Virtual Gakkai
Drop drop drop.
drop
I looked outside and saw the gloomy winter sky.
I could distinguish the mountain’s silhouette in the grey nothingness that unfolded in front of my eyes. Unwillingly, I rolled out of bed and went to wash my face.
Suddenly, I realized that the Virtual Gakkai conference was about to start.
Virtual Conference 2020: Virtual Gakkai
According to their website, Virtual Gakkai is “an initiative to promote the creation of value in the VR space from an academic perspective through academic presentations and exchanges in the VR space […] The VR space, and thus the interaction in the electronic world, will become more and more convenient with technology development. However, to make the world richer, it is necessary to promote social and economic activities by the people living in the world. The Virtual Society of Japan aims to contribute to the realization of such a world from an academic perspective.”
Since the beginning of the pandemic, VR conferences and meetups have taken over the world by storm.
And it is no surprise.
As technologies progress, we will see more and more virtual content. It is cost-effective and does not harm our environment as much as flying in speakers from different continents. This year, research has been done regarding virtual conference improvements regarding spatial sound [1] or spatial system [2].
What’s more, I can sit in my pajamas on my bed in Switzerland with my hair in a messy bun and give a talk at a Japanese conference as an anime girl.
Nem x Mila
Nem and I presented brief research we conducted this spring or summer.
As individuals’ walking perimeter has been reduced to apartments, people, social beings that we are, had to find alternative outlets to socialize and escape the dooming thoughts when left alone in a couple of square meters. Our research results reflected the current social situation: the number of avatars increased, be it for SNS, broadcasting, VR, education, or business.
If you are interested, Nem created a video about our talk that I linked just below. You can also consult the presentation slides that are in English and Japanese at this link.
The virtual event took place in “cluster.” Cluster a massive, easily accessible VR conference platform. It creates a space where hosts and audience can meet together in a 3D environment. By inhabiting 3D CG avatars, creators interact with their audience using their voice; they can also use PDF slides, pictures, and emotes. The audience can engage using emotes like clap or like.
As I was making myself a cappuccino, still wearing my pajamas, I thought to myself “What makes Virtual Gakkai so intriguing to me?” We have had several conferences, business meetings, fine arts exposition, and much more since the beginning of COVID-19. Sure, we can meet from different parts of the world, wear our favorite avatar, observe people engrossed in their virtual appearance, and change their body language to match their character.
Hmm, maybe there is something more. For once, several students participated and helped organize in one way or another the meeting. Not only professors, researchers, or company representatives gave their talks. VTubers and VRChat users could also present their latest thoughts and share their opinions.
I have to say, staying at home in my pajamas but appearing in front of thousands of individuals as a cute anime girl is fulfilling. I do not have to pamper myself to be presentable. However, I wonder if my talk was perceived differently because I was an anime girl and not my usual self.
Gibberish.
Why would my appearance influence how my research is perceived?
Oh, if only things were that easy.
Communication with viewers
Cluster was developed in a manner that does not allow for the audience to speak. However, they and the speakers can use several emotes to communicate. We have the classic like button, clap, heart, smiley face, exclamation mark. However, look at the image below.
Does this not remind you of the glow sticks used at idol concerts?
It is not uncommon for Japanese XR environments or events [2] to link their practices to a broader Japanese cultural context. So, what about the glow stick emojis?
Cyalume (サイリウム) is a general term used to describe glow sticks we have all seen at an idol concert. Penlight (ペンライト) is a variation of cyalume and are battery-powered LED. Usually, glow sticks are used at idol concerts to cheer, do dance movements to the beat of a song, and lighten the atmosphere.
If you look at the picture on the left-hand side, you can notice glow sticks of different colors. When it comes to glow sticks at physical idol concerts, a specific color would be assigned to each group member. For example, one might use green to cheer up on the idol to whom that color has been assigned.
Is it that surprising that we find elements of idol culture in a virtual venue created in Japan?
Kaguya Luna, a famous VTuber, organized the first live music event in Cluster, with the performance being simultaneously broadcasted in several cinema complexes.
While the appearance is reduced to the minimum, the socio-culturally understood emotes compensate for the lack of vocal interactions.
And when I chose the heart emote, and saw the audience respond to me with the same emote, I felt warmth. The warmth I’ve never felt interacting with a physical audience.
Notes
[1] Duc Le, Blair MacIntyre, and Jessica Outlaw. 2020. Enhancing the Experience of Virtual Conferences in Social Virtual Environments. In 2020 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops (VRW). IEEE, Atlanta, USA, 485–494. https://doi.org/10.1109/VRW50115.2020.00101
[2] Bredikhina, L., Sakaguchi, T., & Shirai, A. (2020). Web3D Distance live workshop for children in Mozilla Hubs. In The 25th International Conference on 3D Web Technology (Web3D ’20), ACM, Seoul, South Korea.