Inspirations & questions to design gathering and social experiences online

Here are some interesting directions to start looking into:

Your design needs a reframe, context. Come in and be playful. What are the “technologies” — interfaces we need to use on the brain to create intimacy in a virtual space?

Here is an Online project that invites people to look at stranger’s eyes in real-time over a video-chat.

How can we map an interface for human-connection to merge yourself in a collective conscience through embarking on digital journeys?

“The Human Design BodyGraph” reveals simple techniques for correct decision-making, an extremely accurate tool for self-knowledge.

Image from Odessy works website, Here is a diagram from “When I Left the House It Was Still Dark”,

• How do we map the customer journey?. Odyssey Works is a brilliant US theatre facilitation company that studies the journey of a player in real life. Their work is amazing, I wish we could have an open archive for immersive experience design that includes their work. See how they map the different stages, see how the path of the user choice is highlighted inside sea of possibilities the designer created.
• How do we control the design? Using a tool such as the mixing desk of LARP can help designers to be specific about their design choices.

Blackbox LARPs” creators such as Nina Essen Drop who experiment with physical and abstract forms, Conferences such as KP, oh the Room parties…

• What makes an experience life-changing? Can transformational gatherings be designed? Patterns of transformations, work of genius.

Completed case studies by Ida C. Benedetto

• Ask yourself why do we meet? Art of Gathering, A MUST READ!
• How do convey the message?

The theater director Peter brooks use of Jakobson’s Poetic function, basically how to exchange a narrative in a transformative way between different people in a non-linear way. He used it in staging a 9-hour show that was the epic Mahabharata story.

• How do we gather in computer games? How can we reframe existing virtual worlds for our experiences? Pay close attention to the performers who are making concerts on games such as Fornite or platform such as WaveVR.

Marshmello Holds First-Ever Fortnite Concert Live at Pleasant Park.

• How do we observe reality as a theatre stage?

We want to map the spaces of alternative reality to create a map of interaction like in Dogville by Lars von Trier. The movie Synecdoche New-York, creates an illusion of a world inside a world. You need to go through 3 stations to hypnotize someone. How do you create a world in world in a world?

• How do we do “Personality tests” for social matchmake and personalized experience?

• How do we decide on a prompt that enters the “virtual reality”. What is our story world?

• How is this world connected to your visitor? What does it mean for them?

• How did your visitor enter the world? What's the frame story?

• How does the visitor play through this world? What is the gaming world mechanic?

• Is there a moment of revelation in the journey? Does the game have a META state?

• What secrets are you keeping from your visitor? When and how do you reveal them?

• How would you allow your visitor to remember and journal the experience?

• How to hold an ancient ritual in a virtual space?

In Nexus, Naam links the use of the culture surrounding the nano-drug to counter-culture movements. There is underground electronic dance music (EDM) parties held by marginalized groups and large group mediations where people can connect with other minds. Naam was inspired by his environment to include these in the novel.