Abstract
The Spatial Experience Engine: A Game-Based Application for Geospatial Information
Track: New Technology and System Integration
Author(s): Susan Bergeron
Recent advancements in geovisualization, immersive environments, and gaming technologies now offer the opportunity to generate digital representations of the cultural and physical landscapes, and embed those virtual landscapes with information and knowledge from multiple sources. This paper discusses the current phase of development of a prototype virtual world application, the Spatial Experience Engine, utilizing Microsoft's XNA Framework game development environment to create an application with the advanced graphical capability and navigability typical of leading entertainment video games. More importantly, the .NET-based XNA Framework allows the integration of GIS functionality through Esri's ArcObjects customization tools. Embedded within the virtual reconstruction, multimedia sources provide additional information accessible through interaction with features in the digital landscape, without the user losing a sense of immersion within the world. Linked GIS functions provide spatial analytic tools for analyzing data within the virtual world, and visualizing the results of those analyses without leaving the immersive environment.
Susan Bergeron
West Virginia University
Dept of Geology and Geography
330 Brooks Hall
Morgantown , West Virginia 26506
United States
Phone: 304-293-5603
E-mail: sue.bergeron@mail.wvu.edu