Mozilla and Khronos, the consortium that oversees the Open GL standard for 3D content, are banding together to bring 3D content to the browser. The announcement at the Game Developer conference was covered at CNet who noted that it will be some time before this work is on a desktop near you:
“There’s a long distance between a draft specification, a real standard, and incorporation into enough browsers that Web developers will be able to count on it, so don’t expect anything revolutionary immediately. Meanwhile, Adobe is working to build 3D technology into its Flash plug-in for browsers, so other alternatives already popular with online gaming programmers exist.”
The proposal is to build off of JavaScript and allow it to interact with the OpenGL standard (the same standard which drives the 3D graphics in Second Life):
“Underpinning the proposal is a trend toward significant speed improvements in JavaScript, the programming language used to write many Web-based applications. The proposal involves a mechanism to let JavaScript tap into the OpenGL standard to produce the accelerated graphics.”
For geekier types, Mozilla evangelist Chris Blizzard gives some background:
“The proposed spec (found in one of vlad’s post on 3D Canvas) is a pretty light wrapper on top of OpenGL ES 2.0, with some changes to support some JavaScript pleasantries. OpenGL ES is a decent starting point, which is why we picked it. OpenGL is supported as part of every major operating system and in it’s being picked up as a standard on mobile devices as well. Compared to the full OpenGL spec, the ES variant is a smaller subset that reflects the reality of what’s being used on the ground and most hardware and software vendors have actually been re-tooling to support OpenGL ES with support for older versions of full OpenGL emulated on top of OpenGL ES. Mixed with the fact that there’s a decent amount of knowledge out there in the industry of how to use OpenGL, we think that this smooths the integration between the current set of OpenGL users and larger web developer community.”
While heavyweight Mozilla begins this path to a browser-based standard, I can’t help wondering whether the MMOX working group, which is looking to build interoperability between virtual worlds, might need to change their thinking about clients and ‘world servers’ in light of the announcement.
If standards for the display of 3D are built to facilitate browser-based viewing, surely the issues of identity, asset portability, and cross-world communication should leverage off of the work on Canvas 3D.
Regardless, the move promises to make 3D environments like Second Life more accessible by cutting out the client – but somehow I’m guessing the build tools won’t be as um robust. The time has arrived, after all, for broader 3D application use and development, according to Vladimir Vukicevic:
“The intense focus on Javascript performance over the past year has seen tremendous improvements across all browsers. Raw language performance is getting to the point where it can keep up with the raw computational requirements of 3D. It will only continue to improve, spurred on by 3D and other use cases. Second, the hardware required for accelerated 3D is becoming pervasive; hardly any desktop computer ships without some form of hardware acceleration, and the latest crop of smartphones almost uniformly have at least OpenGL ES 1.1, if not 2.0 available. Starting this work now ensures that a standard will be ready when Web developers want to take advantage of the capabilities available in hardware. “
Superb..A fully platform independent, web based client would be the knee-up opensimulator needs. Instantly one could integrate their standalone 3D space with the 2D, reducing any need for a client install. Superb…Looking forward to some sensible firefox hippoViewer plugins
We still need a way to allow a ‘Guest’ style login to opensim. Or a way to have a hypergrid user that requires no ‘start world’. Its nice to browse a thing without signing up. Thanks for this news Dusan 
Javascript isn’t… well, it isn’t very fast. It might be useful for some very simple scenes – but that wouldn’t include anything like SL.
Tateru, some of the newer javascript engines are sufficiently fast to enable 3D technologies in the browser. Chrome, Safari, and Mozilla browser makers are all working on javascript tracing and JIT’ing engines whose performance characteristics may very well surprise you, and for a concrete example of how fast javascript can be for 3D viewers today, you might want to take a look at Unity3D.
I am actually quite excited by this news!
Networking limitations in the browser requires attention too: there is no way to set up a listener, and port range is restricted.
I’m sure this will eventually evolve too.
Cool. great for thin client approach. But it also makes me wonder if this is the path we want to be traveling.
There is a reason we do not use Lynx as a browser anymore; we all wanted to see pictures, so we went level up and started using web browsers that supported images and other fancy -2D- content. We even added the concept of ‘ embed’, so we can have animated and interactive content like Flash.
Now we come to the next wave of content, and its 3D-shaped. Is it not just time to realise that we require a different type of browser for 3D content?
Vivaty, small worlds and various ‘ browser based’ 3D worlds are at current just plug-ins (propriatary or flash based) that run in a sandbox in the browser.
So far what this proposal aims to do is leverage Open GL into the browser to be addressed by javascript, and only the Mozilla browser as I read it. If we are ging to create 3D on the web, I would be happier to see an open system that is crossbrowser and doesnt get its fingers into my operating system by staying inside the sandbox we call webbrowser.
For those of you who are impatient for browser-based experiences in worlds like SL, grab yourself a copy of the Placebo Browser!
A rather misleading article title!
Mozilla has certainly not proposed anything specific to virtual worlds, only browser support for hardware accelerated 3D graphics in general. Someone else might try to use the technology to make a 3D virtual worlds client in the browser, but Mozilla hasn’t proposed that at all.
Anyway, 3D Canvas might be interesting for some lightweight, no-frills clients, but I don’t expect web-based clients to replace dedicated client software as the primary means of connecting to 3D virtual worlds.
