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Imaginary Forces Works With MTV Networks to Design Immersive Virtual Environment, Virtual Laguna Beach
Company: MTV
Date: 04 Oct 2006
Los Angeles, CA – (October 3, 2006) – MTV has launched Virtual Laguna Beach, an interactive virtual community of the popular TV series, “Laguna Beach: The Real OC.†Fans of the show can create their own avatar character and meet up with others in a virtual paradise.
“Now our audience can 'live' Laguna Beach: The Real OC by immersing themselves in a next generation hybrid of TV show and virtual community," says Matt Bostwick, SVP Franchise Development MTV Music Group. "The virtual world will expand and grow with the show in real time. This will enable the audience to take our content as a starting point and create their own drama. In effect, the audience becomes the content. We created a first class 'virtual team' to implement this consisting of Makena Technologies, Imaginary Forces, The Electric Sheep Company, Analog Protocol and Extra Large Technology to make it happen in record time."
Entertainment and design company Imaginary Forces (IF) was charged with designing most of the graphic elements for Virtual Laguna Beach. IF Art Director Grant Lau, IF Technical Director Eric Mason, and IF Producer Jamey Kitchens spearheaded the IF team.
“Our job was a tough one: Re-conceive Laguna Beach in such a way so that it is accessible and interesting for the audience, but retains some semblance of the real city,†says Jamey Kitchens, IF Producer. “We designed the user interface, the buildings, terrain, the skies, lighting, and connective elements that make the world feel like the real Laguna Beach. We also designed the clothing and accessories, as well as re-tooled the geometry of the avatar’s head to effect a younger, more realistic-looking character. It was quite a task.â€
Over the past several months, IF, working with the MTV internal team, has been responsible for designing, building, implementing and testing the recognizable and real environments, terrains, landmarks and buildings from the “Laguna Beach†show that users can engage and interact with. IF took several trips to Laguna Beach, taking reference photos, writing notes, and paying attention to every detail -- from architecture and landmark buildings down to the type of trash cans used throughout the city.
“There's definitely something to be said for first time experiences, and starting a project from an outside-the-box perspective,†notes Eric Mason, IF Technical Director. “It's daunting at first because there's a great deal to learn when you’re using proprietary software, but on the other hand, being unfamiliar with your limitations allows you to dream a little bigger than if you knew otherwise. Our conceptual explorations were playful, enthusiastic, and insightful, and as the project went on and toolsets and technical constraints revealed themselves, we were able to explore how we could take advantage of what we had available to us, and develop innovative ways to use existing features to provide new content.â€
In Virtual Laguna Beach, players can “level up†by succeeding on quests or acquiring certain social skills. These include bonuses such as earning MTV$ (the virtual world’s currency), access to a VIP club or unlocking additional articles of clothing. And bad behavior won’t go unnoticed -- if a player misbehaves at a private event or club, he can be thrown out by in-world moderators.
“Imaginary Forces was the first external design company to use our Makena technology -- the same technology used to build the There.com online service - in the construction of Virtual Laguna Beach,†says Michael Wilson, CEO of Makena Technologies, creators of There.com. “Bringing together IF's creative talent with our technology was exciting on many fronts, not the least of which was seeing IF's vision of Laguna Beach ‘come to life’ in a virtual world. We look forward to working with them on many other projects going forward.â€
“The point of this experience is to meet and engage people within this online community,†concludes Grant Lau, IF Art Director. “You need to keep interactivity fresh and interesting, otherwise users will lose interest. There definitely were compromises to be made between how realistic a virtual city looks and how enjoyable the environment is for the audience. There's a happy medium somewhere in the midst of that, and I think we’ve found it.â€
The community launched a public beta on September 20th, which is available at http://www.vlb.mtv.com. The teaser/trailer, also created by IF, was released on August 11th with the second season DVD.
The IF team consisted of 13 modelers and texture artists utilizing 3D Studio Max, Adobe Photoshop, and There.com's proprietary software.
