If you’ve read any of the novels in William Gibson’s “Sprawl Series” or anything that borrowed heavily from that body of work, you’re familiar with the concept of 3D objects being used as metaphors for data or programs. Over the years a number of developers have tried to turn this idea into reality, the latest being the folks behind 3D Mailbox, which blends videogame worlds with an email client.
Level 1 of 3D Mailbox is Miami Beach, in which email is represented by a scantily-clad beachgoer. You’ll see your incoming mail tan, swim, and use the shower, complete with suggestive self-scrubbing. Marking and deleting spam is represented by feeding that mail to the sharks in the ocean. Level 2 is Los Angeles Airport, and in that level, your email is represented by planes coming and going.
The concept of 3D Mailbox, coupled with that very cheesy YouTube trailer, is so silly that I’m having trouble thinking that it’s not a joke. I guess I should download the client, install it on my “nothing terribly important goes on this box” Windows desktop at work and take it for a spin.