The Immersive Bestiary – Le Bestiaire immersif U.I.M. Research Samuelle Ducrocq-Henry The Immersive Bestiary “The Tower of Beasts” An immersive exploration without equal, poetic, beautiful and humourous all at once, into the heart of a universe populated by fascinating creatures from folklores that have marked the horizons and the ages… SUMMARY I Description II General and specific objectives III Creature origins and territories of reference IV Description and general criteria for a Bestiary creature V General scripting principles for the CD-ROM VI Navigational principles and central metaphor 1- The animated exploratory interface: cartography of an evolving ecosystem 2- The animated index/thematic interface 3- Examples of navigation VII Research partners and co-creator students 1- Production teams 2- Instructions for collaborative production between professors and students 3- Specific scripting instructions for students and co-creators of the Bestiary Example of an interactive module: Melusina’s story 4- Canadian production team VIII Financing 1- Bursaries and subsidies 2- Other methods of financing IX Fall production schedule – Winter 2005/2006 X The creatures of the immersive Bestiary XI Graphic chart (points to remember) XII Miscellaneous Conclusion 1 The Immersive Bestiary – Le Bestiaire immersif U.I.M. Research Samuelle Ducrocq-Henry “Who knows? Who knows if the turtle is not a rock that, with the force of dreams, manages to move forward...” Guy Marchands, québécois poet; excerpt from « Bestiaire » I Description This CD-ROM of interactive and immersive art introduces a universe beyond the usual, born from the imaginations of students and researchers of about 10 universities around the world, presented in an explorational and poetical way, where fabulous creatures from different countries reflect the folklores of each country. II General and specific objectives The bestiary is an international co-production created within the context of the International University of Multimedia, and includes institutions from China, Brazil, Madagascar, France and Ile de la Réunion, and of course, Canada. This is an interuniversity project unique in its field, mobilising the talents and passions of a significant team of participants from all over the world. The bestiary, as its name indicates, constitutes a collection of work bearing witness to extraordinary creatures inspired by legend, gathered with a view to starting a rare and valuable collection. Some modules are imbued with cryptozoology, this pseudo-science dedicated to fabulous creatures, as scientific as it is serious, while other modules reveal a narrative fiction woven together as accurately as possible from legends. An exploration meant to truly keep a reader busy for hours, the goal of this bestiary is, first and foremost, to be an authentic audiovisual and poetic multimedia masterpiece, taking into account not only the undeniable cultural richness from numerous worldwide folklores, but also taking a specific interest in the creator (illustrators, authors, directors) and their search for inspiration. The audio environment will aid in the user’s complete immersion in this world of discovery, a feast for the ears, as well as the eyes. Otherwise, this international research project and creative endeavour is of a totally unique type and is the largest university co-production of its type currently being undertaken. 2 The Immersive Bestiary – Le Bestiaire immersif U.I.M. Research Samuelle Ducrocq-Henry The knowledge of and ability to keep up with current working practices and multimedia approaches unique to each country (because numerous methods of project management may be revealed), aim to reflect all at once, a common vision of the way to understand the creation of media, facilitated by UIM. Therefore, in permitting the students and researchers of about 10 undergraduate educational institutions to work together, the project also allows participants to better understand and practice knowledge and expertise specific to each institution, connected by a common theme. In so doing, the Bestiary offers a unique opportunity for openness and learning as much in regards to format (to understand how others work and produce, with a view to adapting themselves to that) as well as in the basics (in order to learn different countries’ different scripting approaches used to present the legends) with total liberty and responsibility regarding the (re)presentation of their folklore. Finally, we aim to enter the immersive bestiary in the next competition for the Moebius Prize for Multimedia [Prix Moebius du multimédia] held in Montreal, in 2006. This will permit, if the work should be chosen, the better promotion and recognition of UIM’s educational and research contribution. It would also be the first multicultural project whose “paternity” does not originate from one single country. This is especially relevant in a highly competitive sector of professional production. If the project isn’t chosen at this stage (the deadlines being very tight), at least it might be submitted to other festivals and media arts competitions, and certainly, we hope, prepared for eventual commercialization. III Creature origins and territories of reference The Bestiary project (as open as it is continually evolving) is designed to keep growing over time, with the addition of new creatures, via new UIM university partnerships. Therefore, possible new UIM member universities would allow not only the extension of the International University of Multimedia, but would extend the reach of this project, by the richness of their multicultural offerings (new folklores and creatures from these new countries). 3 The Immersive Bestiary – Le Bestiaire immersif U.I.M. Research Samuelle Ducrocq-Henry IV Description and general criteria of a Bestiary creature Each creature in the Bestiary (called a Beast), must absolutely have a legendary character, recognized by an oral historical tradition and connected to a specific region of the globe, (however closely- or distantly-related to different folklores that exist, even on the same continent) of UIM member countries. We’re sorry to have to make such drastic boundaries, but we need to have a specific and limited list of creature types, so as not to drown in all the possibilities given the time constraints prior to the 2006 Moebius Prize, which currently constitutes the deadline for the production of a prototype. The creatures may not be simple hominids, no matter their popularity. One student humourously introduced the project to a class by saying: “Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, ogres, dwarves and witches are not admissible.” Conversely, the Bestiary will be an inventory of all hybrid creatures, whether they are semi-human (Jack O’Lantern) half-animal (the centaur) or whether they belong with the legendary hybrids (the Sphinx). We will not exclude the mythical, totally supernatural creatures (dragons, gargoyles, etc.). We will avoid as much as possible creatures that are linked to religious beliefs of the great ages and civilisations, unless those beliefs are firmly anchored in a folklore linked to a very specific story, geographic population or territory (in order to not recreate the entire egyptian, roman, and greek bestiary). Finally, creatures born from the fertile imaginations of some of the great writers (Verne, Tolkien, etc.) must also be set aside for the moment in order to make the production of the CD-ROM possible within a year. V General scripting principles for the CD-ROM Aims: The user of this poetic-artistic CD-ROM undertakes a journey, as entertaining as it is instructive, throughout the whole of the multicultural content: an introductory and explorative journey into the heart of the utopic world of Beasts. This fantastical universe, imagined by students the world over, sees legendary creatures from every time and place living together, having given life to the myths of civilisations in every corner of the world. In looking at a detailed map of this living bestiary, the user will encounter an imaginary and fabulous world where mythical creatures from every known horizon (from the chimera to the gargoyle, Wendigo Sasquatch and the Mandragore) evolve and interact freely by means of artificial intelligence scripting. The two types of navigation, exploratory or indexed, offer a metaphorical and living bestiary, as spectacular as it is fun to discover. 4 The Immersive Bestiary – Le Bestiaire immersif U.I.M. Research Samuelle Ducrocq-Henry These interfaces, strongly inspired by the Persian illuminations and the Book of Hours, aim to make this production a truly pictoral, iconographic and interactive masterpiece. The two navigational access points to the Bestiary - exploratory and indexed - both of them intuitive, instructional and entertaining in terms of user interaction, will present a range of creatures to look at in a random or customized and organized way. Each type of access will allow the user to meet each of the creatures over the course of an interactive module, within its own context, with its own habits and mysteries, which can be discovered by experimentation with the cursor and the user's imagination, in order to unearth all the secrets the bestiary holds. Throughout the entire length of the exploration, the user will be bothered by a mischievous, uncontrollable and indestructible little fly, who will seize the cursor and wake up, tease or harrass the creatures of the Bestiary, and who in turn, will constantly want to be rid of it. The behaviour of this hyperactive