The Cathedral Model

Deriving its name from the 1997 publication of “The Cathedral and the Bazaar” by open source advocate programmer Eric Raymond, the Cathedral model is a model initially of software development, later expanded to both software and and hardware development in which the system is designed from the top down by a specific entity.

As such the users once they sign on with a particular system, become locked into that system, with everything they have invested only accessible through the software (and hardware) either created by one company, or vetted and approved by that same company.

In terms of virtual reality software, the implications are obvious. Once a user installs software to access a virtual environment built using the cathedral model, anything and everything they create within that virtual environment is subject to the restrictions of the parent company or organisation. If the user wishes to keep accessing that content, they must use the software provided by that entity. If they wish to upgrade their experience by plugging additional sensory hardware into the system, they are limited to only that hardware the controlling entity permits to be connected.

Whilst the user often retains rights to what they have created in the virtual environment, the only way to access that content is via a specific program or group of programs made by that single company or organisation. Cathedral model systems typically have no or limited interoperability with other systems, and rely heavily on trapping the user into the system so they cannot leave without losing access to their creations.

The Cathedral model is the traditional way large systems have been created, and fundamentally allow the creators of the system to maintain full control of their creation. A direct opposite to the Cathedral model exists, and is known as the Bazaar model.

See Also: Walled Garden, Bazaar Model

Below, we offer a selection of links from our resource databases which may match this term.

The Cathedral Model

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Enabling Player-Created Online Worlds with Grid Computing and Streaming
The most popular model for modern MMOs is the shard model - small clusters of servers, each running a separate copy of the world, and each world mostly static. To have a truly dynamic world, with content galore, and experience without end, you need a different model. You need a single world, spread across countless servers...

A Fourth Economy
In less than 20 years, the service economy is being replaced with a new model, the 'Experience Economy', a model in which, whilst there is still a place for services, they are not the main act of the economy. Instead, what is is the provision of experiences, memes, sensory indulgances, and a deeply personal and individual type of service.

University of Calgary Unveils the CAVEman Virtual Human
Scientists at the University of Calgary have created the world?s first complete object-oriented computer model of a human body. Far superior to a series of slides, or a textbook, the model is codenamed CAVEman. CAVEman is four-dimensional, as opposed to three, because he can move, as opposed to being static. He can interact with those studying him.

Populating Ghostville: Getting and Keeping Players, Part 1
Using the LARP model as an example, this article offers three paradigms for advertising your world, along with a detailed analysis of the benefits and the likelihood of attraction.

VR Cultural Icons > Joe 90
Joe 90 was a 1968 Supermarionation creation of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. Basically the same people who made Thunderbirds, using the same puppetry and radio controlled model technology. It was also the last supermarionation production.

Art of 3D Computer Animation and Effects

This tome is, as the4 title suggests, more of an overview for the subject than a detailed how-to. It covers everything from the very basics of computerised model animation, right through rigging and boning, on to timing and lighting ? but it does so without going into painstaking detail on any one topic.

Open Source 3D Human Models

On the 26th of May 2005, two companies (Zygote Media Group and e frontier) joined forces to give us a new model of open source distribution ? 3D avatars.

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