This page massively improved 12 - 23 October '99 through the input of Daniel (www.3dbuilder.nu) by way of the Genesis Forum

Nemo's Mind is an exploration of Jules Verne's (French Father of science fiction) sense of fantastical, technological, and exotic natural landscapes.  On a deeper quest, it explores physical environments and human architecture as a construct of "Nemo's Mind", the global collective subconscious.  A surreal  island becomes a reflection of the mind's nature.

"Nemo’s Mind" will be a globally developed 3D chat (voice) terrain.  This is an independent project to bring on the 2nd generation virtual worlds, combining the positive trends of the Net, to become an example of the art to come.  Not a game - but a "conversation piece" to walk in.

Nemo’s Mind will use the latest consumer level 3-D technology, the Genesis3D engine (an open development project).   Nemo’s Mind will be one of the first virtual world’s to concentrate on evolving the quality and interactivity of its 3-D art, year after year, as the technology advances, and takes advantage of (the soon to be mainstream) Internet voice chat.  A business plan to update through the years with new versions and expanded terrain as a premiere example of a non-game virtual world.

Here are some screen shots from the Genesis engine GDemo (produced by Eclipse not Nemo's Mind) - Eclipse let us use these shots showing textures we can use freely, along with sound effects, models etc. - If you haven't checked out the Gdemo - Do it now!! Beautiful underwater shot - click  
                                        on the graphic to see it full and get more info

Here is a 2-in-1 shot - another screen shot from Gdemo and a model of the Nautilus from 3DCafe.com, authored by Syd

Lots of Volcanic action in the first part of the Gdemo - which definitely can be used in a Jules Verne and "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" theme - we will use this for part of the cave paths in the Observatory level, of the 3 Level Plan - click the graphic for more info and full picture

And Here is one just to promote the coolest free use engine around - this one is from the sci-fi part of the Gdemo - clicking on this graphic will take you to more screenshots at Eclipse's web site

Directory to all Graphics

As the central character in the world famous "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea", Nemo is a rich psychological setting with an anti-suppression social consciousness (he was enslaved and his quest is to stop that culture).   At the same time, the Nautilus’ quest and history is global in nature, for instance the library (by the novel) of the Nautilus contains 12,000 books in every language of the planet.  Someday the participants in Nemo’s Mind will be able to read those books by scanning their eyes over the pages - the camera sitting on your desk will track your eye movement interpreting and reading out those languages into yours.  But that will take some evolving...

Nemo’s Mind will carry global themes through art.  To match an ageless feel and a Nemo theme - the art and architecture will be restricted to any time before Nemo’s.   The themes include anti-slavery (suppression/slavery still rampant in this world) and the emulation of the real world’s physical manifestations of global subconscious imagery - the things we dream.

Click on these pictures for examples from the European Subconscious Level and the Observatory Level of the initial 3 Level Plan

                                  

Not only is Nemo's Mind all about art and themes, it is an exploration of space.   If it becomes exploratory for the user and each location is burned into memory, then it has become an effective use of art/space.   This program will be, for many, the first hands on experience with 3D terrain.  We want to excite that audience, to further all development of virtual worlds.

The quality of today’s interactive program is restricted by, one time only, distribution.  Nemo’s Mind will go the easy route (see 3 Level Plan) by being functional in a very short period of time, compared to the challenges of producing today’s complex, game type, programs. And then it will easily keep up, with the users expectations of 3-D interactive art with succesive versions.  Instead of starting from square one, we just improve on the original Nemo's MInd.  

Once Nemo’s Mind becomes a shareware product, it will ride word of mouth, by relying on a yearly or semi-annual update scheme.  Any income will be put into further development of Nemo’s Mind - primarily taking care of the pay and well-being of the development team, lend a hand to other virtual world start ups, and back into the development of Genesis3D.  We are hoping once contributors, outside of the core team, see how this project goes, then they will take the experience and start up more virtual worlds on their own.

The Plan for the first version of Nemo's Mind

The dirigible buffets as the propeller holds into the breeze - you comment to a Japanese woman on the play of cloud shadows over the island, and discuss where to go next, as the view drops off the edge of the volcano crater - you  notice a feature only seen by the scale of a dirigible's view - the paths carved into the swamp seem like a giant crab

On Genesis Beach you turn around to the sound, of Dolphin chatter and splashing, and then look down the beach stretching to the horizon on both sides

         Click Map to see Nemo's Mind in Detail

Continuing your weekly habit of yakking with your brother on Nemo’s Mind, you anticipate the latest version’s promise of day and night control, and use the future possibility of seasonal control for a conversation piece - but as you decide which way to go up to the surface you get distracted as dancing lights come down the underwater cave, and you both join in and become a pod - 6 mini-sub Dolphins racing through the underground river to the River of Life and up the Water Shaft  - a smile grows on your face as you taunt your brother and watch the lights bounce off the caves and the other mini-sub Dolphins

You listen to 3 women (not knowing they are all speaking a different language through voice recognition to language translation) inside the Dream Sphere taking turns throwing artifacts into dream animations - they talk of the significance of a bi-valve sea-shell found in the Lagoon creating a vision of 2 dancers, while a sea-shell from the beach creates a vision of the Lagoon - the women also discuss the rumor of a statue in the lagoon - which you saw yesterday and realize is a new addition to the latest veersion of Nemo's Mind

