Community can be defined in many terms. Unification of entities would probably be the most generic definition for it, or a connection between beings could be another. But what about the definition for community when one is all by themselves? Can we feel like there is a connection with our surroundings when we are totally alone?
My final project deals with this concept. As a person wanders around a foreign environment, can they affix themselves with what is going on around them? Will they be able to find security and warmth like they might be able to when in a traditional community, or will there always be the feeling like they don’t belong?
I made the world in which people will be foreign to very dark and forbidding. It is purposefully done in this manner to generate the feeling just opposite of community; I want people who encounter this space to feel utterly alone. A dark and grungy environ lends to this. The corridors are tight, the lights are dim, the walls are wrecked, and there is much dark space for anything to be hiding in. I feel like in order to be able to really sense community one must first get a sense of isolation. As they explore their surroundings I would think that some would start to feel more comfortable with where they are, much like how we feel comfortable with our ‘communities’ we surround ourselves with normally.
The scene is constructed from what was originally a single plane. It was then cut, extruded, subdivided, designed, and textured to create the final space. My reference images relayed to me the sense that light and shadow were important for this project more than anything else. The Maya and Virtools combination allows for potential users to steer themselves in whatever direction they may want in the scene, which makes for an interesting and unique experience for each user. Considering the alternative of single rendered frames, this format of an interactive 3-d virtual environment is much more ideal for getting my concept across. Allowing the user to explore where they are on their own terms allows them to control their comfort level. If they wander into a dark space that looks foreboding, probably they would hesitate to enter or try another route. Perhaps they would find an area and stick to it and never leave; that area would become their ‘community’ more or less. Some may never find an area they find any comfort in and thus never feel like they are part of the community. The idea that some users will become relaxed in this environment and others will not intrigues me.