Remotely - Avatar-based social hub with meetings, games & activities

@abhishek1846 Thanks for checking out Remotely. There's the Hub area which contains all of our services and games in one place. Chess is down in the bottom right of the area. Here's a link you can visit to check it out https://remotelyhq.com/activity/...

@abhishek1846 thanks for reaching out. There are a couple of ways to enter activities. 1) From the Hub, make your way up to the top left in the 'Games' area, hit SPACE bar and you will jump straight into a game. 2) From your App Dashboard you can create a new activity from the games list, then hit 'start' and go to this directly. The URL of your created space is unique, so you can simply copy and paste this into your Chat/Slack or Messenger to send to friends or colleagues. Let us know what you think, we'd love to hear your feedback.

@abhishek1846 The Chess Board is located on the bottom right corner of the Hub center and is a free form game. This means there's no game timer, but rather that the game is paced as you and companion choose to pace it. Simply interact with SPACE bar and you can pick up and swap pieces. Enjoy the space and let us know how you get on!

@abhishek1846 @gene_harris Don't play against Gene he thrashed me in about 5 moves haha

@gene_harris @adam_berry2 haha, thanks for the tip. I will steer clear of him

@woody2007 thank you for your interest in Remotely. That is a great question! Remotely games are specifically designed to improve communication and provide a platform for remote workers to have fun together. Communication in the workplace is really important and even more so when you need to bridge distance. Forest Feud is a game that encourages players to pick up on visual cues, help teammates to communicate their needs, and listen to the needs of others. It's our hope that these practices repeated in a risk free environment (like a game) will be become second nature in remote work and help the team to form stronger bonds and improved communication. We'd love to hear what your team thinks of the games. Please keep in touch.

@gene_harris thanks for the reply. I think I'll give this a go next week for our weekly stand up. Is it easy to set up? I don't want to spend ages getting set up.

@woody2007 Social connection in a remote working team is critical for communication and team morale. Its a great way to really get to know your team mates. A company's informal social network informs it's culture. So critical for a remote working team.

@woody2007 no problem at all. It's a browser based application, so no downloads are required. You can simply share a link with a colleague and after onboarding they can join you directly. We do recommend scheduling to allow users to set up their preferences, but this only takes a few moments. From the Hub you can have a stand up, and then make your way to a game, no need to exit out or reload, it's all in one place.

@gene_harris Okay you've convinced me to give it a go. If I run into any issues is there support or a Q&A?

@simplyalritch I'm glad you mentioned that! Sometimes it's just nice to have a break from a camera in the face first thing in the morning isn't it! Also great to break the monotony of back-to-back video calls with a quick avatar run around....stretch the digital legs as it were.

@simplyalritch Yes agree! There are just some morning you dont need the camera on haha.

@simplyalritch @adam_berry2 I need (at least) two coffees before I can face the day. Having an avatar allows the avatar to be my bright and shining face first thing whilst I'm mush behind the keyboard 😅

@simplyalritch I 100% support this comment...haha

@adam_berry2 @whatchuptu I can relate :)

@whatchuptu Thank you so much for your kind words! We have spent a lot of hours designing and developing our avatars. Not just the look, but the feel as well. We may have to create a 'break dance' arena next!

@gene_harris I can tell, the emotes and different run animations are really entertaining. I'll be sharing this with my remote colleagues in other countries.

@whatchuptu thank you yes, personality and 'life' is something we wanted to bring across in each avatar. We have seen too many avatars with thousand yard stares 😅

@whatchuptu Remotely is designed for creativity. Thanks for your interest!

@gene_harris haha you're not talking about Meta are you!

@binay_singh2 Thank you, we appreciate that feedback!

@adam_berry2 all the best :)

@binay_singh2 thank you! It's a labour of love for sure. We're all passionate gamers and creative professionals. So we wanted the platform to reflect that 🌞

@binay_singh2 Thanks for checking out Remotely!

@binay_singh2 Thanks very much for checking us out!

@ds_fam Hi Darshi, we'd advise using a DSL Connection or WIFI, we wouldn't advise hotspoting from a mobile to a PC or laptop whilst using Remotely. This being said the Development team have worked hard to reduce load times and assets sizes. Once you've loaded into Remotely the first time all of your settings will be in you browser cache for faster load times.

@ds_fam because we're only using voice and currently don't offer video in the solution (other than screen sharing) the data consumption is minimal in comparison to video applications like Zoom. Estimated to be around 10% of what you would consume on Zoom or other meeting tools with video.

@ds_fam Its super light, as its all through the browser. All the Art is created to accommodate that as well.

