The virtual web, and how to avoid hitting the ground

The other day I stumbled on an intriguing new project called Metaplace that's aiming to provide an easy-to-use, web-standards-based way to create virtual worlds. The possibilities for creating games are obvious, but this seems an interesting step for the Internet in general.

If Metaplace works like they say it will, it would be possible to turn your web site into a virtual world--meaning that your site wouldn't just deliver content, it would provide a place where people could gather and discuss that content. Imagine being able to chat in real time with anyone else who's currently visiting a site. It could be an incredibly powerful way to make connections. This is a big step beyond our current social networking setup, where people just leave messages amounting to little more than, "I wuz here."

--------------------

On a game-related note, I spent most of my time today working on camera collisions. There's nothing worse than a game with bad camera controls. I'm trying to build a camera that's smart enough to keep the player always in sight. This means recognizing when it can't see the player and moving to a place where it can.

I've gotten to the point where my camera can handle direct obstacles well enough. Things get tricky when it needs to avoid objects like the ground. It doesn't make much sense to look at the player-character through the ground, so the camera needs to recognize when its getting too close to the ground (or something like a wall) and move to a safe spot along the vector between the camera and the player. This involves a lot of math for an English major, so I'll just have to take it slow.