1/ THREAD
@lavalvirtual conference has started in virtual reality. Thousands of users in VR using the @VirBELA1 platform. They've had an overwhelming response & most of the rooms are too small & it's difficult to see the slides.
Buzzing! #LavalVirtualWorld
laval-virtual.com
@lavalvirtual conference has started in virtual reality. Thousands of users in VR using the @VirBELA1 platform. They've had an overwhelming response & most of the rooms are too small & it's difficult to see the slides.
Buzzing! #LavalVirtualWorld
laval-virtual.com
2/ Here's my avatar that I created for #LavalVirtualWorld.
Not a ton of options or variety, but enough to recognize familiar names. Ran into @laganaro when I first arrived in world. The avatar representations turn into 2D billboard outlines of people when there's many in a room.
Not a ton of options or variety, but enough to recognize familiar names. Ran into @laganaro when I first arrived in world. The avatar representations turn into 2D billboard outlines of people when there's many in a room.
3/ There's one main spawn point at #lavalvirtualworld, & you're immediately on top a group of 20 people. You're muted by default & there's not an obvious way to unmute if you're in VR. I had to configure audio settings after I had spawned, should it be part of onboarding & easier
4/ Here's the interface to teleport to different locations with lots of simultaneous #LavalVirtualWorld talks, which are also being livestreamed on YouTube.
You can also walk around the space to go to different events.
youtube.com/channel/UCfphV…
You can also walk around the space to go to different events.
youtube.com/channel/UCfphV…
5/ I checked out the press room, which is a room in a lighthouse on the bay. I suppose this would be a good meeting place, but not to do interviews as the audio floods the entire room. As a journalist, not sure what I'd use this room for beyond a meeting place to go somewhere.
6/ The top of the press room lighthouse has a really great overlook of the #LavalVirtualWorld conference, which is happening on this island. There's a map in the lower righthand corner, but you can also teleport around. Exploring the lay of the land while listening on YouTube
7/ People seem to be clustering on the beach here to hang out & chat. I'm noticing how people are actually aggregating around the virtual umbrellas with a circle projected onto the ground. #lavalVirtualWorld
8/ Another shot of the spawning line of shame, which shouldn't happen. The locomotion controls on the keyboard didn't work for me, & it's not clear or obvious how to move around. I had to go into VR in order to move around. It has a confusing onboarding UX with non-standard UI.
9/ Luckily dropped by the poster session in the hour it was happening, but also no time zone listed & so I'm guessing the time. Posters are too close to have conversations next to them so chatted with someone in audio isolation circle that was rearranged 3x while talking.
10/ There's a way to leave post-it notes, and so there's I'm seeing floating fliers around the conference next to posters or around the conference world advertising this or that..
11/ Had a couple of collisions outside of the main conference hall. It's a good area to hang out and run into people you know or don't know. Person told me that he has less social anxiety in social VR. The audio falloff in @VirBELA1 feels more linear when it needs to exponential.
12/ Chatted w one of the @lavalvirtual organizers I met last year when I spoke. He said most folks are in a 2D desktop app, & they peaked at 1200 concurrent users in world. Gathering early feedback for how it's going.
Saw some folks run onto a stage, which should be locked down.
Saw some folks run onto a stage, which should be locked down.
13/ There's some interesting @VirBELA1 architectures in #LavalVirtualWorld. This building is four stories tall, but a let down once you get to the top. I'd much rather see people walking around than a VR ocean overlook, & s there's nothing here to inspire me to want to come back.
14/ I ran into @vr_sam at the top of this building,& then @OlivierJT_SU could hear me talking 3 floors down (!). Then @What2DoNext used the GO TO feature to come to me, which walked her automatically up to the top for an emergent VR meetup. Then @skyworxx found us as well.
15/ Interesting media area where there are websites and videos of different things to check out. There's a PDF with a magnifying glass, but there's no pointer or no way to interact with it when you're in VR (that I could find).
16/ Ran into a Voices of VR fan @aditamas who works at @interhaptics. If you want to chat with me during #LavalVirtualWorld, then just find my name, click "Go To", and then it'll automatically navigate you to me. It just walked me down stars backwards in VR. I love this feature!
