You're slowly sinking under the water's surface, eyes open, watching the aqueous mirrored ceiling slip further and further away. Citrus-colored angel fish flit to your left and sea anemones cast out spindly appendages to your right. A marlin with a halo-like glow swishes past, grazing your skin with its slippery scales. But then the boss knocks on your cubicle wall and asks you for those TPS reports that were due half an hour ago.
TheBlu is an online collaborative, digital animation project that brings an ever-changing ocean to your computer. The multi-level virtual world merges social networking, web design, virtual goods, and even a little online gaming. Its official launch date is slated for tomorrow.
Cultist recently took a pre-launch dive into the virtual ocean guided by Neville Spiteri, founder of TheBlu and WemoMedia. Upon entry, we were surrounded by a number of different species of fish. After we clicked on a blue and yellow one, a small box popped up disclosing its name and a brief description, along with its creator's avatar, name, and location. "The Blue Ringed Angelfish is very territorial and fights aggressively with other angelfish," we learned. Hugo, a young Asian guy from L.A., was the artist.
Clicking Hugo's fish also allowed us to swim with it, darting quickly around rocks and coral, then slowing down to drift a while, eventually swirling playfully around other fish.
