In case you missed it, or want to see it again, we have some highlights from our booth in the following video, and some important links:

Learn more about 3DVIA’s Publishing Products:

• 3DVIA Virtools – Build Rich 3D Applications Fast
• 3DVIA Composer - 3D Technical Documentation Made Easy
• 3DVIA Shape - Free 3D Modeling for the Rest of Us
• 3DVIA.com - The Top Interactive 3D Community & Model Sharing Database

Learn More about our Presenters:

• “Snow World” by Howard Rose and Ari Hollander:  http://www.firsthand.com
• “RealTime Music Visualization: A study in the Visual Extension of Music” by Matt Bain.
• “SCOPE: an Innovative Augmented Reality Game” by Frantz Lasorne.

• Why virtual training?
• Advantages of virtual training
• Examples of a successful virtual application
• LIVE virtual training demo

• How 3DVIA Virtools bridges the gap between artists and engineers
• Key Concepts and references of 3DVIA Virtools
• Myths about 3DVIA Virtools
• Tips and tricks for building games with 3DVIA Virtools
  

Virtools Webinar 1 from 3DVIA on Vimeo.

Many of the VR technologies used were developed with 3DVIA Virtools.

For more detail on Laval Virtual, see the 3DVIA article and the 3D Perspectives article.

About Superfluidity (From the Electronic Shadow website):

Superfluidity is an interactive multi-user in the form of a virtual interactive 3D real-time, visible online or through one or more physical(s) installation(s), all operating in a network. The visual environment is proposed to create a kind of sentence sound that will overlap with others in a collective space in perpetual construction.

Superfluidity is a collective that can be seen in real time by all visitors who log on. Logging in, visitors can both go and influence the space and seeing the changes made by other visitors. The physical installation is connected to the same environment and receive real-time interaction of all the visitors online.

About Electronic Shadow:

Established in Paris in 2000, Electronic Shadow is a hybrid design platform whose activity is based on research and innovation on both the artistic and technological point of view (patented system based on space/image projection). This pluridisciplinary approach allows original propositions which merge both space and image, material and light in the most diverse contexts from art to architecture, design, scenography,

For about five years, Electronic Shadow multiplies exhibitions (NY MoMA, Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée d’Art Moderne de la ville de Paris, La Villette, KunstlerHaus, Japan Media Art Festival Etc.) and creates applications from this artistic research in many different fields: design (Giorgio Armani, Cassina, Boffi, Etc.), museum scenography (Palais de la découverte, Cézanne 2006).

Thank you rgaidot via Twitter for the link.

More great material has rolled in from this years very successful GDC 2009 for 3DVIA.  Here is an excellent video covering how Little Chicken game company produced the Subsurface demo game in 60 days with a team of only 6!  Subsurface is the evaluation and demo game produced with 3DVIA Virtools.

The camera guy and source for the video is our very own Virgile.

This is the live video stream from the 3DVIA booth at this years Laval Virtual 2009.

Although it may not be the Holodeck on the Enterprise just yet, Virtual Reality is about as close as you can get.  Virtual Reality represents one of the coolest areas of the 3DVIA product line and it will be on full display at the center of the VR world in this year’s Laval Virtual Reality International Conference in France, April 22nd-24th.

3DVIA Virtools @ Laval Virtual
BOOTH A3-A6

Our very own David Nahon’s video tour from our 2008 Laval Virtual show.

3DVIA will demonstrate the Virtual Reality capabilities provided by the newly released 3DVIA Virtools 5 at booth A3-A6 and there will also be over 30 partners and customers demonstrating [.pdf] their 3DVIA-based VR applications.

Download a map of 3DVIA Virtools Partner applications
on display at this years Laval Virtual 2009!

3DVIA Virtools is a complete development and deployment platform for virtual environments, game and interactive 3D applications. In addition to many other enhancements, this new version also brings new VR capabilities geared toward consumer markets, by supporting Samsung and Mitsubishi DLP TVs, Philips WoW auto-stereoscopic screens and anaglyph stereoscopy.