17/ I had to hard quit as there was no obvious way to clear "Go To" even though it navigated me there, it was like an anchor that I couldn't escape from breaking my ability to move which was unsettling. Entered back through the uncanny spawn absent a comfortable threshold space.
18/ Got into a convo time zones with Ben Erwin, who overheard my coversation with @AmyPeck from the floor above (that's weird audio isolation to hear through floors BTW). In VR, I have a watch, but it lists my PDT time zone rather than time zone of the event. We need UTC times.
19/ There's a nice audio-isolated circle in next to the Recto VRso building that would be perfect for a Birds of a Feather gathering. So far, I haven't heard of any emergent meetups, but this could be a nice spot for some facilitated discussions. #LavalVirtualWorld
20/ I was taking a photo of the locked doors of the @lavalvirtual tower when I got a broadcast message to come to the European VRAR Tour Boardroom. They announced a magazine & report about XR healthcare being launched tomorrow + a potential XR road trip in Europe pending COVID-19
21/ @ceciletm1 is HP's head of VR in Europe & was a partner of the European VR/AR Tour. HP is investing heavily in the future of XR, & has been collaborating on a new HMD with Valve & Microsoft. She mentioned ~Sep timing.
Then we awkwardly circled a poster. #LavalVirtualWorld
Then we awkwardly circled a poster. #LavalVirtualWorld
22/ @lavalvirtual VR/AR Intelligence just announced that their new special edition magazine on VR/AR Healthcare can be downloaded if you go to their boardroom, you can find a download link located there.
[I can't click on links with this VR client & so they're emailing it to me.]
[I can't click on links with this VR client & so they're emailing it to me.]
23/ There's some ads in the @lavalvirtual VR/AR Intelligence Board Room for their free VR/AR reference e-mail news feeds.
info.laval-virtual.com/en/newsfeeds
Also new reports on XR in Brands/Retail, Architecture, Engineering, Construction, & Auto they'll likely be announcing & releasing soon
info.laval-virtual.com/en/newsfeeds
Also new reports on XR in Brands/Retail, Architecture, Engineering, Construction, & Auto they'll likely be announcing & releasing soon
24/ The Board Room has @LavalVirtual-related projects & programs and a bunch of meeting rooms that autoplay VR tech demo like:
You can get a free copy of their Health Magazine.
If you need to have a private meeting, then there's a way to close the doors.
You can get a free copy of their Health Magazine.
If you need to have a private meeting, then there's a way to close the doors.
25/ There's also a lot of ads for big events coming up (mark you calendars as they'll likely be virtual).
Also plugs for the End of Day Keynote from Microsoft at 18:05 CEST / 9:05a PDT / 12:05p EDT (in about 77 min). Here's the YouTube livesteam link:
Also plugs for the End of Day Keynote from Microsoft at 18:05 CEST / 9:05a PDT / 12:05p EDT (in about 77 min). Here's the YouTube livesteam link:
26/ I'd like to see virtual event sponsors be more innovative with experiential marketing. Sponsor rooms have the potential to become social hot spots that cultivate meaningful interactions. @AMD's room feels like a corporate conference room with spec sheets & 2D magazine ads.
27/ People swimming in the pool.
So there's a number of emotes under your name in @VirBELA1, and the most annoying one is probably the Dance one, which blares an 8-bit version of Gangham Style. It was novel the first time, but now after 20-30 times, it's a grating nuisance.
So there's a number of emotes under your name in @VirBELA1, and the most annoying one is probably the Dance one, which blares an 8-bit version of Gangham Style. It was novel the first time, but now after 20-30 times, it's a grating nuisance.
29/ Some bunker-like private meeting spaces next to the soccer field with a keycode on the outside with some sort of meet-up gathering in the private circle in the background. @lavalvirtual is an international conference & attempts to be 100% English but sometimes slips to French
30/ Opening Night Party on soccer field 20:00 CEST/11a PDT. Hopefully they can spawn more audio circles as it's a wide open field & default audio falloff isn't conducive to having that many people there talking. I yearn for architectures designed for discovering common passions.
