The Making of OOBE

In 1994, well before VRML was an implementable Internet protocol, the Silicon Graphics Digital Media Systems Division began to conceptualize OOBE 2.0. The idea was to create a comprehensive experience that would guide you through your first exposures to your Silicon Graphics® machine and help you discover and exploit the potentials of this high-powered graphics and networking tool.

By late 1995, OOBE 2.0 had become a reality, complete with financing, an ambitious creative treatment, and an even more ambitious production schedule. As it tapped into bleeding-edge visualization and networking technologies, Silicon Graphics enlisted the aid of Construct, a nascent Internet design firm. If all went well, Construct would help drive Silicon Graphics' beta-version Cosmotm Worlds authoring tool (bugs and all!) to its logical and sometimes creatively illogical extremes.

The experience proved enormously beneficial to both sides. By getting regular, sometimes hourly, updates on the beta software, Silicon Graphics was able to receive real-time feedback on the tool and accordingly generate new code. By the same token, Construct's designers were able to get the new-and-improved version of the tool in record time, simultaneously enhancing and challenging their expertise.