VIRTUAL ANGKOR: An insight into the historical monument

Angkor Wat, one of the most recognizable Hindu temples and the largest religious monument in the world. In this blog post, I explored the various aspects of a website that has constructed a 3D virtual Angkor Wat. The website was not intended to argue but as a learning tool for students who are interested in gaining a better perspective of day to day life. The simulation represents 24 hours at Angkor Wat and helps pose deeper answers to questions about Angkor’s diplomatic and trading status, climate and overall environment.

When building such a complex representation, you must bring in detailed and clear information from a variety of sources. Zhou Daguan was a Chinese Diplomat who transcribed his experiences as a visitor from 1296-1297 in a detailed book “a record of Cambodia”. This was their main source of information, but it could not be completely relied on. To create the most accurate representation of Angkor history must be intertwined with geography. Google maps street view and other mapping sources were used to help create a layout of the land.  

From, these sources they created the experience through a variety of techniques. They would handcraft artifacts or use current ones and then 3D scans transform them into a virtual state. Furthermore, through multilayered maps, they were able to construct models of villages and buildings in the area to help depict the architecture and layout of the land. Then using simulations, they tracked thousands of animated people to gain an understanding of life in Angkor and how the workforce of 25,000 operated.

When presenting their creation, they showed their virtual world from over 22 different perspectives. This included 13 video scenes showing panoramic shots of various areas of Angkor, and nine 360-degree videos allowing a simple but immersive experience for the user. The animated animals, people and nature to create a more realistic environment. Moreover, they took the experience a step further by creating a virtual reality (google daydream) aspect. They animated animals, people and nature to create a more realistic environment.