As promised here, Quentin, our Virtual Race Contest Winner, shares his thoughts about the Offhore Racing with Michel Desjoyeaux 3D Serious Game compared to the real thing.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Keep 3D-ing,

Rich

When we welcomed Michel Desjoyeaux and his team in the Passion for Innovation Program, we had two challenges. The first one was to help Michel to design a new 60 feet monohull for La Route du Rhum-La Banque Postale and the Barcelona World Race in record time. Michel’s team succeeded with the help of our solutions and our experts.

The second one was to produce a 3D experience because Michel was willing to share his life on board with the general public. We produced a 3D visit of the virtual boat and a serious game with an online contest. You can read more about it here.

The time had come for our two winners, Quentin and Thomas, to get on board with Michel Desjoyeaux and his crew. After the virtual experience, they had to taste “the real thing”, and the Dassault Systèmes project team as well.

We enjoyed perfect conditions, with a sunny weather and just enough wind to get fantastic sensations on Michel’s new MOD 70 multi-hull. We also had a chance to sail on the new MACIF monohull, a sister-ship of the FONCIA IMOCA boat and compare the virtual boat we made to reality. Although we found them pretty close,  nothing can replace the wind in the sails and the thrilling sensation of speed when those sea-Formula 1 accelerate!

Our two winners had a chance to steer the MOD 70 and enjoy a private Deluxe Masterclass with Michel Desjoyeaux providing them with advice in person. An unforgettable experience, as you can see in the gallery below. Click on thumbnails to enlarge photos.

Stay tuned for an exclusive Quentin’s interview as well!

Keep 3D-ing,

Rich

The RAID elite team (the French SWAT if you prefer) are called “when no one else can do the job”. Hostage situations, dangerous criminals and armed gunmen going nuts are their targets and you can bet mistakes cost a lot more than just a few bucks or a broken window… Kind of scary right?

So obviously they want a risk-free training and that’s no surprise they turned to serious gaming to improve their preparation, the army has been doing so for years now.

So what’s the situation like? Basically, RAID people are dedicated to 200 French sites labeled “high risk”, either because they are heavily populated or because an attack can cause extreme material damage. And even if they train regularly, it is not always possible to obtain unlimited access to certain sites – a nuclear station or a train station for example.

The more we understand what’s waiting for us, the faster we can go in and do the job. It considerably reduces the risk to our team and the people we need to save.

So the point of the serious game is to digitize these 200 places and not only the building but also its content (means of access, obstacles, doors, ducts, outer surroundings). All this is under process with the 3DVIA team: with the help of 3DVIA Studio Pro, they create immersive 3D simulations of intervention scenarios.

The RAID team now has a better understanding of the area they have to work in: “team members all confirmed that when they actually entered the ship [they studied beforehand], it was as if they had already been there before.”

The nice thing is that they have different scenarios (and thus tactics), different weather and lighting conditions and so on… in other words, a lifelike experience!

Next step is to update the 3D model in real time as the situation evolves (say hostages are moved to another room) so that it enables RAID people to modify their strategy instantly and tell their troops on site… exciting huh?

Cheers,

Rémi

I’d like to introduce you to a new 3D augmented reality cereal box experience!

After our Rio 3D augmented reality game, the Experiential Marketing Strategy team, in collaboration with Nestlé and Dreamworks, developed another fun game based on the Kung Fu Panda 2 movie.

You know Po, the humble panda? He is back and this time he’s also on cereal boxes: lead him and his gang, the Furious Five, through this 3D video game… with a hand card only!?

The goal of this interactive game is to create the longest chain with Po and his friends and catch as fast as possible the traditional Chinese food bowls holding on the lanterns. But watch out the firecrackers and the cannon balls that can break the chain!

Here is a sneak video about the Kung Fu Panda 2 3D augmented reality experience:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Now let me share with you some interesting figures:

• It’s the fourth 3D augmented reality experience developed in collaboration with Nestlé thanks to 3DVIA technologies (Chocapic, Arthur Course and Rio).
• It’s the second one so global: it will be available on 33 million boxes in more than 50 countries… huge!!!

Try the game and let me know if you like this kind of marketing campaign. I DO and I’m sure it will change the way brands interact with their consumers.

(Btw, if you don’t have the cereal box, you can still download the tag and play directly on Nestlé’s dedicated website!)

Have fun!

Agnès

The term “Serious Game” was used long before the introduction of computer and mobile devices into entertainment. Military officers have actually been using war games in order to train strategic skills since the 19th century.

Web3D technologies now enlarge the field of possibilites while working on serious game projects, may they be created to teach students in a virtual environment, help healthcare professionals, showcase a new product, train company’s employees or help said company communicate with its customers.

Back from the eVirtuoses event in France where 3DVIA technologies were demonstrated, I realize how much Web3D is leading the serious game market to a new online era where users can physically connect from everywhere, at any time, and access some serious content. Check out the possibilities:

Click here to view the embedded video.

These are being more and more exploited by agencies and brands to leverage their products through advergames and showrooms. This kind of serious games delivers a fun pay off while delivering a message to the customers. Furthermore, associating a brand with the fun of gaming is lifting brand metrics such as brand awareness, message association and purchase intent.

Such 3D technologies have some very interesting uses in the life sciences industry to help people learn about health concerns or train future doctors or experts. They are also strategic in the education system where connecting students with interactive digital content has become a key differentiator and leads to a higher retention rate in knowledge and behavior.

Empowering users of all 3D experience levels to create and share in 3D, Dassault Systèmes, through its 3DVIA brand, has created a comprehensive development and deployment platform to easily create interactive experiences online: 3DVIA Studio.

Try it, it’s free!

Best,

Victorien

Agnès and I.

