Innovation comes when we get together and tackle challenges in new and creative ways. And a VR jam (or hackathon, as some may call it) is an excellent opportunity to think outside of the box and flex our problem-solving skills. We definitely looked forward to this event to get fresh perspectives and breakthroughs with real potential and impact.
Besides, we also wanted to find a way to validate our Beta release and get our target audience, developers, to test and hack it! So what better way than a VR Jam to do so?
Developing a collaborative app platform and market for the open spatial Internet by providing the tools and infrastructure to write VR apps is no easy task. Hence, making sure that what we are working on is actually viable is of the utmost importance, especially before approaching potential Beta partners.
Well, what a weekend! We started our virtual hackathon on Saturday the 27th at 14.00 CET and finished on a high note, with an awards ceremony live streamed on Youtube, on Sunday 28th at 16.30 CET. During those 24 hours, we fixed bugs, added to our APIs, came up with new AlloApp and business ideas, and got to know our participants.
We also understood which features and functions were key to enable our participants to build their ideas atop of Alloverse. Some were readily there and others were not, so we got onto it and in a matter of hours solved most requests. Although stressful, it made us conscious about our audience’s needs.
As the event carried on, we noticed a few things:
- Thinking in 3D remains challenging We are so used to 2D surfaces that even when we get the chance to create solutions for Virtual Reality, we need to remind ourselves that a white board is not necessary to present a concept. Yet, it also demands technical prowess which can be righteously tough within 24 hours.
- Better 3D positioning functions are essential (to support the above)
- Lua is a great language (easy to understand and use)
- Our tech held up and people had fun! Undeniably the highlight of our event
With all that, our participants came up with some pretty awesome ideas: a tool to support architecting mind-mapping, a Pictionary flashcard deck and a fun yet relaxing balloon-popping game to play in-between zoom calls (for ex.!).
Following our VR Jam, we learnt that although it lasted 24 hours and most of us were exhausted (we’re not 18 anymore!), this is the best kind of event for our platform Alloverse to shine! Therefore, we are scheduling an upcoming VR Jam in May, and we would love to keep our cadence (bi-monthly) and invite many more VR enthusiasts!
For those who wish to host similar events, we have decided to make our documents public, so that you get to know more about how to organise it and prepare for it. We have used several awesome tools : Confetti Events, Discord, Notion and so many more!
- Our Cheat sheet
- The host’s “Welcome Script“
- Our Event Page for participants to sign up the VR Jam
- Our Discord VR Jam channel
- Our post-event Survey
- Our live streaming Awards Ceremony (the one thing we should have worked a bit more on!)
and if you wish to ask us anything more, then mail us here: info@alloverse.com