Follow Updates Live From the Show

Kate will be blogging directly from the show floor.  Follow her updates on 3D Perspectives, the official blog of Dassault Systèmes.  Kate already posted this excellent interview with David today.

You can also check back here next week for updates – or watch the live video stream from the booth.. . .

Those of you who went to the Game Developers Conference (GDC) and stopped by the 3DVIA booth may have seen us demo a game called Subsurface. Many of you played this game (three players won a Wii) and asked whether there were plans to post a playable version online. After hearing the overwhelming requests for a playable online version, we decided it was a must.

As of this week, you can now play Subsurface online.

UPDATE: Our servers are temporarily offline, which means Subsurface is also temporarily offline. We’re working out the kinks right now and should be back up and running soon. My appologies to those who have tried to play and got error messages. I will post an update as soon as we’re back in business. 

For those of you who weren’t at show, but want to learn about Subsurface, don’t feel left out! The next couple of paragraphs in this post are devoted to summarizing the game and its importance to 3DVIA. If you want even more details, you can always visit the official Subsurface website.

The Story Behind the Game

Subsurface is the first game built on 3DVIA Virtools 5, the latest version of our game engine devoted to rapid prototyping and game development. Designed with the idea of drastically decreasing development time without sacrificing quality in mind, we put 3DVIA Virtools 5 to the test with the development of Subsurface. We collaborated with long time 3DVIA Virtools partner Little Chicken Game Company and gave them what would normally be seen as an impossible challenge: develop a game in 60 days with 6 people that’s not only engaging, but serves as a learning tool for other 3D application developers. The result was Subsurface.

The Subsurface Narrative and Gameplay

The year is 2041 and the world is in peril. With our natural resources nearly depleted, world powers are frantic to find new forms of energy. In the midst of this tension, a deep sea species capable of generating massive amounts of inexhaustible energy, known as the “Glowspheres,” is been discovered. Theoretically, this unharnessed power could be used to solve the world’s energy crisis or, if discovered by the wrong people, could generate a weapon far greater than any ever before conceived.

You are Dr. Valerie Toulè, a marine biologist specializing in deep sea ecosystems and aquatic species. The G20 has brought you back from sabbatical to investigate and retrieve the Glowspheres before Ian McClusky, the world’s most wanted narco-terrorist, uses them for evil purposes.

Enjoy!

GDC 2009 is Now History! We had an excellent show and thank you for taking the time to watch 3DVIA live. You can catch many of the pictures from the show on Flickr.

Not going to GDC? 
Check out the daily blog post here, our live booth video or you can follow us live on Twitter!

Check out the interactive 3D render of our spiffy new trade show booth!  Click the "Play 3D" button.

See you at the show!

This competition was inspired by the success of the Khufu experience, a VR show which simulated the creation of the pyramids in Egypt. The Khufu experience was first debuted as a one-day exhibit at La Geode in March 2007, and was such a hit that it is now a daily exhibit. Learn more about the Khufu VR Experience here.

The competition consists of 2 Phases, after which, your team could be the winner of a 75,000 3D Projector from BARCO!

Phase 1

Due Date: September 12th, 2008
Create your team, and build your project write-up, storyboard and technical specifications.  Submit them by the deadline with your application pack.

10 Projects will be selected from the submissions to continue on to Phase 2, receiving 1,500 euros and Virtools licenses for each team.

Phase 2

Runs from October 1st, 2008 to March 1st, 2009
Create the pilot using 3DVIA Virtools for online broadcast and in a virtual reality environment.

The pilots will be judged by jury at the March Laval Virtual 2009.  Top 3 winners will win 75,000 euros worth of software and equiptment including a  3D Projector from BARCO!

It seems to me that our 3DVIA Community is the perfect place to start something like this; we’ve just hit 20,000 users, you guys have work constantly moving through the warehouse, and we’ve already started making the connections. Shape power-users, I’m looking at you — let’s get something going!

Find out more, download the rules and register your team at www.3ds.com/vrexperience
Download the registration pack here.

Employees and representatives of Dassault Systemes, La Geode and Barco NV are not permitted to participate in the VR Experience Competition.