Event Information for Teams: Virtual Competition
This document highlights the important components of the event that participating teams need to be aware of.
You are required to join the space early so that you can make sure your poster and video are properly set up and up to date. If there are any conflicts, please contact the event coordinator who should be present in the space during the team check-in time (see Current Competition Schedule).
The poster you create will be presented in a pre-designated spot that you will confirm prior to the start of the event. The poster (see more on Poster Guidelines) should serve as a way for judges and attendees to get a good general grasp of the design that you created. A member from your team must always be present at your team's designated spot.
Inside the building (modeled after ECJ), there is a room to the left that will house all the videos that each team created. The videos will be available for judges and attendees to view. A member from your team does not have to be present at the video podiums.
At least one member of your team must be present during the duration of the competition, but especially during the judging period (see Current Competition Schedule). If your entire team has a conflict, please let the competition organizer know so that judging can be rescheduled for your team.
Gather.town is the platform that we will be using to host the virtual event. You can walk around some demo spaces provided on the company's website to learn more about how to navigate through spaces or read below for some instructions. The company also provides some helpful documentation if you are having some issues.
When you join the space, you have the option of including your audio and video in addition to editing your avatar's name and appearance. Once in the space, you can also toggle your audio and video on and off by clicking the respective icons.
As a participant, we require you to put "(designer)" behind your name so that judges (as well as other patrons) know that you are there to present a dog house design.
To move around the gather.town space, simply use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move in the direction of the arrow. You can also use the W, A, S, and D keys to move around if you are a true gamer.
When you approach others, your audio and video will fade in and, as you walk away, the audio and video will fade out.
There is also a chat menu on the left-hand side of your screen denoted by the text bubbles. You can chat with everyone or with one person by selecting their name from the dropdown.
There are some areas that are "Private Spaces" meaning when you enter them, you and everyone in that space automatically broadcast your audio and video (if they are turned on). There are a few private spaces on the map:
- Areas in front of each team's poster are private spaces
- The two rooms in the middle of the building (modeled after ECJ) are separated private spaces.
You will know you have entered a private space, because the area outside of the space will fade slightly in color.
There is one "Spotlight" square in the main area on the stage. Stepping onto this tile will broadcast your audio and video (if they are on) to everyone in the same space. We are using this tile to make general announcements and the announcement of the winner. You should try to avoid this tile unless you really have something you want to tell everyone.
You can interact with objects that glow yellow as you approach. Press the X key on your keyboard to interact with the object. When you are done, you can press esc on your keyboard or click the small "x" icon at the top-right of the window that pops up.
