Low-Key Virtual WisCON, Con Report
May. 30th, 2021 01:47 pm I am attending the Low-Key Virtual WisCON this weekend.
The first thing I want to say is that I'm super grateful WisCON pulled together a virtual part of their Gathering. I have really come to love virtual gatherings? I suspect I am in the minority about this. But, I like being able to do all the things at home, on my own time, without all the expense. I'm not a fan of hotels? I like traveling, generally, but often hotels are my least favorite part.
Plus, I know a lot of work goes into these things, even the spontaneous things. A LOT.
All of it unpaid.
That being said, I am finding kumospace kind of daunting and strange.
Image: Kumospace, the Game-ifed Zoom.
I went into an empty room this morning and took a picture of what it looks like (with the map functionality pulled up.). Someone went to a lot of trouble to design these rooms to look like various parts of the Concourse Hotel. This is the Governor's Club. Apparently, this is similar to something else that people were more familiar with? I had never been in a space like this and it took some getting used to having to move my picture around in the space using arrow keys, etc. Of course, this picture is deceiving, because it normally is filled with other people all of whom appear as these video squares.
The icon near the bottom of the screen that says "people," can be popped up and you can read the names of the other people in the room, who otherwise only show up as their initials. But, as![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
magenta pointed out, that's only useful if you know the names of the people you want to hang out with.
The way it works is that as you move your icon around the room, you get within audio range of your fellow con go-ers, much like "real life." You hear people better when you are closer to them. People can form clusters of chatter, or move away and have more private chats.
Only, I found myself talking to myself as my icon moved around saying things like, "God, how do I get this thing to stop moving? Who thought this was a good idea? Do I hate this? I think I hate everything about this," people would suddenly hear me and respond! I found it kind of a new sort of virtual hellscape? Like the opposite problem of Zoom's "you're muted!" Except it was, OMG, you can hear me?? There is a mute option, as well as a way to turn your camera off. But, the default is to start with all of this on!
It... takes some getting used to. I mean, all of this sounds like complaining, but it wasn't terrible? I ended up talking both to Magenta and to Orange Mike... as well, as meeting some new people, which was cool. But, I could immediately see how this operation might take a lot of literal bandwidth as well as a certain amount of social bandwidth. In a lot of ways it does function more like a real party, but some of us were never super comfortable at real parties partly because they require you to physically move away from people you're no longer interested in talking to and that seems so rude?
I was a little surprised that there wasn't a corresponding WisCON Discord, like last year. And... then someone spontaneously made an unofficial one. So, I've been on that as well today. I've decided to host a Zoom party -- because what is a con, without a "secret" pro party?? Only, this one isn't a secret at all, since I posted about it in the #writers channel of the Discord and added the information to the spontaneous paneling sheet. I may regret offering to host a three hour Zoom?
I haven't tried to attend any of the scheduled virtual events. I will let you know if I get to any of them today.
I want to underscore that, despite the weirdness of this, I am enjoying it. I am very comfortable in virtual spaces. Discord is my home away from home and even though I find large parts of kumospace very WEIRD, I also am an old cyberpunk writer? I am always down for trying to figure out the advantages of a new system.
The first thing I want to say is that I'm super grateful WisCON pulled together a virtual part of their Gathering. I have really come to love virtual gatherings? I suspect I am in the minority about this. But, I like being able to do all the things at home, on my own time, without all the expense. I'm not a fan of hotels? I like traveling, generally, but often hotels are my least favorite part.
Plus, I know a lot of work goes into these things, even the spontaneous things. A LOT.
All of it unpaid.
That being said, I am finding kumospace kind of daunting and strange.
Image: Kumospace, the Game-ifed Zoom.
I went into an empty room this morning and took a picture of what it looks like (with the map functionality pulled up.). Someone went to a lot of trouble to design these rooms to look like various parts of the Concourse Hotel. This is the Governor's Club. Apparently, this is similar to something else that people were more familiar with? I had never been in a space like this and it took some getting used to having to move my picture around in the space using arrow keys, etc. Of course, this picture is deceiving, because it normally is filled with other people all of whom appear as these video squares.
The icon near the bottom of the screen that says "people," can be popped up and you can read the names of the other people in the room, who otherwise only show up as their initials. But, as
magenta pointed out, that's only useful if you know the names of the people you want to hang out with. The way it works is that as you move your icon around the room, you get within audio range of your fellow con go-ers, much like "real life." You hear people better when you are closer to them. People can form clusters of chatter, or move away and have more private chats.
Only, I found myself talking to myself as my icon moved around saying things like, "God, how do I get this thing to stop moving? Who thought this was a good idea? Do I hate this? I think I hate everything about this," people would suddenly hear me and respond! I found it kind of a new sort of virtual hellscape? Like the opposite problem of Zoom's "you're muted!" Except it was, OMG, you can hear me?? There is a mute option, as well as a way to turn your camera off. But, the default is to start with all of this on!
It... takes some getting used to. I mean, all of this sounds like complaining, but it wasn't terrible? I ended up talking both to Magenta and to Orange Mike... as well, as meeting some new people, which was cool. But, I could immediately see how this operation might take a lot of literal bandwidth as well as a certain amount of social bandwidth. In a lot of ways it does function more like a real party, but some of us were never super comfortable at real parties partly because they require you to physically move away from people you're no longer interested in talking to and that seems so rude?
I was a little surprised that there wasn't a corresponding WisCON Discord, like last year. And... then someone spontaneously made an unofficial one. So, I've been on that as well today. I've decided to host a Zoom party -- because what is a con, without a "secret" pro party?? Only, this one isn't a secret at all, since I posted about it in the #writers channel of the Discord and added the information to the spontaneous paneling sheet. I may regret offering to host a three hour Zoom?
I haven't tried to attend any of the scheduled virtual events. I will let you know if I get to any of them today.
I want to underscore that, despite the weirdness of this, I am enjoying it. I am very comfortable in virtual spaces. Discord is my home away from home and even though I find large parts of kumospace very WEIRD, I also am an old cyberpunk writer? I am always down for trying to figure out the advantages of a new system.