Is Google Eyeing a Virtual Earth?
Eric Schonfeld at the Business 2.0 blog ponders whether Google’s purchase of SketchUp means the company is thinking about turning Google Earth into “a virtual world where visitors can create their own buildings, vehicles, and other objects or just roam around.” [Via Croquet 2 Play.] This is something my metaversal friends and I have been thinking about for a while now, the prospect of some kind of shared, multi-user, avatarized layer or functionality for Google Earth. Google, I know, is interested in the space at least enough to entertain presentations and meetings with various emissaries from the metaverse, including from Linden Lab, makers of Second Life. If Google were to make some kind of move into the virtual world space, I imagine they’d do it very carefully. The challenge would be to keep such an app as open and versatile as the rest of their fare. I, for one, am very much looking forward to hearing about developments in this area.
Feeds
I think Google is doing as you suggested. I believe they will require a graphics engine update in order to switch to a more user based control mode that likens to a first person shooter (quake, counter strike etc) and a system of displaying dynamic 3D content. I’ve been noticing that 3D models from 3DS have been made to be imported into GE. Has anyone thought of making these models move?
That’s an interesting thought, animated GE models as an intermediate step. Haven’t seen anything about that, but I like the concept.