Idea

These instructions allow the user to assemble the puzzle one piece at a time, while at the same time examining the puzzle from all angles. A unique model generation technique makes it possible to deliver geometry intensive components with extremely small file sizes.

How to use:

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About:

I picked up the physical versions of the puzzles at a dollar store and they gave me an idea for an interesting Shockwave3D application. The idea of being able to display assembly instructions in 3D is hardly new, but the unique nature of the puzzle components provided an interesting opportunity.

Since all of the components are the same thickness, there should be a way to generate the components algorithmically. Using a few sneaky tricks I was able to do just that.

Instead of using geometry as a souce for the model componets, I created .ai paths in photoshop from scanned images of the model components. I imported these paths into Shockwave and used another sneaky trick to substitute the vertex list of a text file with the data from the .ai files. Once that was accomplished I was able to generate model components using Shockwave3D's extruded text feature. These models could be created at adjustable resolutions, and to my delight with bevelled edges as well.

Since the program downloads only the .ai files, the puzzle presentations are extremely light.