3D and 2D Graphics, GUI Graphics, Terrains, Avatar and Clothing Design for “Show Laguna†Designed and Produced by: Imaginary Forces (IF)
Executive Creative Director: Peter Frankfurt
Art Director: Grant Lau
Technical Director: Eric Mason
Producer: Jamey Kitchens
User Interface Designers: Brian Abero, Shirley Lin, Bradley Grosh, Chris Kepka
Designers/Modelers/Texture Artists: Andy Dill, Hao Cui, Damon Snyder, Orlando Costa, David Glicksman, Gene Arvan, Kimberly Im, Robert Lowden, Sal Rangel, Thomas Conners, Vihn Chung, Eric Mason
Coordinator: Ila Taluban
Overall Concept, Design, Creative Direction and Programming: MTV Networks
Executive in charge of production: Matt Bostwick
Producer: Rajiv Mody
Executive Producer, MTV Network and creator of Laguna Beach: The Real OC: Liz Gately
Assistant Producers: Eric Gruber & Jeff Addonizio
Art Direction Producer, Laguna Beach Franchise: Caroline Murphy
Engineering, Virtual World, Community, Avatar Technology, Authoring Tools and Infrastructure: Makena Technologies, creators of There (http://www.there.com)
Technical and Design Consulting: Analog Protocol, Inc. (www.analogprotocol.com)
Technical and Design Consultant: Peter Marx
Web Page Design and Execution, Event Creation and Management, Design and Production of “New Laguna,†Creation and Integration of Sponsor Content/Program: The Electric Sheep Company (www.electricsheepcompany.com)
Producer: Chris Carella
Assistant Producer: Jonathan Collins
Event Producer: Jessie Segal
Event Assistant: Libby Sproat
Art Director: Sven Johnson
Graphic Designers: Amanda Newman & John Brightbill
3D Modelers: Meg McGrath & Chip Mathews
Web Developer: Jason Fondren
Graphic Designer: Leah Davis
Machinimist: Rebecca Carella
Executive Director: Sibley Verbeck
Design and Execution of some structures, facades and clothing items: Extra Large Technology, Inc. (www.extralargetech.com)
3D Artists: Nesi Papoushado, Frida Sahono, Tracy James, Chris Jess, Matt Berenty, David Boxer, Eddy Alcazar, Ken Mcal & Steve Qian
Production Coordinator: Francesca Goff
Production Management: Ted Henning, David Koenig & Yoni Koenig
About Imaginary Forces
IMAGINARY FORCES (IF) is an entertainment and design company based in Hollywood and New York. Its award-winning work spans the diverse industries of feature film production, entertainment marketing and promotion, corporate branding, architecture, advertising and interactive media.
IF’s recent work includes identity packages for Lifetime, USA Network, Animal Planet and MTV, as well as effective and compelling broadcast advertising for Nike, Toyota, Pontiac, Smirnoff and Lexus. In entertainment and media marketing, IF created campaigns for such films as Transformers, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Stepford Wives, Signs and both Men in Black films. The company also designed and produced main title sequences for The Break-Up, Ray, The Legend of Zorro, Band of Brothers, Spider-Man, Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat and Seven, and produced the highly successful Blade trilogy.
Combining architecture and media, IF has developed branded experiences for IBM, Morgan Stanley, Airbus Industries and the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens. The studio is also a principal partner in United Architects (UA), one of six finalists for the re-design of the World Trade Center site at Ground Zero. Combining storytelling, filmmaking and architecture to address the social, emotional, urban, national and international issues, the UA model is now a part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art. UA recently collaborated on an immersive architectural media exhibit, “Bubbles in the Wine,†for the “New York, New York†exhibition in the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. The company also designed and created projections for Director Julie Taymor’s operatic production of “Grendel.†For more information about Imaginary Forces' capabilities, contact Director of Business Development Danixa Diaz at danixa@imaginaryforces.com.
“Now our audience can 'live' Laguna Beach: The Real OC by immersing themselves in a next generation hybrid of TV show and virtual community," says Matt Bostwick, SVP Franchise Development MTV Music Group. "The virtual world will expand and grow with the show in real time. This will enable the audience to take our content as a starting point and create their own drama. In effect, the audience becomes the content. We created a first class 'virtual team' to implement this consisting of Makena Technologies, Imaginary Forces, The Electric Sheep Company, Analog Protocol and Extra Large Technology to make it happen in record time."
Entertainment and design company Imaginary Forces (IF) was charged with designing most of the graphic elements for Virtual Laguna Beach. IF Art Director Grant Lau, IF Technical Director Eric Mason, and IF Producer Jamey Kitchens spearheaded the IF team.
“Our job was a tough one: Re-conceive Laguna Beach in such a way so that it is accessible and interesting for the audience, but retains some semblance of the real city,†says Jamey Kitchens, IF Producer. “We designed the user interface, the buildings, terrain, the skies, lighting, and connective elements that make the world feel like the real Laguna Beach. We also designed the clothing and accessories, as well as re-tooled the geometry of the avatar’s head to effect a younger, more realistic-looking character. It was quite a task.â€
Over the past several months, IF, working with the MTV internal team, has been responsible for designing, building, implementing and testing the recognizable and real environments, terrains, landmarks and buildings from the “Laguna Beach†show that users can engage and interact with. IF took several trips to Laguna Beach, taking reference photos, writing notes, and paying attention to every detail -- from architecture and landmark buildings down to the type of trash cans used throughout the city.
“There's definitely something to be said for first time experiences, and starting a project from an outside-the-box perspective,†notes Eric Mason, IF Technical Director. “It's daunting at first because there's a great deal to learn when you’re using proprietary software, but on the other hand, being unfamiliar with your limitations allows you to dream a little bigger than if you knew otherwise. Our conceptual explorations were playful, enthusiastic, and insightful, and as the project went on and toolsets and technical constraints revealed themselves, we were able to explore how we could take advantage of what we had available to us, and develop innovative ways to use existing features to provide new content.â€
In Virtual Laguna Beach, players can “level up†by succeeding on quests or acquiring certain social skills. These include bonuses such as earning MTV$ (the virtual world’s currency), access to a VIP club or unlocking additional articles of clothing. And bad behavior won’t go unnoticed -- if a player misbehaves at a private event or club, he can be thrown out by in-world moderators.
