O3D GOOGLE DEVELOPER DAY JAPAN 2009 - IMPORTING MODELS TO O3D

Hey Greg

I just started to work with o3d recently and was pleased to find out after watching your youtube video (the developer day japan 2009) that you can in fact import models into and o3d scene with animation and basically create a game.
I am a masters student in Ireland doing a project on o3d with the hope of creating a game of sorts. Most of all I want to be able to create a character that can walk around a scene and interact with the environment.

I have installed all the nessesary files and programs installed to convert models from COLLADA .dae files to the o3dtgz files that o3d requires.
However, while trying to import a model of my own into your scene, step14.html, I could not import it. The scene loads with no character.
I can import very simple low poly models with no animation but not anything with animation.
You said your designer used Maya, my model was created using Blender. Its a simple humanoid with a small 20 frame walk cycle, and looks no more complex than the model you used on the day.

Is there some level of complexity that o3d can only handle?
Is there some special way of rigging that character?
Do I have to use Maya or 3d Studio Max?

Any help with this would be much appreciated

Kind regards

Eamonn Cawley

PS if these questions are not your field, is there a way of contacting the person who designed the model for the open day ?