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1.1 root 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.
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