Vaughn M Hannon

Tag: baduk

  • PaGoda Returns!

    PaGoda Returns!

    Many, many years ago…10! It was TEN years ago! :gasp: I wanted to create a space in our Burning Man camp to play Go. I wrote a little about it way back then.

    Loosely inspired by Asian architecture it made for an interesting place to play with whoever might wander by.

    The structure was designed to sort of slot together without nails or screws. It mostly worked but it was not built for a long life under the best of conditions let alone the brutality of the desert and thus it had to be burned.

    A photo of PaGoda on playa for the first time. It is immediately covered in dust.
    A composite image of the various stages of PaGoda life. Far left it starts with an extremely clean and new structure. Then a dusty, dusty version when I first installed it. Then a shot at night, and finally a shot with me and a stranger playing Go in it - possibly the last time it was constructed before it burned.

    It was disassembled, hauled to the still burning embers of the Man, and tossed to the flames. That felt like a complete and satisfying lifecycle.

    But now…

    A screenshot of the Pagoda structure as it appears in a browser.

    It lives again! Through the magic of webGL and three.js (and our friend Claude) you can visit and play Go with whoever else may be visiting right in your browser. https://vaughnhannon.com/pagoda/

    This became a great test subject for a few things.

    • Building a world in VRChat
    • Building a sufficient copy of that world in webGL
    • Use Claude Code to not only program that game of Go but also help with Unity and three.js

    I first modeled all of the assets in Blender and then set the project up in Unity. From there Claude wrote the game logic and the player interaction code to suit VRChat. (Pagoda is available in VRChat but it’s invite only until I’m able to publish public worlds).

    Once it was working there I (well, Claude) set to translate it to three.js so I could host it myself. It’s become glaringly obvious that we must build on platforms that we control in addition to providing content elsewhere. Too many platforms (3D or otherwise) have disappeared or mistreated creators.

    The process has been pretty smooth and I’m looking forward to building more worlds and adding more complicated elements to interact with.

    Now, who wants to play?

  • PaGoda

    There have been many, many trips to Burning Man and many, many plans to create something or other to display in the middle of the desert. As it goes time disappears and distractions mount. Participating in our theme camp was the primary focus for a long time. This year, at the last minute, I managed to pull together a little art project that would sit as a monument to my current obsession with the game of Go (igo, wei qi or baduk depending on your country of origin). The game originated in China some thousands of years ago and was nurtured and modernized by Japan. This structure was to be a nod to the Chinese and Japanese style of architecture without attempting to mimic any one structure specifically.

    The plans had been rolling around in my head. I wanted to minimize the use of any screws or nails and make it as transportable as possible. I mocked up a little model in 3D and then set to figuring out the details…some of which didn’t emerge until actual construction.

    Here it is, mostly finished. I did add four hanging pieces of fabric in the entryways to add contrast and motion.

    Nearly complete less a few additional details.
    Nearly complete less a few additional details.

    There is more to do and I plan on finishing some of the details I had planned but did not have time to complete. I’ll also modify the structure a bit so it can live out on the open playa next year should I be accepted and placed by the Artery of Black Rock City.

    Feel free to check our more photos in the PaGoda Album.

    I would be remiss if I didn’t thank my friend Jeff for assistance in the planning and producing of this project…thank you sir. And, of course, Becky for the encouragement and support in the sometimes crazy things I try to do. Thanks dear.