1) The subject of my proposed virtual world is a radiating stellar dendrite snowflake.  My assignment shows how temperature affects the growth and shape of the snowflake as it falls through the atmosphere.

2) I chose a dark background against the lighter colors of the snowflake to provide a clear sense of the silhouette and shape of my snowflake.  I aimed to create a model of something that we see represented all of the time (so often in decorations and designs) but usually do not stop to think about how exactly it is formed and how many factors play into it. I wanted to show the complex beauty of this type of snowflake, and attempt to simplify an aspect of their creation which is still very much a mystery. 

3) I tried to give visual form to the element of temperature by color coding the snowflake.  Through application of layers and the use of a color key to indicate which parts of the snowflake most likely grow at which temperature, I tried to show the effect that this force (temperature) has upon my form (falling ice particles).

4) Basic natural forms are everywhere around us. I chose to represent ice, and how it changes in regards to temperature. If the temperature changes even a degree, the ice can take on a completely different character. 

5) My concept design charts the hypothetical path of a snowflake which I have imagined and designed.  The idea is that my snowflake, during its growth, is in constant movement as it falls through the atmosphere, entering clouds of various temperatures.  I think my use of layers helped convey this idea

6) Some examples of analogous forms in nature are perhaps a birds eye view of terrain and a close up magnified picture of skin, or plant veins and human veins.

7) I think it is completely possible to create an engaging and interactive environment in the CAVE which conveys sensations such as flying or swimming. This can be done through scale to create the illusion that we are inside of a certain environment.  With the option of turning the floor on or off there is also the potential to create the feeling that we are standing directly within this particular environment.  Interactivity within the program, such as "animating" the layers, the ability to explore the environment with the controller, and allowing the viewer to pick and choose what he or she would like to see all can create a dynamic sense of place and invite the viewer to explore further.

8) I chose to create a solid object that, while one is invited to enlarge and examine it's shape up close, it is impossible to get inside of it, thus I think my particular visualization lives within the walls of the CAVE.

9) I chose to depict an illustration of a stellar dendrite snowflake for my 2D visualization.  I wanted to show the simple beauty of it, but in retrospect I believe it may have been more effective to incorporate more diagrams and a sequential illustration as a proper introduction to what I had been planning to do in the CAVE.

10) In my 3-D painted form I built a color-coded model of a snowflake. I designed the snowflake so layers could be turned on in order to show how the snowflake grows. I used ribbon brush strokes and build the model large-scale, so when looked at from a medium/far distance it looks complete, relatively smooth, symmetrical, and has the potential to be zoomed in on.

11) I had trouble logging in once. An error came up on the Windows computer. When I tried again it worked fine.

12) I had no problems running CavePainting.

13) I learned how to change colors as well as brush strokes. I built the original armature of the snowflake out of tubes and did the rest of it in ribbons of different colors.

14) A few discussion questions about the CAVE paper. It notes that they eventually want a projector that shutters so we can use cheap cardboard polarizing glasses instead of expensive ones with shutters built into them... do these projectors exist in some CAVEs now? What about spherical CAVEs, or ones with rounded corners so you don't see that crease in the wall... do they have CAVEs now with spheres with real-time capabilities? Are some CAVEs used for arts sake, such as for installation pieces, or are most generally used for science?

15) I think my use of layers worked, although I wish there was a way to loop an animation automatically rather than having to go through manually one by one.  I think my diagram would have been successful if my charts were more readable, and if I had also created a custom color palette with very bright colors, rather than using the dim pastel colors of the default palette.