I had a chance to catch Agnès, the one who’s in charge of Michel Desjoyeaux serious game. Marc blogged about it earlier and I thought you guys would enjoy a sneak look at what’s happening behind the curtain.

The game was developed with 3Dvia Virtools from the original CATIA design of Michel’s boat. So, if you’ve already visited it, now you know it’s the real one!

Plus, if you look closer at the game, you’ll realize Michel actually uses 3Dvia Composer to communicate with his team onshore when an issue pops up: they’re able to identify exactly which component has to be fixed.

Anyway, I’m not holding you longer, let’s hear what Agnès has to tell!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Did you learn something about how a serious game like this one is done? I personally did!

Cheers,

Rémi

After having helped Michel Desjoyeaux in his PLM challenge by designing and building his 60ft monohull boat in less than 6 months, we made it possible to discover the strategic aspects of racing, learn how to handle a boat (even in difficult weather conditions!) and understand the main maneuvers to perform on a boat…

How? With a 3D serious game called “Offshore racing with Michel Desjoyeaux”! All within the context of a fun online game, it is possible to experience Michel’s life, accompanied by Mister Desjoyeaux himself who will give you some clues as well as anecdotes about his personal experience in a similar race.

At this occasion, we decided to launch an online contest open until May 28^th 2011.

Prizes go from a day with Michel Desjoyeaux (limited to French participants only… sorry non-French people!) to winning high quality sailing jackets, bags, DVDs…

The goal is to be the fastest… So here are some tips for you guys:

1. The race strategy: find the best balance between the shortest route and the strongest winds… and remember the shorter may not be the better!
2. The life on board: manage properly the various stages of life on board the ship, it is as important as sailing!

Come on guys, it has to be a 3DPerspectives reader who wins!!

Tell us if you rocked the sea!

Best,

Marc

Marc Pavageau is Dassault Systèmes’ online marketing and communication director.

I’ve dedicated this final episode to another project from one of The Nantes Atlantiques School of Design’s students. This blog post is for the forever-young…

For those of you who have always dreamt of being a super hero, flying with Superman, fighting with Batman and climbing buildings with Spiderman, YES, IT IS POSSIBLE!

The Spider Hero project has turned fantasy into reality for the forever-young whom have always wanted to have the same powers as Marvel’s SpiderMan. Flying over the city, jumping from one building to another, or staying still to contemplate the city from the sky… sounds exciting right?

The concept is that Spider Hero enables visitors to ricochet from one building to another on a cobweb in a virtual city.   It reproduces visuals and sound effects for more intense sensations and immersion.

This Virtual Reality application is based on a system using unexpected and unusual tools: a vacuum cleaner, a rubber tube, a servomotor, a WiiMote, a thread and a WiiBoard.

The user stands on the WiiBoard, which is equipped with movement sensors. He wears a glove connected to a rubber tube with a thread. Using a system that exerts a pulling force, he targets buildings or moves in closer until he almost collides with them, feeling the wind blowing around him. Just like SpiderMan…

The thread that the user holds stretches out to recreate the sensation of movement.

This project was presented during the Laval Virtual conference. Spider Hero was also worked on in collaboration with students from the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST).

I think these students are genius.  Would you like this kind of VR game?

Best,

Charles

PS: Here are the previous posts of the miniseries:

#1: Immersive Rail Shooter

#2: Interaction Design Degree

To begin this Design School Miniseries, here is an interview of David, a young student and award winner… let’s discover what he has to tell us!

David, could you please introduce yourself?

Hello! My name is David Arenou and I am from Nantes. I study at the School of Design Nantes Atlantique, France. I am currently in my last year of studies and just did a 3D project. At the moment, I am doing my final internship at Alcatel Lucent and then I will graduate. And why not apply for a job at Dassault Systèmes?

Describe your “IMMERSIVE RAIL SHOOTER” project…

IMMERSIVE RAIL SHOOTER is my final School of Design project. What I came up with is a shooting video game. The central idea is that you have to hide to survive.  And to give the game a tangible dimension: you are in your living room or bedroom, where you place a video console, and the immersive rail shooter allows you to bring the belongings you have around you (chair, sofa, table, any object that you could use to hide behind), into direct interaction in the video game. You use these physical elements as real hiding tools. The only other thing you need is a camera for you to be detectable, and a fake gun or remote control to track your movement.

Click here to view the embedded video.

What is it about your game that really offers something new to a potential user?

The main evolution introduced in the game is related to the physical immersion aspect: you are completely in the game, with your body and your thoughts, and this is the huge difference with other projects. The game is a success when you forget that you are only in your room.

But how do you use the game?

You just put a chair in front of your body, and you imagine your body is in the virtual world; as I said before, you forget where you are.  You are in another world, you feel immersed.

Why did you choose 3DVIA Virtools to develop this project?

I chose 3DVIA for three reasons: first, because I learned 3DVIA Virtools in my school, so I was used to it and I already knew the software; secondly, 3DVIA enabled me to prototype my ideas very rapidly. Last but not least, I knew I needed a tracking system to detect the player, ARtoolKIT to track big markers. 3DVIA Virtools gave me the answer.  It made it easy and quick to compose and have access to a whole array of different choices and behaviors.

What does your winning Laval Virtual’s First Prize and Prize for the Best Interaction and Programming inspire you for the future?

I took part in the Laval Virtual Conference as a student competitor and I won the Virtual Fantasy Prize. It’s a great honor for me to have won this kind of award and I really want to express my thanks to the jury. This award tells me today: “Ok, David, this project is your thing, keep it up; maybe it will be your way for the future….”

David, thank you for visiting DS Campus and thank you for talking to us.

My pleasure !
http://www.davidarenou.com/

Best,

Charles

Charles Bonnassieux works as Marketing Specialist for Dassault Systèmes