This post introduces XSeen - a declarative language built on A-Frame and X3D to achieve the desire of a fully declarative 3D/VR language that runs in the web browser. In this initial release the language supports some X3D and some A-Frame nodes and capabilities. It is possible to combine the two to produce results that are the available in either.

I attended my first Silicon Valley VR Expo last week. It was very different than VRLA. As might be expected, this one is more focused on tech; though there were plenty of content discussions. Fortunately, the expo floor was not as loud as VRLA and I had many conversations with vendors.

X3D defines localized audio sources and a generalized background source. The localized audio can be positioned in the environment and its range defined. The background audio permiates everywhere.

X3D is the ISO standard for the display of 3D graphics on the Web (ISO/IEC 19775). Until the last year, it was necessary to have use a plug-in or specialized application to display and interact with 3D objects. In late 2014, the browser builders released versions of their browsers that provided a JavaScript interface to the underyling graphics system of your computer. This interface is called WebGL and is part of most HTML5 implementations. There are several different libraries that provide a simplier interface to the graphics.