31/ If you're enjoying this experiential design critique of virtual conferences & record of my phenomenological impressions of @lavalvirtual's #LavalVirtualWorld, then be sure to check out my previous thread from #IEEEVR2020, which used @MozillaHubs:
32/ Most folks use @VirBELA1's 2D interface, & there's still some artifacts of really relying upon external web sites to know what's happening when. I'm solely in VR & I feel lost as to what's happening & when.
I wish there was more in-world schedules like
I wish there was more in-world schedules like
33/ I ran into my #IEEEVR2020 conference buddy @Tuism right after tweeting about it. We got the message about the Microsoft Keynote at 6:05p (CEST), but no details where or how to get there. We got separated when we entered & spawned in different parts of the room.
34/ The #lavalvirtualworld Keynote of the Day is at the end of the day European time & mid-day to morning in the US.
@Microsoft @HoloLens talking about "How Mixed Reality is Empowering Every Organization to Achieve More"
Livestream starting now here:
@Microsoft @HoloLens talking about "How Mixed Reality is Empowering Every Organization to Achieve More"
Livestream starting now here:
35/ I spawned into the nose-bleed seats & so I'm listening to the Microsoft keynote talk on the 3rd wave of computing & paradigm & strategic shift in every industry in the world, dominated by automotive, manufacturing, entertainment but has widening use cases in other industries.
36/ Microsoft talking about how the global pandemic has really accelerated the shifts towards spatial computing. The major tech companies have been laying the foundations because they all see how it's the next paradigm of computation. Provide lots of stats on remote work/assist.
37/ @VirBELA1 responding to real-time feedback that it's confusing how to trigger the zoomed in view of the slides, & so they automatically spawned the slides in the right corner, but only for the 2D client.
Again, this feature (like many others) isn't available for VR users yet.
Again, this feature (like many others) isn't available for VR users yet.
38/ My session crashed in the middle of the keynote, sending me to the outside spawn point. @VirBELA1 hasn't implemented global mute & so everyone got a global broadcast message to be sure to mute. They also need to lock down the stage so people like me can't just get up onto it.
39/ A significant part of Microsoft's @HoloLens strategy is focused on cultivating potential new customers for a whole range of Azure Cloud Services. Mark Day talking about Azure Remote Rendering, & then 3 1st party apps: Remote assist, Guides, & Product Visualize.
40/ The enterprise AR developer ecosystem & partners for @HoloLens has always been very robust & extensive. There's lots of talks happening by Microsoft partners over the three days of @lavalvirtual's #LavalVirtualWorld.
More details at: microsoft.com/en-us/hololens…
More details at: microsoft.com/en-us/hololens…
41/ @HoloLens' Mark Day said 6+ times Microsoft make a lot of MR announcements & AI/Azure services in the next coming weeks.
That's likely going to be at the Microsoft Build Digital event experience happening May 19–21, 2020.
There's been huge demand & new distro channels soon.
That's likely going to be at the Microsoft Build Digital event experience happening May 19–21, 2020.
There's been huge demand & new distro channels soon.
42/ After watching Microsoft's Keynote on the robustness of their Enterprise AR offerings, @MagicLeap announced they're laying off creatives focusing on AR entertainment.
ML focused on consumer AR before solving needs of AR enterprise that could afford it.
magicleap.com/en-us/news/new…
ML focused on consumer AR before solving needs of AR enterprise that could afford it.
magicleap.com/en-us/news/new…
43/ Dropped by the @Microsoft Area where they have lots of partners, resellers, meeting rooms, & promo videos in their Village. I somehow triggered 4 videos to start playing over each other.
It has the same uninspired, corporate, co-working architecture. Let's get more creative!
It has the same uninspired, corporate, co-working architecture. Let's get more creative!
44/ The translation of the @LavalVirtual Awards Shows into VR is still really uncanny. Not having a visual emote for applause means that there's dead silence when there'd normally be hundreds of people clapping.
We need new rituals for collective praise.
We need new rituals for collective praise.
45/ Virtual Group Photos at the end.
I actually couldn't find this in VR as they moved it from the Awards & ReVolution Area to the Conference Room, but not the main Conference room, but one that you could only navigate to in 2D. Broadcast announcements haven't had room locations.
I actually couldn't find this in VR as they moved it from the Awards & ReVolution Area to the Conference Room, but not the main Conference room, but one that you could only navigate to in 2D. Broadcast announcements haven't had room locations.
