Tuesday, January 13, 2009@ 8:30 pm
Reader Comments & Links:WSDOT Inadvertently Creates Video Game Gem
Okay, so I had an interesting thought while watching this video uploaded by WSDOT to show off the fancy new Viaduct tunnel plan that is totally, for real, absolutely, definitely what we’re going to do you guys, we really mean it this time.
Here’s the video:
Check out the fly-in from about 0:12 to 0:30. Here’s the big question that comes to my mind when watching that sweet 3D shot of downtown Seattle… Why in the heck aren’t these digital assets being used in video games?
It looks to me like WSDOT has a pretty well-detailed 3D model of downtown Seattle, even going so far as to model the stacks of shipping crates on the industrial piers. Why aren’t they licensing that content to one of the various Seattle-based video game makers?
We’re talking about a win-win-win situation. That’s a triple win. Game makers win because they don’t have to create their own model of Seattle. Game players (such as myself) win because we could finally get some decent games set in our town. And finally, the state wins because they get paid a bunch of money for something they already happen to be doing anyway.
I’ma gonna send this to my friend at WSDOT and see if I can get a good reason why this has not already happened. Because frankly, the lame-o appearances of “Seattle” in the GameCube versions of Godzilla: Destroy all Monsters and sports games like NBA Street Vol. 2. are just not doing it for me anymore.
I bet you money that the 3d model is copyrighted by a design house somewhere, and that design house owns rights/royalties over it. The point is still valid, though, that 3d modelers everywhere should leverage each other’s work more than they do.
I wish people would realise that “leverage” is not a verb – it’s horrible managementspeak! The correct word is “utilise” – or even just “use”.
Leverage is also a transitive verb
to use for gain : exploit
But I guess that Webster has no clue about proper English
Hooray! I can just SMELL my taxes going up to pay for this!