CLUBBING 2020
COVID Clubbing Archive
christian mejia
virtual monster ball
COVID Clubbing Archive
christian mejia
virtual monster ball
This is an example of a party using Mozilla Hubs-- a free, online virtual environment that allows
participants to freely move around and speak with one another. Hubs participants selected avatars
to represent themselves, so they didn't necessarily have to look at each other's faces as they
interacted. However, there was an option to stream your camera alongside your avatar, which
few guests used... Zoom fatigue, perhaps. Participants could move freely through the virtual
environment, and they would only hear microphone audio from people that they were next to,
just like a physical space. Groups of people conversing further away were muted or inaudible,
just as they would be in a physical room.
The music in the space was not as overpowering as it would be in a club, but the closer one got to the "DJ booth," the louder the music became. I found it challenging to speak with friends next to the DJ booth, but much easier when we broke off to one of the rooms off the main space. There were several thoughtful touches that reminded me of an in-person event, such as a recommended cocktail menu, separate rooms with different vibes, and timed events throughout the evening.
This party was the result of a friend's experiment with Mozilla Hubs, and there were anywhere between 10-30 people coming and going through the night. I think it would have felt much more like a club environment with many more people in the room and the ability to light the space in darker, more saturated tones. The event broke off onto different platforms through the night (Discord and Zoom), but I felt that this experience on Hubs was the closest that I have come to an in-person event experience during the time of COVID. The way that friends automatically gravitated towards one another and the awkwardness that lay over a space not anywhere near capacity reminded me of a club as it is just opening and still awaiting its influx of patrons.
The music in the space was not as overpowering as it would be in a club, but the closer one got to the "DJ booth," the louder the music became. I found it challenging to speak with friends next to the DJ booth, but much easier when we broke off to one of the rooms off the main space. There were several thoughtful touches that reminded me of an in-person event, such as a recommended cocktail menu, separate rooms with different vibes, and timed events throughout the evening.
This party was the result of a friend's experiment with Mozilla Hubs, and there were anywhere between 10-30 people coming and going through the night. I think it would have felt much more like a club environment with many more people in the room and the ability to light the space in darker, more saturated tones. The event broke off onto different platforms through the night (Discord and Zoom), but I felt that this experience on Hubs was the closest that I have come to an in-person event experience during the time of COVID. The way that friends automatically gravitated towards one another and the awkwardness that lay over a space not anywhere near capacity reminded me of a club as it is just opening and still awaiting its influx of patrons.