Institute of 4D Technologies

Black Hole is a test- and demoapplication made to experiment with graphics and simple interaction with objects in virtual space. The interaction concept is based on an idea by Andres Wanner and Andrea Gsell which allows the user to aspirate objects by simply pointing at them with an interaction device..

This metaphor has now been implemented as a „black hole“ in space, allowing the user to swallow small planets in a virtual space environment. The black hole is visualized by a tornado of lightning and there are several hundred planets in the scene. And every now and then a spacecraft flies by, dangling from a virtual yarn and giving the impression of being drawn onto a piece of cardboard.

The visual richness of the application is based on a variety of static textures on the planets and the background, the effect of using fake 2D images inside a 3D environment and the use of an animated realtime shader fort he black hole.