46/ As I suspected, the opening gathering is a horrible design for a social conversations at this sale. To make it worse they started blaring music, when it was already near impossible to attempt a meaningful conversation with dozens of unmuted mic feedback & no isolated pockets.
47/ I had a chance to catch up with @lavalvirtual's Marie Leblanc who told me that they had a committee of 50 VR experts review 40 different platforms for #LavalVirtualWorld (!!!) I've been really impressed with what @VirBELA1 has created so far. VR is in beta & needs more work.
48/ Marie collided with me literally moments after I declared the space impossible to have a meaningful coversation, & we chatted for 20+ minutes, but had to get a good bit of distance from the music & crowd noise.
@lavalvirtual has over 6000 registrants!
@lavalvirtual has over 6000 registrants!
49/ Then @iVEvangelist collided with me & we did a deep-dive catch up. First met & interviewed David in 2015 at #IEEEVR in Arles, France. He's been to 19 of the @lavalvirtual confs & is working on using XR for ideation & collaboration. Have an unpublished interview about it.
50/ Noise distractions were so bad we relocated to a quieter spot, but still had distracting grass animations. @iVEvangelist said the VR head movement is only represented in 3DoF so far as part of optimization process. Fascinating chat on perception & phenomenological calibration
51/ I was honestly thinking the whole time during my conversation with @iVEvangelist that I was livestreaming it all to Twitch to potentially be digested into podcasts later.
Would you be interested in a real-time livestream feed of my virtual conference adventures/impressions?
Would you be interested in a real-time livestream feed of my virtual conference adventures/impressions?
52/ Then I had a conversation with VRsexologist @KateSmoos who was asking my advice for starting a podcast/livestream/of YouTube show in @VRChat about doing sex therapy as a VTuber.
I told her all of the stuff I'm trying to figure out with Twitch livestream -> YouTube -> Podcast.
I told her all of the stuff I'm trying to figure out with Twitch livestream -> YouTube -> Podcast.
53/ I took a 20-min break after being in VR for 10 straight hours & staying up all night when the conference is in CEST & I'm in PDT. I came back in to find @thomasboggini waiting for me where we talked about Half-Life: Alyx.
I'll be unpacking it more soon
I'll be unpacking it more soon
54/ Another short break after a crash & then one more last collision. I used the GoTo feature to automatically locomote me to Jeff Jego at the Soccer field because he had "Art/Research" in his name. Ran into Margherita Bergamo, who had an amazing dance piece (interviewed her '19)
55/ @Judith_ARTVR is the founder & curator of the @lavalvirtual Art & VR Gallery.
Portion of #LavalVirtualWorld session on Exhibiting Art & VR in physical and virtual spaces:
200+ attendees in session is a lot bigger than normal!
Portion of #LavalVirtualWorld session on Exhibiting Art & VR in physical and virtual spaces:
200+ attendees in session is a lot bigger than normal!
55/ I spent ~10 hours embodied in VR, but without any mirrors in VR or footage of visual synchronicity like my lips moving, then it's really hard to invoke the virtual body ownership illusion. First time seeing myself in @VirBELA1 courtesy of @iVEvangelist
56/ Starting my 2nd day of coverage of @lavalvirtual's #LavalVirtualWorld conference being held on @VirBELA1's platform.
I hopped into the Espace M-Tech & Fab where people are uncannily standing still like statues in a weird formation while someone speaks French into a void.
I hopped into the Espace M-Tech & Fab where people are uncannily standing still like statues in a weird formation while someone speaks French into a void.
57/ I'm using VR, & so when I walked through the conference hall doors, I was automatically taken to VRtical room with a discussion about XR, Tourism, & COVID19.
There's no threshold spaces to get to other rooms via VR, & I have to use 2D app interface.
There's no threshold spaces to get to other rooms via VR, & I have to use 2D app interface.
58/ My power just went out & I lost some screenshots.
But I came out of the conf hall to @vrischvr's Gabriella Chihan Stanley taking a selfie w VR devs from Vienna, and talking about their Empty Vienna 360 video.
Had a chat with 15-20 people listening in.
But I came out of the conf hall to @vrischvr's Gabriella Chihan Stanley taking a selfie w VR devs from Vienna, and talking about their Empty Vienna 360 video.
