Screencap from mnightshyamalan.com
I can never remember how to say this guy’s name. But it comes up often enough in our discussions of compelling mystery narrative creation that I have resorted to calling him Shyamalanadingdong (meant with the utmost of respect). Anywho, his latest site is a very nice example of immersive web design.
On a technical side it is mostly made up of pre-rendered CG walk (or fly) through sequences (similar in essence to wechoosethemoon.org) that the visitor scrubs forward and backward through to give the illusion of walking around a 3D environment. Over the last few years this technique has been used here and there to various effects, but this is the first one I have seen that seeks to create a sense of walking around a house. And I think it does this very well.
Take a look. There are quite a few micro-puzzles (re: click to solve) at the standing still locations and all the the graphics and animations are beautiful. Plus if you are a fan (which I am) you will find interesting quotes about his creative process peppered about.
Most sites I have seen use this video-scrub effect to move about rely completely on the wow factor of that movement. However this site manages to combine the wow factor of that effect with other elements such as puzzles/exploration and triggered ambiance to create a more effective and memorable experience.