After passing through the Bonsai Enclosure and riding the track to the Dream sphere, you realize after visiting for more than 2 years - the giant bonsai is a captive to its artificial limb supports and reflect on the struggle within Nemo’s Mind between enslaving and giving freedom

The Nautilus has been set by an explorer to cruise at a fixed depth, touring the island reefs, while 20 explorers talk in the sub's museum lounge and the 2 huge flanking round windows serve as back drop - you and an old Turkish avatar leave the Nautilus  as it goes by the jungles of Genesis Beach, in separate mini-sub Dolphins, you want to show him a small half plateau extending out from the jungle slope, with a spring pooling at the top and flowing over the moss covered cliff - he wants to show you his favorite natural vista in the area - you both comment on every one having there own favorite spots on such a large terrain

As a lone explorer you visit a favorite Dream Structure in Memory Forest, and notice a far off dirigible rising, you wonder if it is a newly gained dirigible lifting off from the crater - and remember the surprise of discovering the inside of the hollow mountain - and remember the first time seeing a dirigible and wondering how to get one - while you muse on another's adventure you reach up and alter the shape of the clouds with digital digits in camera detected synchronicity with your own

You tag along from a distance watching a Russian and an African - overhearing the conversation, it is obvious the Russian has never been in the underground sequence and want to watch her discover the slow realization of how to interact with the Transforming Statue,  The African points out the the alternating suppressed human images versus the free images

As the sun sinks and the quarter new moon becomes more visible, more explorers gather at the Observatory - you watch the jungle below the Cliff Rift become darker and lose detail - and then you drift toward the classical music and light of the Observatory’s Bonfire Fountain

Instant Descriptions of Nemo's Mind Terrain

The purpose of making this an open design document: 

1. to give Nemo's Mind a better chance of becoming a virtual world through open development and to gain word of mouth.  The user will be able to link directly to this design document and see what will be improved on the next version, the eventual look and feel, and add their own input
2. to promote the development of other team's projects - every action and every tool used to develop this project will be posted weekly.  However if this design document and our project do inspire you - then please give something back into this project, before you move on - give any input at all.  This open design document has been formatted to fit the needs of being open design and covers issues such as copyright,  to inspire other team's projects.  

By using the tutorial the reader can see how to use this design document as a template for team dynamics and a system to implement the development process

In the game industry a design document can be anywhere from 10 to 500 hard-copy pages.  An efficient and helpful document can easily be 200 pages.  Their are 3 major differences between this document and a game design document. First - being open design has an impact on the organization of material for issues such as copyright.  Second - this design document is open to public scrutiny to promote more insight into the needs of the coming virtual world projects and so the document is used as a tool, for showing the facets of a virtual world.  Third - is the simplicity in many respects compared to game design.  If the participant wants to make the program more entertaining than thoughtful or make it conversationally meditative, then they will find games inherent (games will crop up with multiple users in a physics simulation) to any program.  Submarine races, frog hunts, etc.   We don’t have to balance game elements such as weapon effects, artificial intelligence, game physics, frame rate in a fast moving environment, etc.

This is a living document!  Meaning it will evolve!  Many areas have been left open for input.  Your input will be put in this document.  Much of this document is full of examples of how easy it is to make thematic interactive art with today's technology.  

We can concentrate solely on art and theme, and that is why this document is only about 100 hard-copy pages long as of September 1999 (60-70 of the pages are concrete areas).  The themes and examples are thoroughly described.  For Nemo’s Mind to be truly interactive on a global scale, this project needs to start in an evolving mode  - keeping that as its true character, to be an element of the virtual world 20 years from now.  This is why the strongest part of the design document is in the themes area and the individual theme descriptions, in each area of the terrain break down.  How can we explore the themes in pure interactive art methods?  This is what this document tries to keep open.  And even after several versions of Nemo’s Mind have been released, the design document will stay open to creative ideas, to add on top of the work already done.

Final notes:

Much of what is written in the 3rd section of the design document and some of the 2nd section are ideas for the engines that will evolve with Nemo’s Mind - you may read a detail that has no connection with the ability of the current engine we are using.  But Nemo’s Mind, this living design document, and the global community will grow...

Also realize the details of how an area will look and interact with the explorer are not fully covered here.  For instance, the first 3 areas of the island to be developed have been worked on for the last year and the pages given here on the first "3 Level Plan" only give a taste of the detailing that has been compiled and researched for their development.  But the eventual feel of the later versions is in this on line document to the detail that explorers can add their ideas.

See the 3 buttons in the left column through out your journey:

Maps    -  gives full lay out of island and links to all the terrain pages                                        

3 Level Plan    -  access to the first round of development and maps for those levels

Contents    -  the only access to the (3rd part of the) full design document

2 more routes through Nemo's Mind:

High Point Tour   -  Want some quick mental images and have a fast connection?  TAKE THE "HIGH POINT" TOUR.  At each stop, read the aqua areas and hit the next   "HIGH POINT"   link

Paths    -  a page giving paths through the design document to fit your tastes

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