[ISEA2018] Paper: Stephanie Andrews — Shards: Multi-dimensional Stereoscopic Cubism in Virtual Reality

Abstract

Keywords: Virtual Reality, Cubism, Stereoscopic, Spatiality, Composition, Hyper dimensional, Hybridity, Interaction, Heterotopia.

This paper discusses the artistic and technical innovations in the depiction of non-naturalistic stereoscopic space in the virtual reality experience Shards. In Shards, there are four different realities existing simultaneously, but all are initially invisible to the user. To experience them, the user can create viewport cubes and throw them into the area around them to reveal 3D portholes into those spaces. The user can view multiple intersecting realities simultaneously. Shards is an active, playable experience, where participants are encouraged to explore and reveal the environment. Through the act of exploration, users generate Cubist-inspired interpretations of perspective and dimensionality, contrasting multiple stereoscopic
viewpoints in one composition. A radical approach to the use of 3D geometry with stencil shaders creates a unique spatial environment. The conceptual relationships to hyper dimensionality and heterotopia are also examined.

  • Stephanie Andrews, PhD Candidate in Virtual Reality, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

Full text p. 98-103