Had a chat with 15-20 people listening in.
59/ Used the Go To feature to catch up with @AndyFidel_ who runs the #GetSocial channel on @AltspaceVR & posts Social VR events on @spatialnetworkz. She's a "Social Experience Strategist" exploring the social dynamics of #LavalVirtualWorld with a focus on emergent conversations.
60/ @VirBELA1's onboarding is still pretty rough. It could use an onboarding room to check microphone settings. It throws you into the world automatically muted. If you're in VR, there's no indication you have to go to 2D mode to set up your mic. Should happen before enter world.
61/ I can't tell how many things in @VirBELA1 are broken in VR, artifacts of 2D design, or just bad design.
Teleportation menu toggles every time I use the joystick.
If I start moving or turn, it pops up breaking immersion, & I have to use even # of joystick moves to avoid it.
Teleportation menu toggles every time I use the joystick.
If I start moving or turn, it pops up breaking immersion, & I have to use even # of joystick moves to avoid it.
62/ @gabsfromvrisch shared her photos of our chat outside the conference hall. Most people are in 2D mode seeing the world in a 3rd-person perspective, but it's super uncanny from the 1st person POV how close & awkward people are grouped together. This explains so much behavior!
63/ Mixing 1st-person VR with 3rd-person design of a virtual world creates a lot of the uncanny behaviors I'm seeing in @virbela1. The way that people spatially orient in groups is a lot different when they're seeing it from diff POVs. Looks fine in 3rd, but claustrophobic in VR.
65/ @tovanbo & I confirmed that the GoTo feature has a bug in VR that permanently tethers you to another person. He tethered to me, & then I tethered to @AndyFidel_ creating a tether train where anywhere Andy went, we automatically followed her. Only a restart breaks the tether.
66/ We ran into HP's @JoannaPopper & she switched orientation of her 3rd person POV camera to be able to look at her front rather than back.
I prefer immersive designs that preference the 1st person over the 3rd-person POV, but enjoy having more people.
I prefer immersive designs that preference the 1st person over the 3rd-person POV, but enjoy having more people.
67/ Another shot of the virtual congo line from @tovanbo's perspective. Sometimes VR bugs create fun & novel experiences. I could see some compelling use cases or games with a tethering feature. @AndyFidel_ told me @RecRoom & @glue_collab both have group locomotion features.
68/ Pixel Art Wall using the post-it note feature.
At first I thought it was a job board, but it'd be cool if user had a space to leave messages or pointers to stuff they're working on, help that they need, or opportunities they have to offer.
At first I thought it was a job board, but it'd be cool if user had a space to leave messages or pointers to stuff they're working on, help that they need, or opportunities they have to offer.
69/ The architecture of virtual conferences often preferences time over space. The XR Latin America space was completely empty & boring because it is meant to gather people at a specific time. What would spaces look like if it was meant for people to gather at any moment?
70/ Foot locomotion input device @3dRudder's @SurFuFu1 tracked me down to pass along a couple of articles he wrote about what it's going to take to make VR mainstream
linkedin.com/pulse/mainstre…
linkedin.com/pulse/mainstre…
Here's his #LavalVirtualWorld talk on it:
linkedin.com/pulse/mainstre…
linkedin.com/pulse/mainstre…
Here's his #LavalVirtualWorld talk on it:
71/ I get a broadcast message saying the XR4ALL presentation is starting in Room 14, but it's not on the map & the reference point Reception also isn't a teleportation spot. I accidentally happened to be right next to it, but a lot of people will likely not be able to find it.
72/ If you enter a @VirBELA1 room while in VR, it'll default you looking at the left wall or entering backwards, which is really disorienting. Replicating reality with abstract simulations reinforces what we take for granted, like facing fwd in new rooms.
74/ @xrbase investor event happened in @vreducation's ENGAGE platform.
There's a dedicated space in the #LavalVirtualWorld map of a virtual theater that's playing a YouTube recording of it. Useful as a mode of spatial discovery, but not to actually watch.
There's a dedicated space in the #LavalVirtualWorld map of a virtual theater that's playing a YouTube recording of it. Useful as a mode of spatial discovery, but not to actually watch.
