[Edu-sig] The Fate of VPyton >> BLENDER ??

Jason Cunliffe jasonic at nomadics.org
Fri Oct 13 11:04:12 CEST 2006


Art

Thanks for your clear reply..
Yes. Having a reasonable sense of your sensibilities from edu-sig 
dialogues, I hesitated 3 times before even suggesting it.

<personal memo>
I range wide in my sensibilities and preferences.
btw, I think I was perhaps the original poster to edu-sig about VPython.
Was greatly influenced by a magnificent shell+3D window  on Amiga c.1987 
called "PageRender3D". Am fairly sure you would approve highly of that one.
And then live GEOMETER implemented on SGI c.1993 [minimal and mind-blowing]
Or REBOL for example for its less-is-more philosophy. In general prefer 
one-to-one encounters than groups anytime. Signal to noise is usually so 
much better.
</personal memo>

However we are entering the great RW [read-write] cooperative, 
collaborative epoch. Ideas and process having many roots in the world of 
[Open]software, networks of networks, virtuality 
[modeling/simulation/contemplation...  in every order]
These dynamics are now bubbling up out into social financial and 
political spheres [ah see - Pure Geometry purifies]

meme-nets are thriving as never before

My subversive proposal to you is along those lines.
Optimistically,  I imagined that maybe a VPython version of Blender is 
quite possible AND a good idea.
The key paradigm is for a pure geometric minimal shell with live 3d 
viewer and modular architecture. small fast cheap beautiful user-controls

I think using the Blender Python API it is possible to configure Blender 
to run as shell based Geometry [Game] Engine.
You can ignore all the dancing  girls and singing seals if you want. 
What you gain however may be like a laboratory for geometry [with 
physics::: particles, light, gravity, etc]

Geometry meme -> Kepler elipses -> lead to orbiting planets.
or geometry behind this 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Milky_Way_2005.jpg

And heres a video clip of experimental interface where minimal 2D 
geometry symbolizes physical mechanics
[draw = think = link] [ancient Greeks making marks in the sand with 
sticks seashells and string]
*
MIT live drawing*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZNTgglPbUA

Won't be surprised if you tell me that you love it OR hate it :-)

I understand why you don't want all the bells and whistles of Blender as 
it installs now.
But if it turned out that all that stuff was in proactive very easy to 
turn-off ,and instead present a VPython face.
Something installs well quickly cross-platform, how would you feel?

Jason


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