Croquet SDK 1.0 Beta Released 31
mzimmerm writes "As reported on Squeak-dev mailing list, the beta release of Croquet, which enables to 'create powerful and highly collaborative multi-user 2D and 3D applications and simulations' is out. From the home page: 'It is the first complete release of the Croquet technology and marks a significant event for those interested in developing powerful collaborative applications.'"
Not only did I RTFA I even DTFD (Score:5, Interesting)
Oh the idea of replacing the 2D desktop single user desktop sounds reasonable enough but the problem always remains the same.
Ease of control.
An other way of doing it is to recreate everyday objects so people will feel at home. I personally have had some light experience with an early B2B app wich had as it interface a desk. Yes, a business app where your phone list was a in a grapical binder looking just like the real thing. It had it all, a phone for dialing in. Drawers for storage.
Very nice but now we consider it obsolete. Why? Well partly because we learned to deal with the abstract desktop mostly because it just to cumbersome. Once you have "learned" that the filofax is where you adresses are stored it afterwards becomes just a bother to go through the animation. In a way the learning curve for a more abstract representation is offset by the quicker use. Also a tiny icon or perhaps even a menu entry doesn't wast half your deskspace.
So that is the reason the desk like desktop died.
So we are left with the abstract desktop but now trying to add stuff to it. It doesn't work.
As said control is a bitch. All our input devices are made for a two dimensional world. Even if you can adopt a mouse to control 3 axis (say reuse the scroll wheeel) that comes at the cost of yes, you guessed it loosing the scroll wheel for scrolling.
Even then it is barely possible to control a center point with your mouse. Or the "camera". To then change both your camera AND manipulate objects in view of the camera becomes a nightmare.
The proof? Well try the demo. Control is crap. It is not that hard to figure out. Why do you think CAD programs give you three views of the 3D world you are trying to manipulate? Because it is easier to move something in a 2D plane then in a 3D world.
It all sounds very nice but I seen 3D desktops before and they keep suffering from the same thing. Control.
I wish the next people to undertake such a project would just concentrate first on getting the controls right. Everything else can wait because the moment you release your demo people will be put off by not being able to do anything.
3D desktop adoption == non-qwerty keyboard adoption. IF users don't see a very high payoff of increased usability vs learning costs they just won't do it.
Make sure your demo A does something very usefull B instructs very clearly how to use it (why is there no movement tutorial in this?) and C keep the learning curve shallow.
Take a hint from 3D games. They have had to deal with the same problems for years. TUTORIAL!