The state of online 3D

Past

There have been many attempts to make realtime 3D graphics over the web a viable technology. Back in 1995 VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) was one such example of a markup language that took a stab at producing 3D interactive vector graphics with web browsing in mind. VRML provoked much interest but never saw much serious widespread use. This may have been due to the calumniation of a few factors. For one there wasn't the bandwidth available at the time and people's computers just didn't have the processing power. There have been other examples of in-browser realtime 3D plugins including Shockwave, and the application Swift 3D. Even these Flash based technologies were still clunky and just not immediate enough for users to get excited about.

Present

Along came the rise of MMO's (Massively Multiplayer Online) games like World Of Warcraft and virtual environments such as Second Life. Software companies began utilising the power of play over a network, but kept processing outside the realm of the web browser. They opted instead to use a stand-alone and large downloaded application to be used from the PC's desktop. These kinds of realtime 3D platforms have become templates for a slew of similar recreational applications.

With the dawn of AS3 (the Flash Action Script language version 3) and it's push towards Object orientated Programming, the ability to produce complex applications became far easier. Open Source projects like Papervision, Sandy and Away 3D began seeing a lot of interest as people shared their work, showcasing some amazing 3D eye candy from right within the web-browser.

Future...

The immediate trend is surely that MMO's and their large software companies will be looking to migrate their gaming platforms from large, desktop applications to a web-browser based solutions. All the heavy lifting can then be done elsewhere, leaving you to access and play on any machine with a connection to the internet.

Web trends tend to grow where heavy investment is pumped into them, and right now accessible, browser based 3D graphics for recreation is where it's at. Russian teams such as Alternativa are one such example of this migration. Aside from Flash too, there are also up and coming standalone in-browser 3D engines like Unity3d.

Although Fixdit ourselves have built gaming applications for the web, we are more excited about the everyday applications online 3D can have in people's lives. We are pushing the quality and accessibility into new realms besides just recreational. Fixdit looks to produce applications which help in our real world tasks and experiences including areas of architecture, real estate, prototype modelling and engineering. The potential is truly incredible.