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Games

Portals Puts DIY Parallel Universes Within Reach

We’ll soon be able to interact in a virtual dimension.

On the Kickstarter page for Portals, artist and designer Jayne Vidheecharoen references the definition of the abstract concept: “a magical or technological doorway that connects two distant locations separated by space-time.” But by the looks of Vidheecharoen’s project, the mythical idea of a portal will soon be firmly grounded in reality.

Portals intends to let two physically disconnected people interact in a virtual—but real—world. As a graduate student at California’s Art Center College of Design‘s Media Design program, she plans to open up a new space for virtual play by bringing inanimate objects to life. As you reach your hand into one of her Portals, green screen technology takes input from Google Street View to place your limb in any geographic location in the world. And if you’re holding a toy, it’ll animate.

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“Now that you and your objects are in this virtual space, they can be free of real-world rules,” Vidheecharoen teases. Watch the video below for an overview.

As Vidheecharoen said to Near Future Laboratory, “I don't just want to appear in Street View, I want to play in it and add things to it too. And I want to be able to invite my friends to join me on the street.”

She explains her hopes for Portals, which met its $1,500 goal in an impressively quick week and a half, on her Kickstarter page:

Lately, people have been getting pretty excited about the idea of interacting with computers by touching screens or gesturing in front of them. But I've been wondering, what if you could interact with by getting under, inside, or behind the screen instead? Also, what alternatives are there between the too-real experience of face to face video conferencing and the too-fake experience of completely virtual worlds (like Second Life)?

She created the diagrams below for Near Future Laboratory in order to graphically represent her ideas:

Vidheecharoen is even experimenting with drawing onto the scene.

Because Portals is connected to the internet, this project has massive potential to allow people in far-off places to share a space and interact.

Fittingly, Kickstarter supporters who donate $50 or more will receive a virtual hug. She’s also found support from the Kickstarter community by asking for design advice and other suggestions. It looks like even the development of Portals is connecting us already.

Track Portals’ progress on Jayne Vidheecharoen’s blog.