Well, that was interesting. (Virtual Con)

[Ryujin]

Just watched the closing ceremonies for ZOECon 4; their first Virtual Convention. All in all it was a fun couple of days. Got to see people I otherwise couldn't, because they're 3/4 of a continent away. There were some vendors, screening sessions, and various virtual areas to chat in (including a virtual bar, but the video failed).

And now that they've run this as a proof of concept, they'll be assisting with WorldCon/ConZealand being set up as a virtual Con. There are still things for us geeks to do, while locked-down

 

[MNblockhead]

I attended one game of Gary Con. Didn't have time to attend more games or any of the speaker sessions. I think it is greate that ZOECon has vendor and attempted to create some social spaces. It would be great if more conventions would incorporate an on-line / VTT component, even after all the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.

 

[practicalm]

Virtual FnordCon was a good set of talks. Not sure how the game playing went but the talks were interesting.

 

[Ryujin]

Virtual FnordCon was a good set of talks. Not sure how the game playing went but the talks were interesting.

How did they carry off the talks? Discord video/audio chat? Zoom? Google Hangouts?

ZOECon used Zoom and Twitch, for the most part, with Discord for sign-ups and as virtual rooms.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I've "attended" two virtual cons since this all started, Gary Con and Cyclops Con. So far I've only stuck to seminars (and one trivia contest, which, hey, I got 2nd place!), and have yet to make the jump to playing with strangers online. Friends are fine, but I've been a bit hesitant to do so with people I don't know.

 

[Ryujin]

I've "attended" two virtual cons since this all started, Gary Con and Cyclops Con. So far I've only stuck to seminars (and one trivia contest, which, hey, I got 2nd place!), and have yet to make the jump to playing with strangers online. Friends are fine, but I've been a bit hesitant to do so with people I don't know.

I know how you feel. I stuck mostly to new movie screenings, movie commentary (since I know some of the people involved), perusing the artists' alley, and watching some game play. Had lots of fun with the commentaries and resulting Q&A.

 

[practicalm]

How did they carry off the talks? Discord video/audio chat? Zoom? Google Hangouts?

ZOECon used Zoom and Twitch, for the most part, with Discord for sign-ups and as virtual rooms.

They set up a Discord server and questions were asked in a text room other than the voice channel.
Some talks were chat only

 

[Ryujin]

They set up a Discord server and questions were asked in a text room other than the voice channel.
Some talks were chat only

ZOECon tried using the Discord video chat feature, but I believe that it failed. Fortunately Zoom and Twitch both seemed fairly solid. "Main Hall" sessions, like the opening and closing ceremonies, were held via Zoom. Movie screenings and commentary were via Twitch. There were some issues with Twitch dropping out, early on, but I think that was due to people expecting their PCs to handle too much at the same time. It got progressively better through day 1 and was almost rock solid for day 2.