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.
Episode 67: Reimagining Online Events with Em Lazer-Walker | Enjoy the Vue podcast - Listen or read transcript on Metacast