@gene_harris wifi sounds good

@mitchell_bassett 10% of Zoom, that’s fantastic

@whatchuptu That is a great question. Yes, the team made the decision to work fully remote to better understand the challenges that remote workers were facing. We thought it was important for us to 'eat our own cooking' so to speak. As fate would have it, this was actually about 6 months before the Covid pandemic.

@whatchuptu Yes the Remotely team have built a remote working company, while building a remote working platform. Nothing like eating your own dogfood to figure out the pain points!

@gene_harris Oh wow, I thought I was guna catch you guys out with that one...haha 'gotcha'! That's actually really interesting that you were working remote before the pandemic. Do you find that there are lots of different countries that use remotely or are they mostly in say the US?

@whatchuptu haha yes, it was a really important step for us. One learnt a lot from. Particularly as we were able to observe a massive upswing to remote work due to the pandemic. To answer that we've seen interest from all over the world, South East Asia, South Africa, the US, the UK and Europe. We purposefully built infrastructure to be global from day one. We felt that if we could solve the problem locally we could apply these learnings globally.

@gene_harris @whatchuptu Remote working teams that use Remotely are fairly distributed from around the world. We've seen great interest from countries such as the USA, Canada and UK in particular. In saying that our very first subscriber is based in South Africa. So very much a global platform.

@whatchuptu Yes absolutely, schools can use Remotely. In fact the University of Otago in New Zealand, just ran a lecture in Remotely for Doctoral Candidates.

@whatchuptu thanks for checking the platform out. That is a great observation. Just recently we actually hosted Otago University for a lecture in the platform. So yes, there are a lot of applications outside of remote work. Study groups or interest communities could use the platform to meet up. Especially if distance is an issue, it's quite dynamic being able to meet in a 3 dimensional space over say a forum or chat.

@gene_harris oh that's pretty cool. Yeah I think I'll share this with my sister tomorrow. She quite often runs a study group with a couple of friends. Saves them writing each other in chat if they can just hang out in a virtual space. You can screen share right?

@gene_harris @whatchuptu Yes the meeting rooms, come in different sizes and have screen share. Great for a class or a study group!

@whatchuptu yes, I think the platform is well suited for that. After the study group they can even catch up for a quick game. Yes, once you enter a private meeting zone you'll notice that there is a new button in the center navigation which is for screen share. There's also a chat in platform if people want to write questions when someone is presenting.

@ashrahman Thanks Ash! Yes, we love the concept of 'leveling up' 🍄 remote work. If we can help teams come together with gaming technology we achieved one of our primary goals!

@ashrahman Thanks Ash, we appreciate your feedback.

@ashrahman Thanks Ash! Love gamifying the world of Remote work. So many applications for games to help better the world

@mitchell_bassett @gene_harris @adam_berry2 glad that you are thinking ahead and utilizing games. Just in case we can be helpful anyway for more simpler games, keep me posted!

@ashrahman that sounds awesome. We'll have to keep in touch. You and Mitch would have a lot to talk about.

@mustapha_ajermou1 Thank You! We've iterated many times, and getting them to a high standard in the web was a challenge. Glad you appreciate them.

@mustapha_ajermou1 thank you for your kinds words. We have gone to great lengths to produce artisan avatars, this means custom animation and digitally hand painted textures. It is our personal goal to make the most engaging avatars so that people feel comfortable and expressive in the Remotely platform.

@mustapha_ajermou1 Feel free to share ideas for future outfits and accessories. Always keen to callaborate with the wider community 😊

@mustapha_ajermou1 Feel free to join our Discord we'd love to hear your feedback and ideas on new avatar designs https://discord.com/invite/bV65E...

@ds_fam great question! With our current avatar bases there are over 350,000 unique combinations.....however that being said, we have some great plans for future avatar content. Stay tuned for more in the coming months.

@ds_fam what characters would you like to see?

@gene_harris Thats sounds awesome, can’t wait

@adam_berry2 More outfits will be awesome.

@ds_fam We have barely scratched the surface of costumes. An exciting update is in the works that will add a ton more flexibillity and options for the character creators out there.

@ds_fam Hi Darshi, great question. Yes, once you enter the 'Meeting Space' you can enter a 'Private Meeting Space' in here you'll notice a screen share option in the navigation. You may choose from browser tabs, multiple screens or windows to screen share. There is also an audio share option if you are presenting a video. 🎧

@ds_fam Absolutely and in a Remotely meeting room only those in the room can hear and see what is being shared.

