Because it doesn't feel like an ad--it's a really fun, interactive adventure that fully exploits all the things modern web browsers can do.
By Dan Nosowitz Posted 02.06.2013 at 2:00 pm 3 Comments

Yesterday, Google unveiled a "Chrome experiment," a promotion for the new Wizard of Oz prequel. It's one of the coolest things I've seen on the web in weeks, a reminder that for all our harping about the wonders of mobile apps, the web is where a lot of the quieter but equally impressive innovation is taking place. This is a gorgeous, interactive game that takes you around the dusty carnival fields of Kansas, letting you pilot a hot air balloon through a tornado, create a short video with your webcam, and more.

Of course, it all ends up with a trip to Oz, where you see a trailer for the upcoming movie Oz: The Great And Powerful, which Wikipedia tells me stars Johnny Depp as the Wizard and also "Zach Braff as the voice of Finley the Flying Monkey/Frank, Oscar's circus assistant," so, you know, this movie may or may not be awful. But! The site/ad is really amazing--it really captures the small-town wonder of a slightly mystical circus, it's smooth and easy to navigate but also very technically impressive. Says Google:

Chrome Experiments like “Find Your Way to Oz” would have been impossible a few years ago. Since that time, the web has evolved and allowed developers and designers to create immersive beautiful experiences. For “Find Your Way to Oz” the 3D environment was built entirely with new technologies such as WebGL and CSS3. It’s enhanced by rich audio effects thanks to the Web Audio API. The photo booth and zoetrope were built using the getUserMedia feature of WebRTC, which grants webpages access to your computer’s camera and microphone (with your permission).

You'll need a reasonably powerful computer (and Google Chrome--it didn't work in Firefox for us) to handle it, but if you're an Oz fan, it's worth checking out. Try it here, and read more about it on Google's Chrome Blog.

3 Comments

Link to this comment
Space
02/06/13 at 2:44 pm

Popular, not so much science promotional ad of a movie, to pay the bills of PoP...

Link to this comment
kaitlinsteven40
02/06/13 at 4:50 pm

before I looked at the receipt ov $5337, I be certain ...that...my mother in law had been truly bringing home money in their spare time on their apple laptop.. there friend brother haz done this 4 only about fifteen months and resantly took care of the mortgage on their apartment and bourt a top of the range Citroën 2CV. I went here,..Amazingjob12.Buzz70.com

Link to this comment
Far Out Man
02/09/13 at 11:57 am

I tried it with Firefox and it seemed to be working fine but I only got as far as it asking for a webcam ... but I'm on a desktop! :(



June 2013: American Energy Independence

Five amazing, clean technologies that will set us free, in this month's energy-focused issue. Also: how to build a better bomb detector, the robotic toys that are raising your children, a human catapult, the world's smallest arcade, and much more.


Online Content Director: Suzanne LaBarre | Email
Senior Editor: Paul Adams | Email
Associate Editor: Dan Nosowitz | Email
Assistant Editor: Colin Lecher | Email
Assistant Editor: Rose Pastore | Email

Contributing Writers:
Rebecca Boyle | Email
Kelsey D. Atherton | Email
Francie Diep | Email
Shaunacy Ferro | Email

circ-top-header.gif
circ-cover.gif
bmxmag-ps