Digital Illusion represents entertainment in the age of powerful computers and unlimited imagination. Combining traditional entertainment skills with advanced tools and methods in computer graphics and image processing, the producers of interactive games, multimedia networks, virtual reality environments, and theme park rides are reshaping one of the largest industries in the world. As new ways of interaction emerge, and as innovative new products appear, boardrooms from Silicon Valley to Hollywood are preparing for their own heart-thumping ride into some future space. This book is the first to detail the design and implementation of computer-based entertainment. Editor Clark Dodsworth has pulled together key players in the field to share their keen insights and invaluable experiences. These contributors describe first the recent developments in graphics, simulation, and animation that have led to advances in interactive entertainment. Then, in discussing such topics as location-based entertainment, image generators and tools, flight simulators, sensory displays, interface design, and play environments, they suggest how new ideas already are affecting the way we play and the way we live. To ground this discussion in reality, the book describes, with good examples, the infrastructure required to develop the new technologies of illusion; it also explores some of the practical issues involved in designing virtual entertainment. Finally, contributors examine the history and the economics of the field, with a critical eye to future developments. If you are a player in the computer or entertainment industry, or even if you just look forward to a new ride, you will enjoy this book. Digital Illusion is pure adrenaline! 0201847809B04062001