Behind the Magic
In 2008 Intel in partnership with DreamWorks Animation developed InTru3d, a technology that helps deliver a more three dimensional viewing experience. The first feature film using InTru3D was Monsters vs. Aliens, which released in early 2009. But Intel has plans to bring InTru3D to a broader range of 3D viewing experiences including home theater, personal computers, video games and more.

Welcome to the InTru3D factory
Inspired by popular Japanese vinyl toys, MeInTru3D lets users create their own custom virtual toy. Starting with a closed cardboard box, users can spin the graphic packaging to see all sides of their toy as they swap features, decals, clothing and accessories. But it isn’t until a user clicks the InTru3D button that the box opens and a live 3D character emerges. Once in 3D, the user can make their character dance, take and download photos and if logged into Facebook send friendly gestures to their friends using their custom character. The friendly gestures work much like Poking or virtual gifting where a small graphic can be sent with your character in a variety of poses holding props like a beer glass, guitar, flower and more.

Earning and Burning
A key component to MeInTru3D is playing games and earning points. By whacking monsters or sorting creature parts on conveyor belts, users can earn points and unlock additional features and accessories for their character. The ultimate unlocked feature is a fully gold character, gleaming and shiny.

Facebook Component
MeInTru3D launches as a standalone micro-site and within Facebook as an application. Launching the Facebook application gives the users added community/social features like the friendly gestures mentioned earlier. But it also pulls up an additional panel that shows you all of your friend’s characters and lets you contact them directly using your own character. The Facebook Application for MeInTru3D picked up over 200,000 simultaneous users in its first month.

Developing Our Own 3D Animation Tool
Rokkan used the Away3D Flash 3D engine to power the live Flash 3D used for the MeInTru3D micro-site and Facebook application. But to create the animation sequences properly Rokkan developed a custom animation tool with graphic user interface in Flash. The tool allows developers and non-developers the ability to see the animation on a stage as they input key points on a timeline. As a result the project team could quickly prototype a variety of animation sequences in rapid succession.