Action Synchronization With Avatars
July 3, 2008 12:00 AM
Hi Colin,We're currently using the SitePal avatars for prototyping only to gain feedback from some users. To be clear, the basic SitePal avatars really serve as "talking heads", but unless they're actually imbedded into your course you won't be able to synchronize the introduction of screen elements using actionscript/javascript. I inquired about this with SitePal, and here's what they advised: "We have a tool called Avatar Studio Export Edition which allows you to create avatars through your account and then export them for offline use, or for you to host locally as either .swf content or a movie file. Studio comes with added features such as the ability to create an unlimited number of scenes, and shows and store an unlimited number of audio files. A scene consists of an avatar, a background and an audio message. A show consists of a series of scenes that you can have play in succession, essentially allowing you to create avatar presentations of unlimited length. The Studio account comes with our entire catalog of models and an advanced background editor which allows you to upload video files for your backgrounds, create video slide shows and also create text backgrounds. Studio allows you to use the ActionScript in Flash API’s as well."Sounds great to me, with the exception of it being $15k. I may also try the Noah avatar technology, only problem is I find it distracting with the avatar moving around the screen and other developers seem to have the same impression. To say the least, avatar use is still a "work in progress."
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