Realism Means Business
We just released “Zebra Presenter”, a presentation tool for use in Second Life that just hits the nail on the head in so many ways. It’s as easy to set up as drag/dropping some textures, can have as many display screens as you can rez, can flip back and forth to the parcel’s video stream, and it’s secure so some click-happy audience member can’t play with it while you’re giving your epic speech. Oh, and it’s free, GPLv3.
We made it look like a laptop. We could have made it look like an oval with cool glowing effects and the textures in a raised hologram-style interface, but instead we bit down on our wilder ideas and kept to some basic principles: keep it simple, and keep it familiar.
Why?
There are people who are ready to give the most compelling presentations, but they usually work in this crazy alternate universe called “the real world”. We put them in the awful situation of having to give a presentation in a virtual world they’ve never even seen before presentation day. On that day, panic is the enemy. We need them to get as comfortable as possible to concentrate on the matter at hand. That means familiar settings, familiar interfaces, and familiar metaphors.
Yes, I know, it doesn’t have the feel of “pushing the boundaries of what virtual worlds can do”, but it most certainly gets the job done. With more “creative” ideas, we’re not so sure how quickly fresh eyes will pick up on the nuances of the design. Best not to experiment on our guests.
Having said that, if you’ve always wanted an oval-shaped presentation tool with cool glowing effects and textures in a raised hologram-style interface, now you can make one! Zebra Presenter is open source, meaning that not only is it free but you are encouraged to pull out the scripts and remix it. Show us what you can do!
Want a copy? Pick it up for free on SLExchange!
Resources
- How to use Zebra Presenter
- Community Support Forum
- Home Page
- Clever Zebra Email List
- Second Life Group: Clever Zebra
Credits
- i3D Inc - Technical
- Joysco - Design
- Skribe Productions - Machinima
