A production video capturing what can best be called an installation piece doesn’t quite do justice to the experience of being in the environment. The video hints at the power of working within the new Windlight viewer for Second Life and the use of the glow effect in a way that’s could be a brilliant exploit of a ‘bug’ or pushing the current glow parameters to their outer limits. Either way, in this particular case the effect is an environment that’s both technically sophisticated but that also gives a haunting and profound experience.

[youtube=[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lEa6xY2sAg]

The installation was developed to respond to avatar movement in several ways and is thus what I’d think of as a great example of reflective architecture.

The panels that make up the grid light up as you move through the installation, and the Windlight Glow effect is used to maximum advantage. The addition of ‘drops’ gives a third dimension to the experience of space, but perhaps even more so is the use of sound….the floor panels move both through light and harmonics, and as you move through the room you become part of the instrument. The positioning of sound in the environment is extremely clever as it’s mapped out 3-dimensionally in the space as well (think surround sound, with some of the effects being further away and some closer, then being triggered based on your movement), with most of the environment components preloaded to avoid distortion of the experience.

Aside from the technical virtuosity of the space, it is also artistically accomplished. My feeling being in the space was a combination of haunted, spiritual, peaceful, disquiet, and harmony.

I’m not sure the installation would entirely qualify for being Not Possible in Real Life, but it would certainly be less accessible in real life, and while I’ve been called thumb sucking because of my gazing, this experiment in spatial design, light, and sound could have deeper applications for things like training, sound design simulation, and as part of immersive builds where the environment reacts and responds, helping users to create their own unique stories within a space that are less static than normal builds.

Wonderful work, Bid.

Thanks to Felixe Thorne for the video. A higher rez version is available here.