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My first experience with Virtual Reality came with the introduction of computer games like Wolfenstien, which were really just 2D worlds with some very impressive graphics for the time.
Though crude, it was easy to imagine the capabilities of the 3D concept presented on a computerized platform,,, not just for games and movies, but as an instructual tool and as an interactive fiction.
I was facinated by the subject and started downloading code to develope my own 3D software. Coders like Future Crew were an inspiration to me. These guys could take 64K of assembly code and produces a facinating display of music and 3D imagery.
When Al Gore and Clinton open the interent up to the public (no they did not invent it, but they did make it available to the public) I was quick to discover all types of online 3D already available.
One of the first languages I became was WIRL by a small company in Chicago. WIRL had already gone beyond what others did and had developed a full scripting language that enabled you to not only display your 3 dimensional objects on line, but allowed your guests to interact with them.
This language was miles ahead of vrml 1.0 which was pretty much static at the time. The only catch was, you had to use their browser, and to take advantabe of their additional drivers for Joysticks and 3D glasses, you needed to acquire their license.
To make matters worse, WIRL stopped overing free downloads of the browsers. Around about the time this happened, vrml20 came out. VRML 2.0. had changed the syntax of the language a little from vrml 1.0 but better than that, they had included some java like scripting language which allowed those who knew the langauge to build even more of an interactive experience into their objects and worlds.
I was really encourged by the muturity of the VRML 2.0. spec and abandoned all my WIRL stuff. But VRML 2.0. did not stay still, and (to me) the spec started evolving faster than vendors of plugins could keep up with it.
There are still a few plugins out their, though I don't keep up with them any more. I use blaxxun contact and octagon plugins exclusively. The can be found at:
I've heard that cosmo is still out their somewhere, but I cannot recommend it since the last time I ran cosmo the AMD 100 chip had just come out and people were debating whether it was as fast or faster than a Pentium 5. I am currently running Linux with a Beta of Octagon on it.
If you are really interested in a good understanding of VRML, its history and its future plans you really need to visit 3D web Consortium which is maintained by some of the pioneers of virtual reality on the web.
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