browser-based access is becoming a reality and it is very early for the way many of us think of virtual worlds. Habbo Hotel has been browser-based for a long time but has always been in the teen niche as an isometric chat world
Linden Lab is in beta with their browser-based access, Google shelved its O3D project with WebGL last year which looked pretty awesome actually (page with video), a private company is testing Canvas which looks like a possible pay-to-play access model (subQuark contacted them and if they were clever, they’d hook up with us on the blog to get some buy in – many of you out there would love to try it out and give invaluable feedback), 3Di in Japan released an open viewer last year but has not worked on it since. Unity 3D is getting a lot press and has incredible graphics and is a plugin like the flash player
all of this to say that browser-based access to OpenSim and Second Life should become a reality in 2011. how good it will be is a matter of time and development
i tried KataSpace out tonight and i was impressed. it’s not as rich, not even close, to what you can do in OpenSim/Second Life, but it just worked and had no lag and that was enough to spark my imagination
browser access will affect what we are doing at Enclave Harbour, mainly by providing more options. it will certainly open up virtual worlds to be viewed by more people. no need to create accounts, just hit a URL and bam! KataSpace needs FireFox 4 beta but loaded instantly
how will browser access affect what you do in virtual worlds?
how do you feel about people dropping in that don’t have accounts?
I might use browser access to SL, to attend the occasional event with friends. It’ll depend on the quality of snapshots I can get, which is my only “high end” activity there now. I’ll continue to use a full-featured viewer in InWorldz, of course, because that’s where I do my building.
As to visitors without accounts? I suppose (pun implied) that will depend on whether they can do anything within their browser for which they might need to be held accountable. Which is to say… How long, do you speculate, before the first “copybot” browser plug-in appears?
Lalo Telling
4 Dec 10 at 10:12 pm
Browser based viewer will = viewer for the casual visitor and social participant(attending events, shopping to outfit your avatar etc)
Application based viewer = Viewer + Tools. IE; the viewer as we know it now. Content developers and media authors will use this option.
As it stand right now, in browser viewer development is entirely linear. And we are at the starting post. The existing browser based world viewers are crude to say the least.
This is not to say they are not viable, but features will need implementing 1 at a time, days per feature.
All this in a funding environment that is less likely to leap into 3D worlds like 4 years ago.
5 years from now, attending an event in browser will be like using the Linden Viewer today. For every year less that that, subtract more positive user experience.
Breen Whitman
4 Dec 10 at 11:09 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Robyn Miller, Ener Hax. Ener Hax said: w00t! new post – browser-based worlds – how will it change you http://bit.ly/hE7a94 (Ener in KataSpace) =) [...]
Tweets that mention browser-based worlds – how will it change you at i live in science land -- Topsy.com
5 Dec 10 at 10:41 am
[...] to see for yourself what browser access looks like, see this post [...]
my pseudo-predictions for 2011 at i live in science land
28 Dec 10 at 4:25 pm
[...] but would seem to be at least a year off for most of us. Ener Hax explored this with KataSpace and posted a review and a video – this seems the closest thing so far and is available for anyone to at least try for [...]
iPad and OpenSim at subQuark
24 Feb 11 at 5:10 pm
[...] but would seem to be at least a year off for most of us. Ener Hax explored this with KataSpace and posted a review and a video – this seems the closest thing so far and is available for anyone to try for [...]
iPad and OpenSim at i live in science land
24 Feb 11 at 5:29 pm
[...] are some ways to sort of do that now – the Unity 3D plugin and isolated efforts like Kataspace and 3dexplorer – but they aren’t the same as logging into OpenSim or Second Life. Unity [...]
WebGL, Google’s o3d, and virtual worlds at i live in science land
2 Jun 11 at 8:43 pm