| 1 | MicropolisNet: a Cooperative Multi User City Simulation |
| 2 | |
| 3 | MicropolisNet is an animated interactive system simulation game, providing |
| 4 | a set of rules and tools for planning and building a complex |
| 5 | dynamic simulated city. Several people on different workstations can |
| 6 | participate in the same game, cooperating and coordinating their |
| 7 | actions over the net. |
| 8 | |
| 9 | Working together, you can zone land use, hook up the power grid, build |
| 10 | roads, bridges, parks and stadiums, raise taxes, and even summon |
| 11 | disasters, causing the city to grow and thrive, or crumble and die. |
| 12 | MicropolisNet features multiple city views and maps with overlays, |
| 13 | simultaneous editing and user interface interaction, "voting panels" |
| 14 | for group decision making, and multimedia communication and |
| 15 | annotation features ("bridges between players"). |
| 16 | |
| 17 | The multi user interface supports communication via three media in |
| 18 | parallel: text, sound, and graphics. It includes a scrolling text log |
| 19 | for telegram messages, a networked audio server for sound effects and |
| 20 | voice intercom, and shared cursors and graphical overlays for |
| 21 | pointing, gesturing, annotating and editing the map. |
| 22 | |
| 23 | I propose to build a model of the Amsterdam neighborhood near |
| 24 | the conference ("bridges between dijks"), and let people walk up |
| 25 | and interact as they please. Experienced MicropolisNet players can |
| 26 | participate, using the shared environment and communication features |
| 27 | to demonstrate the system, advise other players, and coordinate the |
| 28 | game. |
| 29 | |
| 30 | The purpose of the experience is to create a constructive cooperative |
| 31 | virtual environment, where people can collaborate towards a common goal, |
| 32 | take part in group decisions, and share resources, responsibility, |
| 33 | and the consequences of each others actions. |
| 34 | |
| 35 | MicropolisNet is robust and easy to use, with engaging interactive sound |
| 36 | effects and lively graphical animation, so it's fun to watch as well |
| 37 | as play. |
| 38 | |
| 39 | MicropolisNet can be played across several different makes of computer at |
| 40 | once ("bridges between brands"). It presently runs on color SPARC and |
| 41 | Indigo workstations (and is easily portable to other Unix platforms), |
| 42 | and plays over the net (but without sound) on other 8 bit color X |
| 43 | terminals and workstations. I can ship my own SPARC if necessary, and |
| 44 | I'm trying to obtain support and a loan of equipment (hopefully Indigos) |
| 45 | in Holland. |
| 46 | |
| 47 | It would be useful to have a high resolution video projector, visible |
| 48 | from the other workstations. The projector could display overall city |
| 49 | maps, graphs, messages, statistics and other global data, so players |
| 50 | don't need to spend their own screen space. |
| 51 | |
| 52 | I need enough floor and table space to place workstations where people |
| 53 | can walk up to them and use the keyboard, mouse, and microphone. Most |
| 54 | could be together in a group within view of the video projector, but |
| 55 | others could be in remote locations. |
| 56 | |
| 57 | The workstations, network, video projector, and posters must be set |
| 58 | up and torn down, but none of that's very difficult. Thin wire ethernet |
| 59 | would be preferable, and would require thick to thin transceiver for the |
| 60 | workstations equipped with thick wire ethernet plugs. |
| 61 | |
| 62 | Once MicropolisNet is set up and running, it doesn't require special |
| 63 | supervision. I will attend and demonstrate the system as much as I |
| 64 | can, but during other times, unless someone volunteers, it can run |
| 65 | on its own, as long as there's enough security that none of the |
| 66 | equipment walks off. |
| 67 | |
| 68 | I'm presently implementing MicropolisNet on X11 for DUX Software (who |
| 69 | licensed Micropolis from Maxis). It's mostly functional now, and will |
| 70 | be ready to demonstrate, but not yet released as a product, by the time |
| 71 | of the conference. Soon I'll have an "Alpha" demo version for the SGI |
| 72 | and SPARC, for limited distribution to INTERCHI reviewers and other |
| 73 | interested people. I'll make a video tape as soon as I have the |
| 74 | time and equipment. |
| 75 | |
| 76 | I've given many talks and interactive presentations at conferences, |
| 77 | and run demos at trade show booths. At CHI'90, I participated in the |
| 78 | "Empowered" performance (giving a whirlwind tour of pie menu based user |
| 79 | interfaces I'd implemented). Last year, I ported Micropolis (single user) |
| 80 | to OpenWindows on the SPARC (which won "Product of the Year 1992" from |
| 81 | Unix World). I worked as a developer of The NeWS Toolkit (at Sun in |
| 82 | Mountain View) and the HyperLook UIMS (at the Turing Institute in |
| 83 | Glasgow), both of which I used to port Micropolis to the SPARC. To |
| 84 | implement MicropolisNet on X11, I'm using the Tk toolkit, which I chose |
| 85 | to use because it's free, simple, and extensible. |