We built an internal game at Shopify to make virtual hangouts more fun. It’s called Shopify Party, and I’d love to tell you all about it 👇🏻
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There are many tools for virtual hangouts, but most focus on using video chat to recreate the office experience.

We wanted to give people a break from video-fatigue, and make a space designed for social play and being silly. [2/6]

It’s entirely browser based. Each game is designed to let people hop in & out at any time, and to encourage free play over specific rules.

Ex: I do most of my 1:1s playing with the tires in the race game. It’s the perfect thing to fidget with. [3/6]

It's made in Unity + WebGL, with the amazing http://Normcore.io library powering all the networking functionality.

The core experience was built over 3 months by @byrondelgado and myself. Big shout out to our culture tools team who helped with integration & rollout! 🥳[4/6]

Hundreds of games are played each week for 1:1s, icebreakers, standups, and other team events.
My favourite feedback is from the people who say they feel more comfortable and less anxious participating in this playful setting than in a large video call. [5/6]

Shopify Party is another great example of how we’re experimenting and investing in the future of remote work. Want to give it a try?

https://www.shopify.ca/careers