“Imaginary Forces was the first external design company to use our Makena technology -- the same technology used to build the There.com online service - in the construction of Virtual Laguna Beach,†says Michael Wilson, CEO of Makena Technologies, creators of There.com. “Bringing together IF's creative talent with our technology was exciting on many fronts, not the least of which was seeing IF's vision of Laguna Beach ‘come to life’ in a virtual world. We look forward to working with them on many other projects going forward.â€
“The point of this experience is to meet and engage people within this online community,†concludes Grant Lau, IF Art Director. “You need to keep interactivity fresh and interesting, otherwise users will lose interest. There definitely were compromises to be made between how realistic a virtual city looks and how enjoyable the environment is for the audience. There's a happy medium somewhere in the midst of that, and I think we’ve found it.â€
The community launched a public beta on September 20th, which is available at http://www.vlb.mtv.com. The teaser/trailer, also created by IF, was released on August 11th with the second season DVD.
The IF team consisted of 13 modelers and texture artists utilizing 3D Studio Max, Adobe Photoshop, and There.com's proprietary software.
3D and 2D Graphics, GUI Graphics, Terrains, Avatar and Clothing Design for “Show Laguna†Designed and Produced by: Imaginary Forces (IF)
Executive Creative Director: Peter Frankfurt
Art Director: Grant Lau
Technical Director: Eric Mason
Producer: Jamey Kitchens
User Interface Designers: Brian Abero, Shirley Lin, Bradley Grosh, Chris Kepka
Designers/Modelers/Texture Artists: Andy Dill, Hao Cui, Damon Snyder, Orlando Costa, David Glicksman, Gene Arvan, Kimberly Im, Robert Lowden, Sal Rangel, Thomas Conners, Vihn Chung, Eric Mason
Coordinator: Ila Taluban
Overall Concept, Design, Creative Direction and Programming: MTV Networks
Executive in charge of production: Matt Bostwick
Producer: Rajiv Mody
Executive Producer, MTV Network and creator of Laguna Beach: The Real OC: Liz Gately
Assistant Producers: Eric Gruber & Jeff Addonizio
Art Direction Producer, Laguna Beach Franchise: Caroline Murphy
Engineering, Virtual World, Community, Avatar Technology, Authoring Tools and Infrastructure: Makena Technologies, creators of There (http://www.there.com)
Technical and Design Consulting: Analog Protocol, Inc. (www.analogprotocol.com)
Technical and Design Consultant: Peter Marx
Web Page Design and Execution, Event Creation and Management, Design and Production of “New Laguna,†Creation and Integration of Sponsor Content/Program: The Electric Sheep Company (www.electricsheepcompany.com)
Producer: Chris Carella
Assistant Producer: Jonathan Collins
Event Producer: Jessie Segal
Event Assistant: Libby Sproat
Art Director: Sven Johnson
Graphic Designers: Amanda Newman & John Brightbill
3D Modelers: Meg McGrath & Chip Mathews
Web Developer: Jason Fondren
Graphic Designer: Leah Davis
Machinimist: Rebecca Carella
Executive Director: Sibley Verbeck
Design and Execution of some structures, facades and clothing items: Extra Large Technology, Inc. (www.extralargetech.com)
3D Artists: Nesi Papoushado, Frida Sahono, Tracy James, Chris Jess, Matt Berenty, David Boxer, Eddy Alcazar, Ken Mcal & Steve Qian
Production Coordinator: Francesca Goff
Production Management: Ted Henning, David Koenig & Yoni Koenig
About Imaginary Forces
IMAGINARY FORCES (IF) is an entertainment and design company based in Hollywood and New York. Its award-winning work spans the diverse industries of feature film production, entertainment marketing and promotion, corporate branding, architecture, advertising and interactive media.
IF’s recent work includes identity packages for Lifetime, USA Network, Animal Planet and MTV, as well as effective and compelling broadcast advertising for Nike, Toyota, Pontiac, Smirnoff and Lexus. In entertainment and media marketing, IF created campaigns for such films as Transformers, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Stepford Wives, Signs and both Men in Black films. The company also designed and produced main title sequences for The Break-Up, Ray, The Legend of Zorro, Band of Brothers, Spider-Man, Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat and Seven, and produced the highly successful Blade trilogy.
Combining architecture and media, IF has developed branded experiences for IBM, Morgan Stanley, Airbus Industries and the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens. The studio is also a principal partner in United Architects (UA), one of six finalists for the re-design of the World Trade Center site at Ground Zero. Combining storytelling, filmmaking and architecture to address the social, emotional, urban, national and international issues, the UA model is now a part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art. UA recently collaborated on an immersive architectural media exhibit, “Bubbles in the Wine,†for the “New York, New York†exhibition in the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. The company also designed and created projections for Director Julie Taymor’s operatic production of “Grendel.†For more information about Imaginary Forces' capabilities, contact Director of Business Development Danixa Diaz at danixa@imaginaryforces.com.
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Game: Virtual Laguna Beach (PC)
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Game: Virtual Laguna Beach (PC)
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