75/ Ran into @XRBase coordinator @DaanKip in theater whose sole purpose was to livestream the investor event into @VirBELA1.
@vrdays' @bdw_vr_days said it's a form of disposable architecture.
It served as an emergent meetup space the day after, but needs a space to suit that.
@vrdays' @bdw_vr_days said it's a form of disposable architecture.
It served as an emergent meetup space the day after, but needs a space to suit that.
76/ Sebastian from @antycipsim created an adhoc expo spot on the beach. He was originally planning on having a booth in the @lavalvirtual expo, but they didn't try to recreate a virtual expo as a part of #lavalvirtualworld.
antycipsimulation.com
antycipsimulation.com
77/ @InfiniteRetina's @IrenaCronin is giving the evening keynote on day two of #LavalVirtualWorld on "The Infinite Retina."
Here's the livestream:
Here's the livestream:
78/ @LavalVirtual just released their 4th special edition magazine / report. It's an AMAZING, 112-page report on the current state of AR/VR in Health.
I'd highly recommend checking it out, and you can download the digital version for free here:
info.laval-virtual.com/en/magazine-he…
I'd highly recommend checking it out, and you can download the digital version for free here:
info.laval-virtual.com/en/magazine-he…
79/ The previous 3 editions are only deluxe printed copies so far for 49 euros/book sent by post:
VR/AR in Automotive
VR/AR in Architecture, Engineering & Construction and Real Estate
VR/AR for Brands & Retail
VR/AR in Automotive
VR/AR in Architecture, Engineering & Construction and Real Estate
VR/AR for Brands & Retail
80/ I went into a main area where there was some groups practicing dance routines. Turns out it was a social experiment by @the_play_ground to see how people could embody a third-person POV avatar while collaborating on choreography. It was emergent play
81/ This was the first of 4 "dance" performances. I was still trying to figure out WTF was happening. I was expecting everyone was going to start dancing, but it's just a handful of people dancing without much synchrony.
I think you can hear someone say, "OMG! That's a disaster!"
I think you can hear someone say, "OMG! That's a disaster!"
82/ The 2nd group starts inside of the audio isolation circle, & so I missed the very beginning, which was actually the most interesting part of everyone starting at the exact same time.
This is the selection of emotes available for their choreography:
virbela.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/artic…
This is the selection of emotes available for their choreography:
virbela.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/artic…
83/ I accidentally step into the isolation circle on the 3rd group & heard the behind-the-scenes commands being called out. Over 95% of the people here are seeing everything from the 3rd person POV on a 2D screen. From my VR POV, everyone looks like stilted, 3DoF zombie statues.
84/ Final group takes an avant garde approach of using seated teleportation as performance mechanic.
This will look like ancient history in 20 years
Striking thing to me was encountering 40+ people in a giant open world doing social experiments of embodiment, performance, & play.
This will look like ancient history in 20 years
Striking thing to me was encountering 40+ people in a giant open world doing social experiments of embodiment, performance, & play.
85/ I talked with the organizers of this embodied performance experiment led by @the_play_ground. They're researching emergent play & performance in virtual worlds.
I wish there was more of this type of experimentation. Looking forward to this at @VRToronto w/ @kmalickisanchez.
I wish there was more of this type of experimentation. Looking forward to this at @VRToronto w/ @kmalickisanchez.
86/ I ended my second day at #LavalVirtualWorld with an adhoc Voices of VR podcast meetup talking about art, design, architecture, performance, & embodiment for over an hour. Looking forward to XR architecture can help set a deeper context & help seed relevant conversations.
88/ Saw a post-it for a @AssoAFXR meetup happening when I entered #LavalVirtualWorld on the 3rd & final day.
