Digital Venue Reccy - 01 - Kumospace
May 31, 2021
I’ve had the idea to produce and host a digital field trip. To take a small group of producers, creative producers and self producing artists and visit a number of digital venues or look extensively at one platform both for an audience experience and performing or screened content perspective.
Following Chris Grady’s Show Me producers festival of workshops a fellow producer reached out to me and we started meeting to explore digital venues and perception around audience and production engagement.
We have AltSpace, SecondLife, GatherTown, RoBlox, to name a few on the immersive list. There are 2D, 3D and VR options. We visited Kumospaces.
Kumospaces are 2D top down themed rooms. Participants inhabit small circular video portals moved around by the keyboard arrow keys. There is an interesting propinquity compulsion to place your portal window on furniture, lounge chairs or bar stools in the roof terrace there are pool inflatables.
Go drop in on my PCM Adventures Hall.
But you need to be aware of first time obstacles to entry. This is surprisingly common... the audience the account holder invites don’t have a guest entrance or a indicator that if they are visiting and don’t want the sales pitch to sign up it’s not obvious how you enter the space you expect to enter by clicking direct link you give out as host.
No sign up or download should take the invited guest to the optimal point of entry. If it’s unique selling point is easy access and immersive simplicity I expect to click a link and it take me to where I need to be.
There are 2 options the admin can set for entry. Guests can be required to Register to enter or enter using a text link to Continue without an account.
Once a guests has entered without an account the browser resolved the direct URL as expected.
On arrival the guest enters with the camera tight on thier oen video portal. For a first arrival this can be disorientating. In the bottom navigation is a Map.
A full overview of the space is revealed with the placement of fellow guests displayed.
I'd like to see a better enterence interface for guests. The capability to embed kumospace to a page would be nice too.
What I do like is the special audio. Move towards the grand piano and lounge musak can be heard. Getting a digi-drink at the bar and watch it slowly dry. Nice early days touches.
Very interested in the development of Kumospace.
References & Context.
Competitors to Kumospace - https://craft.co/kumospace/competitors
Co Founder Brett Martin
Kumospace Venture Capital and Private Equity Financings