KM: Yes, there are real-world applications for
MojoWorld, but not of the types you mention.
MojoWorlds are entirely synthetic, and to add
“real world” data is to pollute them in a very real
sense — it’s a violation of the procedural
paradigm MojoWorld is based on. MojoWorld
builds something from almost nothing: The files
encoding virgin MojoWorlds are tiny, on the
order of tens to hundreds of kilobytes, yet they
specify an entire Earth-sized planet with
practically infinite detail. The algorithms
MojoWorld uses to conjure forth entire planets
from this tiny seed of data only occasionally
make reference to scientific laws — only when
convenient. For the most part, they are artistic
algorithms designed to generate pleasing forms
and colors that often resemble reality as we
know it. But there’s generally no claim of
scientific accuracy in any MojoWorld model.
MojoWorld reflects our lead programmer Craig
McNaughton’s and my background in high-end
Hollywood special effects: “If it looks good, it is
good”. We’re not doing science here, we’re doing
art.
MojoWorld could try to embody accurate
scientific simulations of Nature. It doesn’t: Such
simulations are way too slow and hard to
control. MojoWorld could try to process data for
scientific purposes. It doesn’t: Scientific data
sets are notoriously huge, and part of the beauty
and elegance of MojoWorld is in the microscopic
marching orders that it translates into boundless
information and beauty. The proceduralism that
MojoWorld is based on (and is the very
apotheosis of) is a very specialized paradigm, or
working model. You kind of have to have a PhD
to fully appreciate that, but... never mind that
bull — MojoWorld is designed to be an easy-to-
use software toy that’s fun to play with, while
simultaneously being a software tool of
unprecedented power for digital artists and
Hollywood effects wizards. Who cares how it
works under the hood?
If you call Hollywood special effects the “real
world” — certainly a stretch! — then there’s one
real-world application for MojoWorld. Certainly
digital artists of all stripes will add MojoWorld to
their set of software tools for doing everything
from graphic design to fine art. Education is
another important application of MojoWorld: It
can be used to teach the fundamentals of
fractals, and a whole lot of the complex and
difficult discipline of 3D computer graphics. We
specifically designed MojoWorld so that you
could start with the MojoWorld Transporter [free,
later called the Viewer] as a child and, with
perseverance over the years, actually train
yourself to be a fully-qualified Hollywood digital
effects artist, all with this one program. It’s that
deep and powerful.Watch an animation in MojoWorld by Armands
Auseklis, a breathtaking “canyon-world flythrough”
showing a full procedural world in MojoWorld.
The biggest application for MojoWorld will be as
cyberspace, the ultimate human/computer
interface. In the novel Neuromancer, William
Gibson defined cyberspace as a “consensual
hallucination,” the place where you go to access
all the data on all the world’s computers.
MojoWorld will be that consensual hallucination,
like Neal Stephenson’s metaverse in his novel
Snow Crash, but rather as an infinite variety of
realistic planets, each hosting some different
data display, and avatar community, Myst-like
puzzles, or whatever people choose to put there.
Most will be peaceful. Some will be infested with
hostile aliens that you must exterminate lest
they exterminate you — i.e., they’ll host shoot-
em-up computer games!
Cyberspace is a real-world application. The Mac /
Windows style “desktop” is the current human/
computer interface of choice. But it’s 2D and
boring. Cyberspace will be 3D and thoroughly
engaging. So, in a very real sense, MojoWorld is
destined to be the Windows [OS] of the future.