In the last couple of years, as public safety concerns rise to an unprecedented degree, the norm of going out and attending events physically has been virtually phased out of our life – to be replaced by calls, live-streams, and online video conferencing. This change hasn’t been easy, with the mores and conventions of real-life meetings being worlds apart from those of online gatherings.
However, adjusting to the constant irregularities in participants’ networks, lags and background noises is exhausting and demanding. Although it may feel like the somber state of the world is seeping into the interfaces of the applications we use, remote meetings need not be something to suffer through.
Human Needs
The main pain point with even the best online video conferencing applications is that they are simply not designed keeping in mind the extra-sensory input humans need for engaging in social situations. A 2D screen and single-source audio are only good enough to convey basic verbal communication, and even that gets complicated as more and more participants join a conversation. The process of communicating through these video conferencing applications becomes fatiguing with continued use, as participants spend more and more energy making up for missing input to communicate effectively.
For passive participants, especially in e-conferences and meetings, zoning out is commonplace. Their shortening attention span has nothing to do with their discipline levels – the medium itself is not optimized to be eye-catching or engaging. Human brains take into account myriad cues like space, object position, and post-activity rewards to stay engaged; virtual conferencing applications can provide at least two out of these three cues with ease, to a high degree of success.
What is Gamification in virtual meetings?
Gamification is the process of adding game-like elements into communicational frameworks to increase their effectiveness. A buzzword in many industries, this design theory is widely acclaimed for its effectiveness – after all, we all like playing games.
At its core, the theory demands modification in the way of communication by creating clear transitions between different parts of meetings (such as tea breaks in offline meetings), creating clear hierarchies and rules for smooth functioning, and establishing post-meeting rewards to generate feelings of positivity.
Sadly, even the best video conferencing apps do not offer a platform where proper implementation of gamification rules is possible. Yet, not all hope for online interactions is lost; immersive virtual reality software – the successor to online video conferencing applications – possesses the necessary capabilities to make gamified 3D virtual meetings and conferences a reality.
Immersive VR Gamified Environment
With immersive virtual reality software, one can recreate the physical environs of an office, a conference room, or a classroom; by recreating the extra-verbal cues lost on video conferencing, immersive VR software can offer highly engaging participant experiences in these virtual environments, rivalling real-life convention halls in scale and engagement.
Next-gen platforms such as NextMeet provide users with the ability to enter customizable virtual spaces, create 3D avatars, and utilize geo-spatial audio within a dynamic environment for optimal communication online. The intent is simple – making your next virtual meeting an event you actually look forward to.