They could be a nice secondary means, a way to connect when you’re away from your main computer, or as a gateway client to draw new users into the world. But dedicated clients will always be able to offer richer and smoother experiences, so returning users will still find it worthwhile to download and use a separate viewer application.
@Jacek Hmmm….maybe I’ll change the title – however, they didn’t announce this at the “hardware accelerated 3D graphics” conference, they announced it at the Game Developers Conference.
And I’m going to extend the conclusion that if they can get the browser talking to 3D, then some enterprising person who’s good with thinking about clients and such will come along and “deepen” the browser-based client.
Google commented, in fact, that the move would lead to ‘video games in a browser’ (woot! Lively returns!):
“Google was also excited by the prospect of a 3D web standard, which if successful could bring better videogames through the ‘net and pave the way for 3D chatrooms and the like.
“With more and more content moving to the web and JavaScript getting faster every day, the time is right to create an open, general purpose API for accelerated 3D graphics on the web,” said Matt Papakipos, Engineering Director at Google.
“Google looks forward to offering its expertise in graphics and web development to this discussion.”"
Having said that, I agree – clients will remain, for the foreseeable future, the richer and smoother experience. In particular Imprudence.
I think before the cigars get sent around one has to hear from Microsoft and the Directx Posse.
Kronos brings Collada, and Collada will bring Autodesk( to a point) and the Games makers EXCEPT for MS.
opengl vs directx has been a good reason web3d didnt get more usage over this last decade ago. and why kronos now is the announcer of this iniative and not the web3d.org;)
FIrefox with native 3d, great. Will it be a hype bubble for rt3D just as SL has been once “new” marketing folk can finally see web3d production values on their powerbooks and mac desktops.. maybe:0
but making lots of 3d marketing experiments has been done 3 times in a decade( the latest’s in SL ), having them reach a ROI isnt.
Sounds great, but why dont we all wait a bit before declaring the next metaverse. The last one has serious issues that are coming to a head very soon.
unity3d looks good, but unless its bundled with browser installs, it will NEED desirebable content en masses to attract its installation. And many with 3d plugins( even all platforms) have failed to figure out how to make happen before.
Hint, TVs withouts programming were just wood and glass furniture.
boo,
c3
For an example of what Chrome and Firefox can already do in 3D using nothing but canvas and javascript, check this out: http://gyu.que.jp/jscloth/touch.html
Now imagine what it will be like when people don’t have to create what is essentially a browser-based software renderer, and can use a real API like a functional subset of OpenGL…
Instead of neat little tech demos, we’ll finally have the ability to host virtual worlds.
/me is obviously still excited about the possibilities I’ve been reading about all day, not just here but at Raph’s blog, and all over the indie gamedev sphere
Why OnLive will not be the massive tectonic shift so many are currently predicting…
Among the things announced this week in GDC were two developments in entirely different directions on a particular axis of games technology: first, the OnLive network of thin clients showing network-streamed video games rendered on a server cluster…
The race is on now between: Native Browser/Java, Flash(Server rendered and piped or with plugins) and SL like open source 3D Viewers that become full 2D browsers as well.
all at the time we see OpenCL for plug and play physics engines, reduced form factors like Nvidia’s Ion, App stores for components and content, Full HDTV/Browser integration, and iphones as TV remotes and input devices.
This may be a Recession, but everyone sees $$$$$$$$$$$ in the mashup of 3D,Open APIs, SaaS & micro-transactions.
Watch. It is time for Microsoft and Adobe to come out of the closet. Lets just hope we keep the advertisers and Google floundering for a little longer.
This has been one busy month: http://jeanricardbroek-architect.blogspot.com/2009_03_01_archive.html
I see a very long load bar coming in the future into my browser…it will load so long I will be driven into SL.
This is good news for Raph though.
Reality check after the web2.0 conf ghostown show.
Adobe is lost on web3d. They will only allow 3rd party open source basement teens to direct it’s future. They have buried web3d multiple times going back into the macromedia years. They wont spend real internal A resources on it. They have no reason too since 2d flash and 3d in pdf is their distribution bread and butter. The gimiky 3d they showed as FLASH3D at the web2.0 conference, and their public offereing that their only real clients are the GE’s of the world, suggests the path of adobe web3d for another 3 years.
Adobe wont create any realtime 3d tools, that leaves autodesk and any startups like unity3D and others whom need plugin players since they cant rely on flash to play their code.
The next 3 years –well have a bunch of web3d techs all competing to show 3d in browser again, some with MU, but most will again be 3d in a 2d page.Flash 3d will be what paper3d offers with just more complex meshes and overly simplified avatar graphics moving in first level accelerated 3d scenes. Dont expect even WOW- 7 year old immersion in flash….
For all those with no history, this was exactly the web3d marketplace from 2001-5.;)
Well get more habbo/metas/moshis made by those paid to entertain and make toys and games,, all with a bit more 2.5d and 3d data avatars runing over 2d backgrounds…(AAA game tech in 1998)
But mini habbos made easier for every small biz website? Disguised as conference meeting rooms with scoreboards??..it all sounds very “skip intro movie” to me….
But a metaverse, 3d web, with any real roadmap?,
One can believe in Open Source Sims miracles I guess;)
I still hope theres a few kids in a basement in Iceland that will infect us all with a p2p 3d kazzaa….
maybe next decade?
[...] that may one day be released as a standard component of browsers and is said to supplement the efforts my Mozilla to bring 3D to [...]