3D Wall

Do you recall the movie “Minority Report” with Tom Cruise? If you do, then you may also remember a scene where Tom’s character is sorting through a collection document images using a virtual 3D wall.

The folks at the Flashloaded have created a component, named 3D Wall, that may well be on a way of bringing that movie magic into the today’s reality.

3D Wall is one of the coolest Flash components that I have the chance to review in recent history. The component, which uses the Papervision3D engine, permits the developer to create a three dimensional wall containing number of picture in rows and columns and then allowing the end user to navigate them in a very futuristic and engaging style. By giving the developer to control look of the wall, flat or set to any curvature, the guys at the Flashloaded have made it easy to create walls that can be as unique as the content they present. With over 60 parameters and features to customize, developers can be sure that unlimited number of looks can be created. Here are some of the features which are included:

• Flat or curved wall
• XML file controlled
• Built in preloader
• Adjustable number of rows and spacing
• Swivel camera
• Glow and Reflection
• Mouse events
• XML or Component Inspector
• Many, many more

3D Wall also allows the development team to capture ActionScript events that are fired up when the component performs specific action. There are over 10 events which are included. In addition to the event control 3D Wall permits the developer to add title to images, open URL with the Unclick event as well as control of other properties through the ActionScript properties. I would highly recommend for any of you who want to start to use the component to read the User Guide available on the Flashloaded website since it gives more information on the installation, usage and the properties that are available.

From the user prospective the functionality of the 3D Wall does not end there. The viewer of the 3D Wall can also scroll, tilt and zoom the wall freely based on their need at the specific type and with the built-in preloader the transaction between the thumbs (small images) and the large images is seamless.

I can hardly wait to start using the component in my application since the functionality and its controls make it a very desirable presentation object when it comes to making sure that our end user engaged in the functionality of our applications.