Sketches of Critters
Four spirit animals - Fish, Spider, Crow, and Snake - were visited individually at first, then collected for a family portrait.
The style of these
Critters emerged through development of parallel features among the four: Each
Critter
would be portrayed in profile with a detached head. The position of the
Critters's eye would correspond to the location of the wearer's head-tracking sensor. Legs, fins, and feathers would also detach. Everyone's inside would be visible, as if rendered by x-rays.
The contrived crudeness of the initial sketches was eventually abandoned in exchange for digital scanning artifacts and fat pixels. Strategies for
animating the Critters
in response to wearers' body movements were explored. Hapless
Critters would get snared in spider webs. And how do upright bipeds appear in
Critter costume anyway? If you could see your virtual shadow, what would it look like?
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Studies for Fish.
Studies for Spider
Studies for Crow.
Studies for Snake.
A family portrait of all 4
Critters.
Another family portrait of all 4
Critters.
Study for an animation of Snake.
Critter animations
were implemented and tested, but not included in the final performance due to time pressure. A video clip of Critter animation can be seen here.
Study for an animation of Fish.
Critter animations
were implemented and tested, but not included in the final performance due to time pressure. A video clip of Critter animation can be seen here.
A study of a possible spider web, where Spider would exist on a different and smaller scale than the other Critters
, and be restricted to the web's extent - because Spider would not have been able to travel across
the wider world to the Critters, a diminutive Fish and a Critters share the same body space (with the exception
of Crow's ability to fly beyond the world's boundries with
Crow flight).
Another similar study of spider webs. Snake and Crow are depicted here.
A study of a possible representation of participants
in the virtual world - human bodies with
animal heads. Participants "embodied"
as Spider and Fish are depicted here. This idea was not implemented.
Another study simialar to the one above,
with participants "embodied" as
Snake and Crow depicted here. This idea was not implemented.
Another study simialar to the one above,
with participants "embodied" as
Spider and Fish depicted. A participant without an identity and therefore no head) is also shown. This idea was not implemented; instead, participants who had not yet merged with the icon of a Critter were invisible - you had to don a "Smart Costume" in order to have a body: to be visible, to transit a Portal, and to interact with Voiceholders.
A study of how to represent an exit from
the system, to be used at the end of the
experience. Ultimately, this idea was rejected,
and an exit was not implemented - people
simply were told by the Goddess that their time was over, and helpers moved to aid in removing the helmet and other VR equipment.
Placeholder
Papers
Movies
Sounds
Images
Studies for Fish. 
Studies for Spider
Studies for Crow. 
Studies for Snake.
A family portrait of all 4
Critters.
Another family portrait of all 4
Critters.
Study for an animation of Snake.
Critter animations
were implemented and tested, but not included in the final performance due to time pressure. A video clip of Critter animation can be seen here.
Study for an animation of Fish.
Critter animations
were implemented and tested, but not included in the final performance due to time pressure. A video clip of Critter animation can be seen here.
A study of a possible spider web, where Spider would exist on a different and smaller scale than the other Critters
, and be restricted to the web's extent - because Spider would not have been able to travel across
the wider world to the Critters, a diminutive Fish and a Critters share the same body space (with the exception
of Crow's ability to fly beyond the world's boundries with
Crow flight).
Another similar study of spider webs. Snake and Crow are depicted here.
A study of a possible representation of participants
in the virtual world - human bodies with
animal heads. Participants "embodied"
as Spider and Fish are depicted here. This idea was not implemented.
Another study simialar to the one above,
with participants "embodied" as
Snake and Crow depicted here. This idea was not implemented.
Another study simialar to the one above,
with participants "embodied" as
Spider and Fish depicted. A participant without an identity and therefore no head) is also shown. This idea was not implemented; instead, participants who had not yet merged with the icon of a Critter were invisible - you had to don a "Smart Costume" in order to have a body: to be visible, to transit a Portal, and to interact with Voiceholders.
A study of how to represent an exit from
the system, to be used at the end of the
experience. Ultimately, this idea was rejected,
and an exit was not implemented - people
simply were told by the Goddess that their time was over, and helpers moved to aid in removing the helmet and other VR equipment.