Hyperspace Software

Introduction

Hyperspace is space with more than three spatial dimensions, as some of you who have taken the final hours of calculus and/or linear algebra are familiar with. As far as we know, it only exists within software, and if you are disciplined enough then also your mind. In three dimensions, six perceivable directions exist: up, down, left, right, forward, and backward Add to that kata and ana for the fourth dimension. There are different existing mathematical structures for 4D space. Overall, Euclidean space is commonly used, especially in interactive software. I personally have made sense of the different types by grouping them into what I call "on the surface" and "beneath the surface."

On the surface refers to an existing fourth dimension that you don't actually see. It allows you to traverse between parallel 3D worlds, where you only see 3D space, 3D objects, and 3D physics. It would be like popping in and out of 3D worlds by moving or rotating through the fourth dimension. This can either happen through "sideways" time, seeing alternate versions of the same world through different past events, or through seeing a different pocket 3D world entirely, similar to perceiving teleportation, although that is not actually what happens.

Beneath the surface refers to a full-on 4D experience, seeing in 4D space with 4D objects and 4D physics. This is near impossible to display entirely without some form of transparency and color shifts to positive and negative direction in the fourth dimension. This is taught in the final hours of calculus with graphing, which, to my surprise, many who are familiar with 4D space have taken yet do not use this feature in many of these programs. Most of the softwares below are some combination of both on and beneath the surface. To future game developers: showing the fourth dimension in a 3D setting with transparent overlays and color shifts would be optimal in an RPG setting.

Why is understanding hyperspace important?

Understanding hyperspace broadens our capacity for thinking and is a necessary component in our conscious evolution. Learning and practicing mathematics has always concerned increasing our capacity for problem solving, and understanding 4D+ space is no different. With it, we can imagine and create new things. While there are spiritual implications for this, learning how to perceive four dimensions is a concrete feature of thought. We are rapidly moving towards a future of augmented reality and Borg implants that will allow us to interact, perceive, and think directly in cyberspace, so it might be worth considering learning 4D mechanics since it will no doubt play a role in future developments.

4D Toys

4D Toys is an interactive software that is one of the best visual representations I have seen for conceptualizing how 4D objects interact, taking into account momentum and rotation. It is available on Steam.

Hypercube Demo

Albert Hwang's Hypercube Demo is an interactive virtual reality software which allows the user to rotate a hypercube in 3D space. He explains very well in the video how intuitive handling it becomes and how it's nature can be seen.

Miegakure

Miegakure is an RPG puzzle game in which one moves freely throughout a four-dimensional world to try to get from point A to point B. The name is Japanese for "in and out of sight" and it is advertised as a "hide and reveal" game. It is available on Steam.

4D Explorer

Jelle Vermandere has developed a simpler RPG game similar to Miegakure, which he credits, with different permissible properties, which is free to play on his website. In the above video, he explains how the software functions.

4D Miner

4D Miner is a Minecraft clone and survival game, which since it is also interactive would make it one of the better candidates for understanding operations in hyperspace. It is available on Steam.

4D Golf

CodeParade has developed a golfing puzzle game which allows the player to hit the ball and then maneuver through four dimensions as it moves. This is a great resource for working on reaction time while understanding 4D space. It is available on Steam.

4D Minesweeper

Julian Schlüntz has developed an extension to the classic Minesweeper with the same logic and similar 2D display applied to four dimensions. Although this would seem to be a burden, the display with hover highlights is helpful. It is available on Steam.

Tesseract!

A ball-in-a-maze puzzle game in 4D instead of 2D created by Anthony Grahn, who gives a breakdown of the game mechanics on his website as well as another on the game website. The navigational setting is in 3D rooms of a hypercube with other 3D rooms visible around the one with the ball, which results in a simplified perceptual 3D setting. It is available in the Mac App Store, and since it hasn't been updated it is also available on outdated Android devices in Google Play, LOL.

4D Maze

John McIntosh has developed a way to see and navigate four dimensions using colors of lines to indicate directions. While it looks to be difficult at first, it has been shown that people develop an understanding of it within minutes.

Cake4D

Cake4D is another maze game published by a new developer called TAP OK G, but from a 3rd person RPG approach, with a surprisingly good feel on the graphics for what it is. Like Miegakure, the player is viewing 3D slice of a 4D world and transitioning between slices, solving some form of puzzle to get to the next area. Like Portal, the player is also looking for a cake. It is available on Steam.

Magic Cube 4D

The 4D Rubik's cube works surprisingly similar to the 3D cube, just with slightly more connections in its hyperspace divisions. By now you have figured out how a hypercube turns, and the Rubik's cube twists in the same fashion. While solving is not the easiest task, taking a moment to understand its rotation offers some insight thus far not covered. It is available in Google Play.

Magic Cube 4D VR

Another version of with Magic Cube 4D by a different developer simply known as Magic Cube 4D VR, only this one has a hands-on interface. Weirdly, all information about it as well as the game itself is only available on Steam

Quaternions

For those of you familiar with how the complex number system works, you know that the nature of addition and multiplication is purely rotational. Quaternions are numbers with one real and three imaginary components. Pure imaginary quaternions perfectly describe 3D rotation in real space as in the video above. However, when it is projected onto 3D real space from a rotation in 4D space, something very different happens in an object's rotation than what has been shown so far. CG Cookie explains this as well as gives a visual.