Gosh darn I just love developers. They’re always coming up with crazy smart ideas. If we had to start this world again from scratch, I’d want to be on the team with the developers because they would figure out how to save the day – or at least be able to reverse engineer a toaster so we could all have a crumpet and nice cup of tea.
So the latest in crazy smart things that developers do happens to combine two of my favorite pastimes – music and technology. It’s an experiment from the folks at Google Chrome called “The Wilderness Downtown” — an interactive interpretation of Arcade Fire’s song “We Used To Wait.” According to ‘the Google’ (as my dad has dubbed the tech superpower), these experiments:
“… were created by designers and programmers from around the world using the latest open standards, including HTML5, Canvas, SVG, and more. Their work is making the web faster, more fun, and more open – the same spirit in which we built Google Chrome.”
This particular experiment was built entirely with the latest open web technologies, including HTML5 video, audio, and canvas.
But what the heck it exactly? Well, you just have to try it and see – honestly. It’s worth a few minutes of your day. All you have to do is type in the address of the house you grew up in and sit back and enjoy the experience:
One important detail: It really only works properly if you use Google Chrome as your browser.
I don’t want to give too much away but I’ll say that it really demonstrates how LOCATION is so personal and can be used to evoke memories from childhood (even though what you see is obviously from the present). I saw my past through the lens of today and felt at once a mix of conflicting emotions, both happy and melancholy, in awe of the pure freedom we had – running across backyards for what seemed like forever. Our mothers’ voices echoing through the night trying to call us into dinner like some wild animals to be rounded up. Something tells me that this is not happening today on Lancaster Drive.
Anyway. Back to the Wilderness.
From this cool little experiment, we can see why the most compelling mobile apps use location to connect us to the world and the people and even the things around us. It takes us on a little trip and plays some great music and just so happens to demonstrate what a little Javascript in all the right places can do. The graphics are simple and beautiful –although I was a bit freaked out by the trees – the wilderness – at the end. I generally think of trees as friendly sorts (except for the bad forest in the Wizard of Oz) but these trees come across as slightly sinister. On the other hand, it could just be me.
It’s highly interactive, too, so each one of us will create a totally different film. They have also tied the virtual and physical worlds together with another phase of the experiment coming soon.
For Google, what a fantastic way to show off your stuff. And for us, what a fun journey.
Tags: HTML5, Mobile Apps, Mobile Web, Terri White, The Mobile Beat
