When I was a child and forced to study history, I was never able to visualize the actual location of an event. For instance, where were the locations of Thrace, Anatolia, Troy, the Parthian Empire, the Inca Empire, and Rapa Nui?
Therefore, I have always wanted to present, in a graphical way, the connection between historical events in time and space. I think I have been able to implement a reasonable application for doing just that. However, how I implemented it is not the main point. For not using any npm packages or bundlers, I decided to stick only with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and WebGL, plus some packages, including three.js.
The documentation is extensive because I aimed to use it in an introductory computer graphics course. However, I have come to realize that computer graphics has become a commodity, much like database management; everyone utilizes it, yet very few people are interested in understanding the underlying mechanics. This trend poses a challenge for educators, as it becomes increasingly important to inspire curiosity and a deeper appreciation for the artistic and technical aspects of graphics programming. By focusing on foundational principles, I hope to encourage students to explore beyond the surface and engage with the creative possibilities that computer graphics offers.
Of course, everything could have been implemented using three.js only, although I am not sure OrbitControls would give me the flexibility I needed to build the interface. Exploring alternative libraries and frameworks could provide additional tools and features that enhance the user experience and streamline development. Ultimately, the goal is to create an environment where students feel empowered to experiment and innovate, pushing the boundaries of what they can achieve in graphics programming.
I used no AI, and for three or four months when I woke up, I picked up an event and read a lot of material, mainly Wikipedia, for dating the events associated with a site. As a consequence, it is clear to me now that I know very little about Africa and Australia.
Anyway, I really enjoyed the time I spent doing this research and prepared a 14min video and another about the interface. I also read several post in this forum, which helped me during the implementation of the application. Specially, I would like to thank Pavel Boytchev for the invaluable comments.
I hope the app is not difficult to use and any comment is welcome.
Cheers.