WikiProject remote event participation/WorkAdventure

On this page, participants of the WikiProject remote event participation are gathering information about the tool WorkAdventure after testing it, to see if it could be use for future remote events. Feel free to improve the page or to contact people mentioned below if you're interested in the tool.

Overview

• Name & link: WorkAdventure
• Type of tool: Virtual space
• Company/developer/provider: The Coding Machine
• License: Modified AGPL, with the Commons Clause non-commercial restriction added (source code repository)
• Data privacy statement: privacy policy
• Options and pricing: Free for a self-built map up to 25 participants, then see pricing
• Actively maintained? Yes (February 2021)

Summary of the tool and its features

WorkAdventure is a virtual space that allows the user to explore a virtual space, built on a map made of 32*32-pixel tiles. It allows for example to simulate an office, a conference room or any space, with a strong "retro gaming" vibe due to the pixel tiles and avatars. The users can move through this space, and automatically create conversations when they get close enough to each other. These discussions include audio and video (through the RTL protocol) and a text chat, and can include up to 4 people in the group.

The tool also offers the possibility to open an embedded web page when the user is located in a specific part of the map, which can for example be used to embed a Jitsi call and thus allow more that 4 users to join a discussion. This is often used to define areas in the map (rooms or otherwise) that can be used as coordination spots for working groups, or for presentation sessions of a conference.

WorkAdventure allows people to create their own maps (using for example the software Tiled), then after hosting the map and the starter kit on Github, the map can be used for free by up to 25 participants. (see documentation)

Results

Feel free to improve this section based on your own experiences with the tools. If you want to know more about the tool or contact people who have been testing it, please see the "our experiences" section below.

Positive aspects

• great spatialized discussions tool that provides a feeling of being in a room with others
• nice and unique atmosphere with the pixel/retrogaming vibe
• possibility to embed a web page at some specific parts of the map
• almost open source (still unclarities regarding the main software, what is executed on the client side, and the tiles that are used)
• organizers can create their own maps adapted to their needs
• pricing options for more features and active support
• relatively easy contact with the developers
• authentication and moderation options for the events map (cf pricing)
• very few personal data is stored: content of the video calls is not hosted/stored

Negative aspects or things that could be improved

• unclarities about the license of the software and the tiles
• the tool doesn't work on mobile devices (yet)
• privacy issue: starting a video call with a participant doesn't require an extra consent step, therefore if someone accidentally let a browser tab with the map open, anyone joining could see/listen to what is happening in their room
• building a map requires skills (use Tiled, create your own tiles if needed) and especially a lot of time to create a decent map
• video discussions are only up to 4 participants

Possibilities of the tools and ideas of usecases

• social events
• "hallway track", allow spontaneous discussions and gatherings during an event
• Jitsi call for discussions with more than 4 people
• thanks to the possibility to open external web pages: possibility to create a poster session, sponsor booths, a karaoke room, a helpdesk...
• possibility to recreate an office or an event space (this was the original idea for WorkAdventure)

Our experience with the tool

Tests done by the Wikimedia community

People involved	Context	Date	Number of participants	Main outcome
Lea Lacroix (WMDE), ...	rC3, the remote version of the Chaos Communication Congress. The CCC organization team used and adapted WorkAdventure for the virtual gathering, exhibition and "booths" part of the event. Important note: due to the huge number of participants, the CCC performed some hacks on the existing software to allow more possibilities, such as "parallel worlds".	December 27-30, 2020		We tested the tool as "regular participants". It seems to work quite well. The assemblies were able to design their own space (lot of time needed to create and assemble the pixel art tiles). Some extra features added by CCC, such as badges, were pretty nice.
Lea Lacroix (WMDE) + a few people from the software development team at Wikimedia Germany	Internal test during a prototyping/creative session. We used the free version of the tool to try to reproduce one floor of Wikimedia Germany's office, to see if we could use it further for social events whithin Wikimedia Germany.	January 28-29, 2021	5	We managed to make it work, although the official documentation is missing some information (eg how to name specific layers to be recognized by WA). It took us quite some time to build a decent map (4 people working on it during one day). We were able to create rooms for different purposes, and to envision different uses for the tools. Due to remaining unclarities about the privacy statement and the license of tiles, the experience has not been continued.

Contacts initiated

Please make sure to respect people's privacy and to not include any private contact details or other information in this section.

• December 2020 - Lea Lacroix (WMDE) : various interactions with the development team during rC3, by going directly to their online office
• January 27, 2021 - Valerio Bozzolan, MadBob, Oirasor7: formal request for a price quotation for an event and requested clarifications about their "w:Commons Clause" (speaking as Italian Linux Society but telling that Wikimedia/Wikimania could be interested in the same clarification)
• January 2021 - Lea Lacroix (WMDE) : discussions with the development team about a possible partnership with Wikimedia and request for additional features,
• February 22, 2021 - Valerio Bozzolan + Lea Lacroix (WMDE): meeting with the lead developer to discuss about:
  • releasing the frontend under a fully free license (Valerio) [1] (spoiler: short term plan)
  • improve mobile support (Lea) [2] (spoiler: short term plan)
  • add w:OAuth support (Lea) (spoiler: after mobile support)
  • improve documentation for map creators (Lea)
  • releasing the "on-promise" solution under a fully free license (Valerio) [3] (spoiler: long term plan)
    • about a fully-free AGPL server, they expressed the desire to learn how to run a w:FLOSS business
  • drop Google Analytic and adopt Matomo (Valerio)
  • fix in-apps games (keybinding conflicts) (Lea)
  • GDPR compliance (Lea) (spoiler: they would appreciate any help)
    • remove the part about sharing data with business partners (Lea) (spoiler: they will do)
    • suggested to try a partnership with Wikimedia Italia to eventually share their GDPR manager to boost this step (Valerio) (spoiler: they seemed very, very interested asd)
  • have only w:free content source tiles in the maps and the starter kit (Lea) (spoiler: they will update the starter kit)
• March 19, 2021 - Valerio Bozzolan requested a price quotation to liberate the frontend
• May 2021: WorkAdventure was used at the remote Wikimedia Hackathon, more info here, documentation TBD

Interested users [ sign ]

If you are somehow interested in this tool, express your interest here!

• Experienced this tool at the remote Chaos Communication Congress and had a blast! --Gnom (talk) 15:38, 25 February 2021 (UTC)
• looks interesting Zblace (talk) 16:27, 28 February 2021 (UTC)
• interested :) I played with this tool to see if it was good for Italian Linux Society's parties and for the online itWikiCons. Who knows if it will be considered for Wikimania 2021. I would love to see if it will be converted from "AGPL + non-commercial" to a pure "AGPL". --Valerio Bozzolan (talk) 16:35, 1 March 2021 (UTC)
• Played with it a few times and started to learn how to create a map. Still questioning if this tool would fit to Wikimedia community events and what kind of values it could bring. Lea Lacroix (WMDE) (talk) 15:00, 1 March 2021 (UTC)
• Definitely interested in solutions of this type (spatial chat in virtual environments). So far the virtual events I have participated in (even Zoom calls with breakout rooms) have left a lot to be desired in terms of allowing people to mix and form spontaneous smaller groups, without being overwhelmed by a very large shared room. I would love to see something like this be used for Wikimedia events. --Waldir (talk) 17:22, 22 May 2021 (UTC)
• [ sign ]

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