66 people in the room, but it was in French
AFXR is a collective of French XR, which invests to defend and promote it in France internationally.
afxr.assoconnect.com/page/954386-ac…
66 people in the room, but it was in French
AFXR is a collective of French XR, which invests to defend and promote it in France internationally.
afxr.assoconnect.com/page/954386-ac…
89/ I did a survey of where people where at 11:45a CEST
650 TOTAL in #LavalVirtualWorld
143 in VRtical presentation
122 roaming the Campus
102 in Transvrsal presentation
84 in Microsoft Partner presentation
44 in Virtual Worlds presentation
~100-155 spread out across other rooms
650 TOTAL in #LavalVirtualWorld
143 in VRtical presentation
122 roaming the Campus
102 in Transvrsal presentation
84 in Microsoft Partner presentation
44 in Virtual Worlds presentation
~100-155 spread out across other rooms
90/ Microsoft had the most robust @LavalVirtual sponsor programming as they had their own presentations throughout the week not a part of the schedule/livestream programming. This conference room room isn't the ideal layout for presentations as people were uncannily spread out.
91/ The 40-80 attendees of the 2 Microsoft partner presentations I went to were chatting questions, but very little real-time voice engagement. Most were probably listening in as secondary task doing other stuff (which is what I was doing). Easier to get full attention if in VR.
93/ Some reps from @protubevr holding an emergent meetup in the main lobby area. I'm noticing how a simple post-it note can set a deeper context for connection. I'd like to see more of how the underlying external architecture of a space can tie more closely to range of XR topics
95/ The @lavalvirtual closing keynote by CEO @Laurentchretien is beginning now after resolving some technical issues.
I'm standing up in the front because all of the virtual chairs are taken. (I wish that I could fly)
#lavalvirtualworld
Livestream is here:
I'm standing up in the front because all of the virtual chairs are taken. (I wish that I could fly)
#lavalvirtualworld
Livestream is here:
96/ @lavalvirtual only had 4 weeks to completely pivot to doing it online. They ended up having 11,000 registrants to their free conference. I saw peak concurrent in-world @VirBELA1 users at around 1200 on the 1st day.
97/ Of the 11,000 registrants. 6000 of them made avatars in @virbella.
Needs different world architecture to catalyze more in-world engagement beyond watching talks that can be streamed on YouTube.
Over 300 concurrent users in the closing keynote room as 2D billboards.
Needs different world architecture to catalyze more in-world engagement beyond watching talks that can be streamed on YouTube.
Over 300 concurrent users in the closing keynote room as 2D billboards.
98/ Played YouTube video: #LavalVirtualWorld 2020 - Opening Day One
Just had closing final statements, some piped in applause, but also some unmuted to also clap.
Congrats to the team for this latest iteration. Lots of innovations. Also still lots to do!
Just had closing final statements, some piped in applause, but also some unmuted to also clap.
Congrats to the team for this latest iteration. Lots of innovations. Also still lots to do!
99/ Main programming of #lavalvirtualworld has concluded, and I'm checking to see how the world changed. Noticing post-it notes to share info or set emergent contexts, collided with @badaldixit again as he preferred the 2D interface (as did >95%), but I prefer VR for my full attn
100/ I loved the open world nature of @VirBELA1 as it's great to be in a seamless world with everyone, but also to be able to find emergent private contexts via audio isolation circles. I'd like to see a broader range of sizes, but also an outer circle for lurkers to listen in..
101/ The beach drew a lot of emergent social conversations throughout the week. It's on the Western edge & physically far enough from the main conference to create more of a relaxed context for conversation. Virtual confs in European time zones tend to default to native language.
102/ It's also nice to have places to climb to get an overview of the architecture of a space. The top of the lighthouse ended up being a place for #lavalvirtualworld attendees to leave notes of gratitude for the @lavalvirtual staff.
103/ Saw some post-its in water, but they were blank & found more notes of gratitude. Boat rides for 4-5 people were a popular feature throughout the week to explore around the island. It was broken in VR, but having casual activities can create novel contexts for connection.
104/ There were ~3 different sizes of audio isolation bubbles at @VirBELA1's #LavalVirtualWorld instance.
Small ones for 3-4 people
medium for 6-8 people
large for 15-25 people
You can only have one focused conversation per bubble & doesn't work to have multiple convos/threads.
Small ones for 3-4 people
medium for 6-8 people
large for 15-25 people
You can only have one focused conversation per bubble & doesn't work to have multiple convos/threads.
105/ I overheard @dcolaianni talking about @AIXRorg show, I joined his convo in the lobby, & I suggested we find an audio isolation bubble to chat more privately. Someone joined in, which was fine. It'd be nice to be able to indicate whether you're inviting lurkers to join or not
106/ I was noticing the different spawn points & how people using the 2D interface will spawn into a place & stay idle, which creates an uncanny effect of people lined up when seen in VR. I was wanting more of a visual indication of these points as they could be a meeting point.
