Today we unveiled "Find Your Way To
Oz", a new Chrome Experiment inspired by the upcoming feature film Oz The Great and Powerful. Developed by
UNIT9, this experiment brings together
Disney’s unique storytelling tradition and the power of the web platform, allowing users to
interact with the web in a completely new way.
The desktop version of "Find Your Way To Oz" uses many of the open web’s more advanced
features:
Immersive Graphics: The experiment uses WebGL for
the main 3D environment, CSS3 features such as CSS
Transitions for various visual embellishments, and GLSL shaders for the tornado’s ominous look
and feel.
Rich Audio: As the user explores the experiment, the 3D sound dynamically adapts
thanks to the Web
Audio API. The same API powers the experiment’s music composing section.
Camera-based interactions: Through WebRTC’s getUserMedia
API, users can become circus characters or record their own mini-movies.
The experiment’s mobile web version also uses cutting-edge web technologies. These
include graphics features such as accelerated 3D
transforms and sprite
sheets as well as mobile hardware features like camera, multi-touch, gyroscope and
accelerometer. Together they create an experience that can normally only be found in native
apps.
To learn more about how this experiment was built, read our technical case
study and join us for a Google Developers Live event on February 11th at 11 a.m. GMT
where we’ll be talking to the team behind the project. Alternatively, use Chrome’s developer
tools to see how the experiment works on your own, perhaps finding in the process
your own path to the yellow brick road.
Max Heinritz is an Associate Product Manager on the Chrome Web Platform team. He's
helping the web reach its potential to become the universal application platform. On the
weekends you can find him exploring the Northern California wilderness.
