| Virtual Nightclub, The | Prospect Management / Philips Interactive Media, Thumb Candy Ltd | 1997 | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
When you're up for a wild night on the town, you might slither through the window of a nightclub in London packed with groups, famous people, art exhibitions and a melange of offbeat videos. It won't be necessary to call a travel agent, however. Just switch on a computer equipped with a CD-ROM drive or a television with a CD player and slip into the world's first nightclub on a disc. Called The Virtual Nightclub, it offers a kaleidoscopic swath of London night life in high-resolution computer graphics that will hold hours of interactive leisure reality. It's somewhere between MTV and a video game, a product that combines interactive technology with cutting-edge sounds. The interactive element allows viewers to use a mouse to navigate their way around as they choose. They begin on the London streets, then click-walk around the corner into the club's 3-D interior. Though interactivity means users can choose when and how to navigate artificial spaces, virtual nightclubbers will have to sit through occasional advertisements. It has a cast of more than 150 characters, dancers, actors and voice over artists. Those agreeing to appear as themselves included: Mark Wigan, Terrence Mckenna, Scanner, Matt Black, Eva Pascoe, James Lavelle, Redma and Neal Stephenson among others. Music labels involved included: Def Jam, Warp, R&S, Apollo, Sounds of the Underground, Island, Moving Shadow, Ninja Tune, Gee Street and ITP providing artists like Herbie Hancock, Jo Henderson, PM Dawn, Redman, the Stereo MCs, Benny Rait, Cru and Suga. It exists only on demonstration discs. The prototype was on a European tour to pick up sponsors and fans on big screens at electronic arts festivals. But, Philips Interactive Media went out of business with their CD-I console before the game was released in retail. Thumb Candy purchased back the rights to the VNC and marketed the VNC directly via the Sci-Fi Channel and the internet. | ||
|
1 2 |
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
