Virtual Marketing Of Real Estate
January 2011 : free-lance consultative investigation
An investigation into the possibilities of employing game technology to showcase unbuilt and built housing, offices and shopping malls. The final customer here is a large dutch construction company, seeking new ways to increase sales of properties.
Important points here were to create a click-and-go use of the virtual environment without requiring the creation of accounts of downloading seperate viewers. Other aspects investigated are an asset pipeline that takes 3D models from the architects software and translates that into models usable in a web based 3D world, saving time and money on reconstruction of 3D models.
For this industry, options like 3D printers for table-top models and a constructed 3D environment to supplement artists impressions put more beef onto the 3D modeling idea. Having models available in an online world before the construction has even started in the real world gives possible buyers an unique way to get accustomed with a prospective new home or place of business.
Final result was a demo for a large dutch construction company showing them a login-free, browser embedded world based on Open Simulator technology. It enables visitors to the companies site to experience the (to be built) project in an immersive manner, allowing them to walk round the projects streets and buildings.
Update, march 28th 2011
At current, the platform of choice for this application is becoming Unity 3. It allows for a higher, more lifelike quality of environment and avatars and embeds into the webpage with a simple plug-in, akin to the Flash player plug-in.
