraries help us code some amazing effects. We can run our code on almost any computer.

And, of course, it’s fun and anyone can access it

But, most importantly, it makes it easy to create digital landscapes that anyone, anywhere, anytime can share with us!

Mapping out the detailsMany digital landscapes are based on geographical information, but creating landscapes for concepts,

objects and emotions can be equally important. With web-apps we can combine the power of GIS and

engaging graphics to help navigate virtual environments. And those environments can be based on real-life or

even less tangible content. It allows us to swap between mapping, and mind-mapping, with a single tap.

A bit of backgroundCreating a good background is easy in terms of creating 3D geometry, but the texture used is what makes the difference between a good landscape and a poor one.

We’ve been using VR cameras as a quick-kill in terms of adding realistic locations to interactive web content. And

VR videos allow us to add some exciting and novel content to online digital landscapes too.

Immersing ourselvesWhile the Hubs’ Oculus gear provides for high-end

VR, for wider-uptake, and lower-cost, we’ve also been trying out Google Cardboard. On a good smartphone the results are very impressive.

And the different levels of immersion the two systems allow for means that we can look at how they can be used to facilitate and enhance both

isolating and supportive-group scenarios.

Don’t brick it, block it!

Modern JavaScript 3D libraries make adding Minecraft-style elements, or even whole landscapes, to web apps easy and straightforward. And we can even view them stereoscopically. So, why shouldn’t digital landscapes be

fun and engaging for all?

Finding our way aroundThere are now some very exciting options for navigating digital landscapes in web-based VR

environments, in an all-accessible way. Oculus and Cardboard allow us to use orientation sensors in

immersive content. We can also use keyboards, mice touchscreens and accelerometers, as well as eye and head trackers. And, not only does the Gamepad API let us use gamepads, it provides the opportunity for us to create new and exciting ways to interface with

and control digital landscape interaction.

That’s all folks Thanks for listening.

Thank you

While you’re here, why not try out our online digital landscape? It’s called ‘virtual memories’ and you can download it open-

source at GitHub.

https://github.com/digitalhumanitieshub/virtual_landscape