So, Playtech took place and so I did not appear, as I had another thing due, taking place the entire day at the other end of the river. Not that end, and perhaps not a river but a bay but it’s New York, so who knows what is it? A peninsula? An atol? As ridiculous as it may sound, google maps tells me it’s part of Long Island Sound. In any case, I had to hack-a-thon, for an entirely different course, from 8 till 8 at a navy yard, although before heading out, I obviously prepared a notch and a thon, just a simple contingency plan in case anything was to fail, an email with a set of failsafes to make sure everything runs smoothly even if it were not.

After hacking-a-thon, at some point, I noticed that well, no incoming calls were coming in, no messages really, meanwhile just us working and as I assumed, everything should have gone well, during the presentations I sent a message and I received a message that everything did indeed go well. And then later on I’d receive a warm canvas email, saying a few details. Later on, I just learned that the narration seemed perhaps a bit detached and perhaps the calibration of the projector but overall the Dome projection was received positively.

It would be cool to draw stuff with just simply tapping the dome and picking a pen colour, right?

So perhaps I’ll return a little bit backward and mention a few details that I just left out, due to the onslaught of details that there were. As I could not get many of the interaction methods that worked on google cardboard but could naturally not in a Dome, due to simplifying the interaction and focusing on the immersion and correct response of the audience, some things like: Plastic bottles being inside fish could not be there anymore. As in like an X-ray mode that one of the team members mentioned at some point. Getting that interaction was tricky but it was nice to see it in action. Upon X-Raying the fish, the bottle would be gone and a score would be assigned. But that’s part of the production-phase, especially at an art-school, especially in my case when exploration of capabilities and facilities take priority. Sometimes it works and stays like with dancing man releasing microplastics and sometimes, they don’t.

I should also thank Microsoft at this point, despite we’re living in these crazy times of everyone being surveilled, many not being aware and some not that much caring such as myself, with the addition of thinking to know where the world is headed with technologies, I like to take advantage of what is possible. Having a timeline in Microsoft Photos and quickly navigating back to the weeks and the photos, and screenshots I was taking? Extremely useful and surprisingly seamless. Looking forward to a world map with those attached and filtered!

In any case, this was the time in which we focus on using Madmapper and collaborating in Unity, sharing files, updating the skybox video, adjusting some parts, playing with Madmapper, calibrating the projector, calibrating the Madmapper, testing all, testing again, adjusting a bit more and testing again. Introducing some interesting effects and potential artistically pleasing solutions and getting ready for, well, what’s next.

360 Pre-Beta Dome Timelapse