Bringing Teams Together: Guide To Hosting Christmas VR Party

One of the most interesting question of the 2022 that we’ve been asking ourselves was how do we hold a Christmas Party while having coworkers all over the world?

AREYES team members are located in multiple countries like the USA, Germany, Poland, Netherlands, Vietnam, and Ukraine. We love to party face to face; however, it’s not always possible, as the experience of the last few years has shown. So the art of creating memorable and fun team-building events online became paramount for us.

Setting up a Christmas party for a team spread across the globe can be a tough challenge, but with a bit of creativity and good planning, every co-worker can feel included and enjoy the event tremendously.

Challenge

When it comes to hosting a corporate Christmas party, the most obvious option may seem to be a video call. However, while we use video calls on a regular basis, they do not provide the same level of engagement or fun that we associate with a memorable experience.

There are several reasons for this, including the fact that video calls are non-interactive and fail to create a suitable atmosphere. Additionally, remote team members may feel isolated and struggle to feel a sense of unity with those who are physically present.

Idea

To overcome these challenges, we decided to send VR glasses to all team members and hold a virtual gathering. We wanted to ensure that everyone, regardless of their location, could participate fully in the event. We held a general call to celebrate the year’s achievements and then enjoyed a VR experience together.

Thanks to the immersive nature of VR, it was impossible to distinguish between colleagues who were in the office and those who were working remotely.

Reasons

We think there’s no better tool to create a really deep and engaging connection with anyone online than virtual reality. Despite the limitations of graphics, VR is a powerful tool that can deceive our brains and transport us to another world.

For instance, when we view 2D images on a screen, we perceive them as mere characters from a movie. However, our brains require a 3D representation to truly believe in what we see. With VR, we can create a fully immersive experience that engages both our minds and our emotions.

Choice Of The VR Experience

Initially we wanted to create our own virtual party space, but as a developer, we know that a fantastic experience takes time to create, and we didn’t have a lot of it. So we decided to switch focus to bringing the team together and looked for existing virtual space to hang out. As a result, we chose a proven and easy-to-use Rec Room. The Rec Room is also one of the few games that support rooms with more than 15 people.

How Party Went

The event was very heartfelt, and everyone enjoyed talking and playing together. There was one very emotional moment when two teammates who couldn’t see each other for a long time hugged for 5 seconds. While we think those little moments could only happen in real life, VR is becoming closer and closer to it. 

The next dream is to have sensory gloves and vests developed soon, so we can physically feel the handshakes and hugs in the game.