The Creative Environments Youth Network (CEYN) allows users to customise their own virtual space; each connected to other such spaces, forming a community of user built locations within a virtual world.
CEYN is an online interaction system developed in response to a brief by the Youth Internet Radio Network (YIRN) project group.
A user or a group of users can opt to create new spaces positioned within a virtual world. They can then modify these spaces through text, images, various CEYN components like message boards, and through specifying links to other forms of media such as Quicktime movie files and mp3 audio files. These media file links can be added to the Streaming Receiver (essentially a community library of links) for other users to browse and play. Spaces can then be connected to other spaces using links made up of images and descriptions such as “Walk Down Path” or “Go East”.
Real-time chat allows users to communicate directly with one another whilst within the virtual world. Messages can be filtered depending on where the user is currently residing, thus creating the impression that one is physically within a particular space and is only communicating with others within that space.
CEYN can be visually customised to fit various themes and purposes. A virtual world may consist of an archipelago of islands, or perhaps reside in outer space. All that is required is for the basic interface visuals to be designed and then simply applied.
The Isles of Juvenity is the CEYN world created for YIRN. It is a beautiful location complete with sunny shores, forest walks and lush vegetation. The interface aesthetic invokes a sense of adventure and exploration.
The ‘Zero Gravity’ theme was created for Multimedia Art Asia Pacific (MAAP) in response to a brief relating to the upcoming ‘MAAP in Singapore‘ festival. The purpose of CEYN in this case was to provide an environment where artists could share works, but that would still be around long after the festival was over. The interface skin was designed to evoke a sense of weightlessness, in step with the event’s ‘Zero Gravity’ theme. This version of CEYN was part of the Tsunamii.net conjured Zero Gravity Party [Wayback Machine], a live broadband event connecting The Singapore Art Museum and QUT Creative Industries Precinct, Brisbane on Friday 29 October, 2004.
DEVELOPMENT SUMMARY
Team: Yang Wong, Shu-Min Heng, John Whitehead, Steve Ha
As a small team we were all involved in the overall concept, design and documentation of the Creative Environments Youth Network.
Year: 2004
Yang Wong
My role as a Technical Lead involved:
- Design/Development of the back end systems (excluding real-time chat server)
- Design/Development of the front end systems (excluding real-time chat, streaming receiver, user tracker, help)
Technology: Flash ActionScript 2, PHP and MySQL.
Shu-Min Heng
My role was Lead Interface Designer. This included:
- Design/Development of the front end interfaces (excluding the Cartography Centre). This included all of the graphics (excluding the YIRN map and location images) and much of the programming
Technology: Flash (ActionScript 2), Photoshop and Java.
LINKS
The Creative Environments Youth Network was developed by a small team based in Brisbane, Australia.
Youth Internet Radio Network – http://www.comminit.com/en/node/123440/348
YIRN [Wayback Machine] – http://web.archive.org