Virtual Reality transports you to environments like these from the comfort of your living room
Geekzonia is currently creating a fully immersive, veritable utopia for Geeks. It’s for people who, like the creators themselves, are passionate about something. What that something is, could be Star Wars, could be Yu-gi-oh (trading card game), could be Spiderman Comics, it matters not. There is room in this new Social VR universe for everyone, whatever their tastes. Users will be able to find and make friends, based on similar interests – with VR Events like Harry Potter meet ups, Star Trek themed ‘Pub’ Quizzes, League of Legends Tournament ‘viewing parties’, and of course Comic Cons, where you could chat to your favourite Stars.
How Virtual Reality Facilitates Social Connection
Virtual Reality allows users to come together from all over the world, with no need for travel – this is especially beneficial for people with disabilities. Studies (link above) have already shown how easy it is to socialise in VR, but it also has the potential to make socialising easier than in real life, especially for introverts – who tend to find solace in fandoms like Science Fiction. Unlike other Social VR Platforms, Geekzonia is using the latest SpatialOS technology, which will allow an infinite number of users to access these VR Events at any given time.
Geekzonia is looking for anyone who is interested in putting on a VR event (whatever the size).
Maybe you’re a member of a worldwide fan group, you could invite the members to hang out with you in VR!
Or maybe you’ve made friends at an international Comic Con and you never get to see them, now you can!
While we are still in the early stages of testing and creating Geekzonia, these types of Social VR Events will work well.
- meet ups/hang outs
- talks/fan meets
- podcasts
- party/disco – play musical statues
- quizzes – play in teams
Later on we’ll be able to incorporate more elements, the potentials are essentially limitless.
Hanging out in the Geekzonia Horror Zone
Do you run conventions? Would you like to put on a Virtual Con?
In VR you wouldn’t be stuck in a stadium or hotel, you could host your event in an open environment like a festival with tents, or an alien planet with space ports.
Here are some potential ideas for how a Virtual Con might work and some of the many benefits
*some plans are still in the beta stages, but we will be bringing these capabilities asap
- Guest stars can attend with a VR Avatar (providing the stars have access to a VR headset)
- Guest stars can appear using a laptop/PC via a live video call* (no need for VR headset) either individually, or as a group for a panel talk
Stars are appearing from the comfort of their living rooms, so there are no hotel/travel expenses and it is extremely convenient to attend – dramatically reducing what a Star might normally charge to appear.
- Attendees will see the stars in their living rooms and be able to interact live, asking questions during talks or with individual fan meets, much in the same way as a Physical Con.
- Star head shots could be signed during each fan meet and then sent out to fans by post.
- Fans could also save a video recording of their conversation with the star.
Stars would be encouraged to comment on attendees avatar appearance, to talk to them in a similar manner as a physical meet and greet so that attendees feel that sense of interaction – I know I ‘fangirl’ if I get a Twitter mention or a reply to my comment on Instagram from my favourite stars, this would obviously be a lot more immersive and not necessarily less valuable then meeting stars in person.
- Virtual discos – People can dance together in VR, and request songs from a live DJ’s Avatar
- Cosplay competitions* – In VR people will be able to customise their Avatars, by creating or buying Cosplay items. We plan to integrate Workshops into the Con scene to teach people how to create 3D Cosplays.
- Stalls/shops* – People can showcase their merchandise, comics or Avatar creations in VR, which can be purchased in world and then sent physically or digitally.
- Live Auctions – Fans could bid on rare items
- Quizzes – Like a Pub Quiz or even a Quiz Show, where stars and/or attendees form a team on stage and answer quick fire questions.
These added elements are all meant to encourage socialising among fans, this should be at the heart of everything in Geekzonia, it’s a place to make friends with like-minded people.
Trying out Geekzonia at MCM Comic Con
If you are interested in creating an event within Geekzonia, we’d love to hear from you, get in touch with any questions or ideas you might have!
You can also stay involved by
Liking our Facebook page
Following us on Twitter and Instagram
And subscribing for early access!
This blog post was brought to you by Lou, if you’d like to know what I’m geeky about, you can find out here