Multiamaze

mutiAMAZE at http://rnd.net-art.ws/ is an attempt to build an online habitat or environment where people can meet in a sociable fashion beyond simple chat and beyond 'shoot em up' or other competitive scenarios. multiAMAZE is also an attempt to take an online 3D environment beyond the facsimile (whether of exciting scenarios or sci-fi reference fantasy), the principle methodology I have used to try to achieve this is to create a 3D space which reacts in shape and lighting to sound input to the user's machine.

The realization of multiAMAZE brings together several avenues of technical and art practice that I have been following over the previous three or so years, plus it seems to fufill some basic vary early established creative patterns of my own. Reportedly since the age of four or less I could become very absorbed and also good at creating mini environments in 3D, whether hours building drip sand castles every summer holidays or demanding to be locked in play pen with building blocks (for protection from the marauding raids of my younger brother). In addition I am also a person of quite specific and in some cases rare enthusiasms and interests.

With the advent of the Internet I found a medium for communication and expression that harnessed the computer skills I had learnt in adult life previously and also a medium of communication that qualitatively enhanced the ability of a person with rare or especially selective tastes and interests to find like minded individuals and possibly audience. Working collectively is also one thing I like to try to do and over the last few years over the internet membership of no-such.com and now OFFLINE at http://offline.area3.net has provided both the resources and colleagues/friends to fufill that wish.

A specific area of creation and expertise I have developed, largely within no-such.com, has been the utilization of the XMLsocket functionality introduced with Flash 5 to create multi-user projects, that is multi-user projects that enable 'chat' at the speeds associated with IRC chat technology but with the ingredient of interactive multi-user visual stimulation. Some examples of an early re-skinnable multi-user project can be visited at http://fire.no-such.com/COLOURchat.html.

With the advent of 3D capability in Director/Shockwave I was again pulled along by new functionality in relatively mass communication technological extension to the internet medium. Of course various stabs at 3D have been around, with special 3D plug-ins for some time (and gone again), but I felt with these they were too minority in reach and also I was put off by the use I saw being made of them. 'The Garden of Eden' project by Michael and Aurea at http://eden.garden1.0.projects.sfmoma.org/ was to a certain extent a revelation for me in terms of the possibilities of expression in 3D.

During the summer of 2001 at http://no-such.com/E/7/fib/ I was introduced by http://www.area3.net/barcelona to the benefits of Antoine Schmitt's Xtra for Shockwave 'asFTT' which enables the translation of sound input into Shockwave applicable data across a range of mHz so that this data input can influence the creation of visual parameters on screen. Through this development I saw a possibility to create a sound sensitive, 3D and multi-user environment merging and adding to a number of the themes that I had been developing over the previous few years. multiAMAZE is the result.

With the advent of 3D capability in Director/Shockwave I was again pulled along by new funtionality in relatively mass communication technological extension to the internet medium. Of course various stabs at 3D have been around, with special 3D plug-ins for some time (and gone again), but I felt with these they were too minority in reach and also I was put off by the use I saw being made of them. 'The Garden of Eden' project by Michael and Aurea at http://eden.garden1.0.projects.sfmoma.org/ was to a certain extent a revelation for me in terms of 3D creation.

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