Immersive Environments : Art in Virtual Reality

Immersive Environments

Spring 2008

This is a course in making art in virtual reality. We will cover 3D modeling, sound, and programming for virtual environments using the CAVE, an immersive display system using stereoscopic video projection. Along the way, we'll look at examples of virtual reality art, virtuality in other cultural forms, the long history of human fascination with immersion, disembodiment, and re-embodiment, and the place of this most seductive illusionistic apparatus in contemporary culture. Since virtual reality is still a largely unexplored medium for artists, part of the goal of the class is to elucidate the actual potentials - in interactive narrative, exploration of perception, ways of conveying and representing information, telematic communication, and possibilities yet unimagined.

This class is intended as primarily a studio course, but with a significant theoretical component. The readings are a small cross-section of perspectives on immersion and virtuality, meant to introduce a few relevant theoretical, historical, and philosophical trajectories. This is by no means a complete or even particularly unified set of writings, but are meant to provide some framework and mental provocation.

Prerequisites

Any 3000-level ATS Course
Suggested: 3D Animation, Interactive Multimedia
This class uses a unique set of tools and skills, so does not have one particular set of prerequisites. Students should be comfortable with digital media creation, and have experience with interactive media, programming, or scripting. The scripting language we use, Ygdrasil, is designed to have a very easy learning curve, and is also quite unlike most other common programming languages; so, while experience in a language like Lingo, JavaScript, ActionScript or Proce55ing is helpful, it is not absolutely required. Familiarity with 3D modeling, particularly in Maya, is helpful.