Episode 67: Reimagining Online Events with Em Lazer-Walker

Key Points From This Episode: - Memories of the last conferences before the pandemic and thoughts on virtual events. - Em's experiences running Roguelike Celebration, and some history of the related games and community. - The event's transition to online-only in response to the pandemic and how they weathered the storm. - The considerations that go into planning an event with a focus on community and meaningful conversations. - How Em went about building the infrastructure that matched the strengths of online games. - Video chat versus text-chat; the two camps that exist and accommodating both groups. - Ways that Em and his team are simulating the social environment and cues of in-person gatherings. - How accessibility concerns were addressed for Roguelike Celebration; text, color, chat, and more! - Thoughts on the future of the online event and how it might change and grow. - Challenges with the interface; dealing with concerns around confusion and similarities to other platforms. - The question of chat histories and digital hoarding, and why Em decided against newer chat trends. - Scheduling and timing issues for the conference and the big request for more free time from attendees. - The approach to post-event interaction and conversation and the impromptu way things played out. - Possibilities for the growth of the video chat feature for the event in the future. - How listeners can get involved and check out the open-source space. - This week's picks! TV series, movies, audiobooks, games, and more! Tweetables: - “I think trying to have a digital-physical hybrid event is inherently a flawed strategy. I don't think it is possible to do it in a way that the people who are attending one of the two events don't feel like they are getting the sub-par experience.” — @lazerwalker [0:26:22] - “Providing a novel space itself is inherently valuable, because you are giving people the chance to escape and this feels like something new in a way that a physical event space feels like something new.” — @lazerwalker [0:27:31] Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: - Roguelike Celebration (https://roguelike.club) - Using Game Design to Make Virtual Events More Social (https://dev.to/lazerwalker/using-game-design-to-make-virtual-events-more-social-24o), Em Lazer-Walker - Rogue (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_(video_game)) (Game) - MUD (Multi-User Dungeon) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MUD) - Code of Conduct (https://www.thebalancecareers.com/code-of-conduct-1918088) - WebRTC (https://webrtc.org) - Yet Another Browser Mud (https://github.com/lazerwalker/azure-mud) (Em’s OSS space) - Why Video Chat is a Hard Technical Problem, DEV Community 👩‍💻👨‍💻 (WebRTC article) (https://dev.to/lazerwalker/why-video-chat-is-a-hard-technical-problem-43gj) - Gnosia (https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/gnosia-switch) (Nintendo Switch) - The Art of Gathering (https://www.priyaparker.com/thebook), Priya Parker - Together Apart (https://www.priyaparker.com/podcast), Priya Parker (podcast) - Penn and Teller: Fool Us (https://www.cwtv.com/shows/penn-teller-fool-us/turn-that-frown-upside-down/?play=324611eb-4f9d-45f1-9b94-b22b1e60933a), CW - The One (https://www.netflix.com/title/80199029), Netflix - Murder on the Orient Express (https://bookshop.org/books/murder-on-the-orient-express/9780062073495), Agatha Christie (read by Dan Stevens) Special Guest: Em Lazer-Walker.