107/ I collided w @lavalvirtual ConVRgence Chair @simonrichir at the beach spawn point & he shared with me the link to the ConVRgence Conference Proceedings published in the International Journal of Virtual Reality @IJVRjournal started in 1995.
205-pg PDF: ijvr.eu/article/view/3…
205-pg PDF: ijvr.eu/article/view/3…
108/ Had 2hrs convos starting w/ @BadalDixit & Manisha, & I listened into a lot of what's happening with the VR industry in India. Amazon is selling Quests at 2x the price, but there's no official support from Oculus to India yet.
Nice to have LinkedIn info in @VirBELA1 profiles.
Nice to have LinkedIn info in @VirBELA1 profiles.
109/ Had a convo w Bavarian Film Center's @Astrid2015 who is exploring how to recreate the VIRTUAL WORLDS immersive storytelling gatherings she curates.
She's programing some of the Break Down These Walls Festival in VRrOOm Social XR cultural hub @VRChat
vrroom.buzz/vr-news/social…
She's programing some of the Break Down These Walls Festival in VRrOOm Social XR cultural hub @VRChat
vrroom.buzz/vr-news/social…
110/ Chatted w @ProTubeVR who started with consumer VR accessories to help play first-person shooters like @onwardthegame. Learned of it from @ragesaq
They're getting to peripherals for XR training, & released a recoil ProVolver that @vr_oasis used in HLA
They're getting to peripherals for XR training, & released a recoil ProVolver that @vr_oasis used in HLA
111/ Chatted w @NFB_Interactive's @NFB_eChampagne's on the immersive storytelling tools, workflow, & pipeline he's helping develop for the @NFB.
I LOVE what they're doing with immersive storytelling with HOMESTAY (VoVR #713) & BOOK OF DISTANCE (VoVR #895)
voicesofvr.com/895-sundance-b…
I LOVE what they're doing with immersive storytelling with HOMESTAY (VoVR #713) & BOOK OF DISTANCE (VoVR #895)
voicesofvr.com/895-sundance-b…
112/ The Closing Night Party for #LavalVirtualWorld is small enough to have some conversations that exploit the audio isolation areas. The soccer field line is an audio boundary (they're not blaring music finally), & people are clustered in small groups that have isolated audio.
114/ Earlier I discovered a great spot to collide with people in the small strip leading up to the lighthouse. It's a beautiful overlook that draws people to move through an adhoc hallway. This constrained space + interesting destination increased the likelihood of collisions.
115/ This wraps up my live, embedded coverage of @LavalVirtual's #LavalVirtualWorld.
@VirBELA1 brought some new social dynamics from a unified social world. Still a lot of work to be done with architecture to establish deeper context & adapting schedule for immersed-first design
@VirBELA1 brought some new social dynamics from a unified social world. Still a lot of work to be done with architecture to establish deeper context & adapting schedule for immersed-first design
116/ If you want to watch the video presentations, it was all livestreamed & archived on YouTube.
The full @LavalVirtual schedule is here:
laval-virtual.com/schedule-2020/
PDF of full ConVRgence Proceedings:
ijvr.eu/article/view/3…
All videos of talks are here:
youtube.com/user/lavalvirt…
The full @LavalVirtual schedule is here:
laval-virtual.com/schedule-2020/
PDF of full ConVRgence Proceedings:
ijvr.eu/article/view/3…
All videos of talks are here:
youtube.com/user/lavalvirt…
117/ As our normal structures are constricted, it's an opportunity to innovate how virtualized, embodied, & immersive environments can keep us connected.
If you've found value in this coverage, then please consider supporting me and this work via Patreon:
patreon.com/voicesofvr
If you've found value in this coverage, then please consider supporting me and this work via Patreon:
patreon.com/voicesofvr
Here's a couple of interesting Twitter threads with some deep thoughts & reflections on @lavalvirtual from social VR facilitators & researchers @AndyFidel_ & @What2DoNext.
#LavalVirtualWorld
#LavalVirtualWorld
