As one of the first commercial projects to use Away3D Lite, Away Media teamed up with creative agency Cocomino to produce a 3D minisite in Flash for chip manufacturer Qualcomm, in order to promote their latest line of Smartbook devices.
My Dream Device is a simple online editor that allows users to view and create 3D sculptures out of the various pieces of hardware that are supported by Qualcomm technology. everything from satellite dishes to sat navs can be used as the building blocks for creating your own ‘dream device’.
Using a simple drag and drop system combined with a movement mode selector, objects can be manipulated in 3D to position them in any arrangement. Away3D Lite was used to keep the interface responsive even after many items have been added to the stage. A simple 3D collision system was built specifically for the site to assist the positioning of objects next to each other.
Once created, a sculpture can be saved to the gallery for any other visitor to view and rate. Deeplinking allows users to link directly to their own creations from another website, and users can automatically email to a friend or post their creation on Facebook.
Away Media was responsible for all frontend and backend development, with Cocomino providing design and management expertise. The site was recently awarded an Adobe site of the day award - a great achievement for all those involved! To create your own sculpture, visit http://www.mydreamdevice.com.
After a bit of experimenting with the beta of AIR for Android, I’ve managed to successfully create a couple of demos to show off Away3D Lite running on the Android operating system, using my trusty Nexus One handset. The above video demonstrates that the Google phone is more than capable of handling the playback of Flash content, and can easily be used along with Away3D Lite to create some detailed 3D content. If you’re interested in trying AIR for Android yourself, head over to http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/air2/android/ to sign up for the beta program.
Away Media has recently been involved with CBBC in the development of an online interactive story for the kid’s TV show My Almost Famous Family. The show tracks the highs and lows of the Swann family as they try to make it as a band, and the recently launched online story continues the narrative with a series of minigames based around the children of the family as they attempt to form a breakaway group and win the local battle of the bands tournament.
The entire game is located in a 3D ‘map’ of events as they unfold, with various mishaps and discoveries along the way unlocking new content. The user is drawn into the narrative with a clever use of webcam video of the band seen as if they were communicating directly with you, and it is here where the main story unfolds. Each event is punctuated by either a video clip or minigame, with the latter requiring the user to perform a task that allows the story to advance to the next stage.
Each minigame can be completed fairly easily so that no one game is a barrier to progressing through the story, however for those who like a more competitive edge, results and highscores are logged and users can revisit a game at any stage to try and improve on their personal best. There are also some nice touches in the story where the results of your completed tasks are used directly with the narrative.
Away Media’s role in the project was primarily the development of the global navigation and game shell, with the 3D map using a mixture of Away3D Lite and native Flash 3D. The minigames were contracted separately and integrated into the main site with the help of the Away Media development team, who also looked after all server communication, asset loading, video playback and control interfaces. The end result is an engaging interactive story that treads new ground for the online portal of a TV show, mixing live action video with interactive flash games in a seamless and convincing manner. Check it out here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/myalmostfamousfamily/
The BBC Sport website have recently released the Formula 1 Circuit Guides as part of their F1 coverage for the 2009 season. This application was a joint commission between Away Media and Monterosa Productions for the BBC, and allows you to view the 17 F1 circuits on the 2009 calendar in interactive 3d.
Away3d was used for all the 3d areas of the application, with deserved special mention to the extrusion tools that allowed accurate and fast renders of track surfaces, racing lines, pit lanes and all smaller locater tracks seen in flyby, driver’s lap, and circuit information sections. Fast culling of objects in the more detailed flyby sections was used to keep framerates at acceptable levels, with frustum clipping activated to minimise render artifacts on the ground.
The application currently allows users to view the first 3 circuits on the calendar, but the remainder will be added as the season progresses, as well as extra content relating to post-race analysis. The noticable difference betwen this and other online circuit guides is the sheer level of detail in the information presented - you get driver’s commentary for flyby laps, images and editorial comments on famous corners, gear and speed indicators, time section markers, racing line indicators, and in the driver’s lap section, information about throttle, brake, g-force, steering angle and speed, all displayed in real time. With it’s excellent presentation, ease of use and depth of content, it should provide something for die-hard fans and F1 newbies alike.
