Updates upon updates… The American start-up Gather is growing more and more rapidly. As an official partner, überwegs REMOTE was allowed to test many functions in advance. Here is a list of all the notable news.
Gather is an innovative meeting platform where users can create virtual worlds. On these digital surfaces, guests move completely autonomously as avatars and engage in a conversation via video chat when their avatars meet. As an official partner of the platform, überwegs REMOTE offers the conception, design and programming of these virtual worlds. In the process, individual locations are created that adapt exactly to the desired look (corporate design) and can be used by customers in a variety of ways. The areas of usage range from an event location to a remote office.
In the course of introducing new updates, Gather counts on its partners to suggest and test new beta features. With the new features from last year’s updates, users enjoy many more areas of usage for their Spaces. In addition, events can be organised much better.
Always on time: The new Gather calendar with a teleportation function
A long-awaited revision of the Gather calendar reached us in July 2021. From now on, the appointments are not only displayed completely, but can also be entered with correct locations. For online events, participants therefore have a direct overview of which item on the agenda is taking place when and, above all, where in the Gather Space. The best thing about it: if you are in a hurry or don’t want to move your avatar, you can easily teleport to the location of the next event via the calendar! If someone prefers to explore the route themselves but quickly gets lost, they also have the option of getting directions to their destination.
Gushing waterfalls and vibrant forests: Audio objects
With this update, another sense of discovering the virtual worlds has been activated. Similar to interacting with another avatar, certain objects make sounds when approached. The audio objects give the digital spaces a whole new dimension. Whether chirping birds or flowing water – purely visual objects are now given auditory depth in addition to creating a great atmosphere among the surrounding people.
New look: Outfits and accessories for your avatar
The avatars represent the guests on the virtual space. Besides the given name, the avatar’s appearance is a first indicator of who the avatar belongs to. Even better that Gather gave us a wardrobe update in August! In addition to the standards such as top, bottom and shoes, accessories such as hats or hair bands can now be added.
Silent Post: the new Gather Bubble
Gather has three different forms of meeting as default. The first is the interaction between two or more avatars who approach each other and then engage in conversation via video chat. The second is via the so-called private spaces, in which people can only see and hear each other if they are in the same private space with their avatar. The third interaction is controllable via the spotlight function, with which one or more people can address all the people in the room, as if they were speaking through a microphone – the person in the spotlight is thus heard and seen by everyone at the same time, which is very useful for lectures in particular.
In the BETA version of Gather, however, there is now a fourth, even more discreet way to talk: the bubble. If two avatars run against each other for a while, a purple bubble opens around both of them. They now have the possibility to “whisper”. This means that others who walk past the two whisperers can only hear the conversation in a very muffled way – just like real whispering.
Virtual front doors: temporary invite links
This update is particularly worthwhile for long-term gather spaces. Anyone who invites people to an event in a virtual location can now also send temporary access links with the invitations. This means that participants with the link can only access the space for a certain period of time until the link loses its validity. This function is a significant advantage, especially for space owners who want to use their digital space after the event – for example, as a meeting room for internal meetings.
Gather will publish further updates in the changelog at https://gathertown.canny.io/changelog.