@gene_harris Nice, thank you, will try it out

@adam_berry2 That’s perfect for my one on one meetings

@ds_fam awesome - please let us know what you think of the meetings spaces Darshi 😊

@sunkim thank you for your support! That is an excellent question! Remotely is built in Web2 technology, but that being said we have purposefully designed reusable assets that have application into Web3. This is why we've chosen to build 3D avatars, game assets and environments. At some point in the near future we'd like to be a part of the emerging remote work metaverse 🌌

@sunkim oh wow, I didn't even think of that. Imagine being able to travel virtually from remote work to parts of the Metaverse! 🤯

@sunkim @whatchuptu Exactly. We focussed on building the community first, but absolutely know that the metaverse is on the cards for Remotely-especially when we add economy and rewards :)

@sunkim We're the Remotely-verse! Heading into the web3 and meta space

@ds_fam Hi Darshi, we're currently a browser based Chrome experience. However in the future we hope to branch out to other devices and platforms. We have our development roadmap roughly set for the next 2-3 years, but this could change and develop further along the way. It would really be something to join from your phone from anywhere wouldn't it. Thanks for your comment and support, the team at Remotely appreciate it. 🤗

@ds_fam technically it can be done and we have tested Remotely on mobile in the past. So no issues there. We just have to work it into our development roadmap, and make sure we see a big enough pain point for customers.

@adam_berry2 sounds really good, will be awesome to use this on the go

@gene_harris please make it work on iPhone and androids

@ds_fam Yes, if we go mobile we'll most likely look at both of those platforms.

@emma_esencia_merin Hi Emma, oh how exciting, you’re going to really enjoy this. Once you’ve made an account - we have a great onboarding tutorial to bring you up-to-speed with how to move your avatar. We’ve purposely designed user friendly controls, so that avatar movement is intuitive. These same controls apply to everything inside the Remotely Hub, including the games.

@emma_esencia_merin That's right-not everyone is a gamer. The tutorial makes it super easy to understand. Try playing with a friend to start and work through it together.

@gene_harris okay, okay thank you. I'll check it out.

@adam_berry2 cool! thank you!

@emma_esencia_merin our pleasure Emma. Please let us know what you think of the platform. 🤗

@palam_s Thank you- we felt a product which was more human centric was needed for remote working teams.

@palam_s thank you for your support! Yes, it's been fascinating to see the market grow rapidly in just a short space of time. Remote work is great for the planet and for people who want to gain a better life/ work balance. The future in work is dynamic. Remotely provides a platform for remote teams to build stronger more meaningful relationships 😃

@adam_berry2 yes, I feel you. Otherwise it feels like working with bots :D

@gene_harris ‎️‍🔥

@palam_s thank you for your support. We really appreciate it 🙏

@woody2007 hey Woody, great thanks for the support. Yes, we specifically design each of our games with a focus on remote team engagement. What does this mean? We design with goals like; communication, collaboration and team problem solving. We've also found that a team that can celebrate wins together tend to bond faster. So, yes the games are fun, but they are also designed to bring everyone closer together. 🫂

@gene_harris Oh I see. Yeah I can see why my team would be into this. I'm going to set up a Friday game for them and see how they get on. Thank you for giving me a bit more info. I'll be sure to let my team know. Congrats on the launch.

@woody2007 @gene_harris that is pretty cool. Do you think Remotely will make games for larger groups at some point?

@woody2007 @whatchuptu thank you. Yes, we've put a lot of thought into the takeaway for teams. Playing is of course fun, but to be meaningful we wanted teams to walk away with new skills. That is a great question, without giving too much away we are currently developing a few activities that would be suited to larger groups and be played longer.

@april_smith3 Thank you April! We're really enjoying hearing everyone's first impressions and feedback!

@april_smith3 Thanks April!

@april_smith3 Thank you April. This is fun :)

@april_smith3 Thank you <3

@ds_fam thank you Darshi. We appreciate your support.

@ds_fam Thank you Darshi

@ds_fam Thanks very much. Lots of hard work in the art.

@mitchell_bassett The art work is amazing

@whatchuptu That would be really great in the long run. We have a number of other milestones we'd ideally like to hit first. Expanding our game offering is probably our next big priority. But eventually moving towards a Web3 platform with multiple ways for users to interact would be an amazing place to be.

@gene_harris Right yeah, there's probably loads of other things your team wants to do first. Suppose it's device dependent too. Not many people can afford a VR headset.

@whatchuptu yes if it helps solve a problem, or makes learning or events even more exciting.

@whatchuptu that's right. There are a lot of variables, I guess we needed to prove first that Remote Teams wanted to connect this way as well. So far all signs point to 'yes' - teams so far are enjoying the games and posting some great scores. Technology is advancing quickly, so this means that over time it will become cheaper and more accessible to users, but it starts with Remote workers and then branches out.