We’ve embedded multitouch Flash applications into the GestureWorks site, making it (as far as we know) the first site to incorporate Flash multiouch! Many of the tutorial pages now feature their own multitouch examples that allow you to manipulate example objects on the page with zoom, rotate, flick and more.
If you don’t have multitouch enabled, the GestureWorks simulator still allows you to manipulate the objects using multitouch. Just shift-click to set additional touch points. The turtle above, an example SWF from our Away 3D tutorial, can be rotated in three-dimensional space by setting two static touch points using shift-click and then moving the mouse while pressing down. Try it for yourself.
Why require three touches to rotate the model? Many multi-touch devices today only support two. It won’t even respond to a single finger, so even people with multi-touch devices may assume it is a static picture when they touch with a single finger.
There is not a clear mapping between what my fingers do and what the model does. It’s very hard to use.
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to clarify our reasons for adopting this standard. Manipulating objects in 3D with multitouch gestures is a new and exciting way to interact with content. There are numerous examples of how to use the cursor or a single point to rotate objects in 3d space using away3D. As we have shown in other tutorials (Rotate,Move,Rotate Scale & mtTwitter) how to rotate an object in 2D using a simple 2 point rotate gesture. One of the goals of the Away3D tutorial was to show how multitouch can be used to create an intuitive method for manipulating objects in 3D virtual space using 3 point gestures and provide a distinctly different method from single point drag or two point rotate. One of the most natural advantages to using three points to control the pitch and yaw of a 3D object is the ability to elegantly transition from a 3D rotation to a 2D rotation and back simply by removing or adding a single touch point.
Any gestures in the GestureWorks framework can be re-tasked to create any number of custom results. In addition for those without true multitouch devices (dual touch and single touch) additional points can still be added by holding down the Ctrl key and tapping on the screen. This takes advantage of the built in simulator in GestureWorks to ensure that no matter what touch input is present the user can enjoy complete freedom to interact with as many points as required.