Remote and Hybrid Event Protocols

Running a remote/hybrid Jenson8 event involves several considerations about tech setup, necessary equipment, and important preparation. Jenson8 has developed these protocols to help guarantee a successful and enjoyable session for partners and workshop participants. The following protocols encompass remote events, in which all individuals are participating from a separate location, as well as hybrid sessions, in which some individuals are at an in-person event space, and some individuals are participating remotely. Please make sure that you adhere to the following protocols at all times, and that you have sufficient team members who can assist participants.

Event Setup and Kit

Remote participants

Headsets – Meta Quest 2 / Meta Quest Pro / Meta Quest 3 / Pico Neo 3 / Pico Neo 4.
If you are shipping a headset (owned or rental) to a participant, ensure that there is enough time to perform a tech check before the event.
Facilitator and participant laptops (See minimum specs here). If participants are using their own laptop, ensure they are able to download and access Jenson8 applications by running a connection test beforehand. Note that laptop users cannot participate as an A player in Apollo.
All laptops should have an external mouse (trackpads are difficult to use), and a set of headphones with a mic to ensure no audio feedback develops over in-game communication channels.
Wi-Fi – An adequate Wi-Fi connection should be established for each participant prior to the event. Instruct participants to run an internet speed test in the location they will be in for their session (https://speed.cloudflare.com/).

Hybrid Event - On-Site Setup

Headsets – Oculus Consumer Quest 2 / Meta Quest Pro / Meta Quest 3 / Pico Neo 3 / Pico Neo 4. Ensure a sufficient number of headsets are supplied to cover all participants, plus at least two spares.
Earbuds plus spares – these will be plugged into the headset to ensure that there are no audio interruptions or overlap for participants in the same room as others playing at the same time. Refer to the Earbud Guide for more specific information regarding appropriate earbuds.
Facilitator and participant laptops (See minimum specs here). If participants are using their own laptop, ensure they are able to download and access Jenson8 applications by running a connection test beforehand. Note that laptop users cannot participate as an A player in Apollo.
All laptops should have an external mouse (trackpads are difficult to use), and a set of headphones with a mic to ensure no audio feedback develops over in-game communication channels.
A separate, dedicated Wi-Fi network should be established to ensure the headsets maintain an adequate connection during the event. Run speed tests in multiple locations within the space for your event to make sure all areas are covered by the network (https://speed.cloudflare.com/). More information on network requirements here.
Smartphones - If an application is being used which requires participant access to the dashboard, ensure participants bring their smartphones to the event. These will be used to access the dashboard and complete items such as personal assessment and reflection questions. Remind participants to charge their smartphones prior to the even
Mobile Router - Jenson8 recommends that you bring your own Wi-Fi as a backup. Take your own 5G Routers with relevant cables to cover the event space. Ensure you test that the 5G reception onsite provides adequate bandwidth for the number of headsets and desktop participants in your event.
Label maker – Create labels for each headset which provides a unique number and a relevant activation code which correlates with the one which will be used in the session. Then label each handset with the unique number to ensure handsets do not get mixed up with other headsets.
Extra cables for charging devices, headsets and USB-C charging banks.
USB-C charging bank / USB Hub – these give the event staff an area to charge the headsets. J8 does not recommend having power banks plugged into the headsets while they are being worn and used.
Floor markings – purchase some large, numbered Velcro dots, enough to cover each cohort. These should go in the center of the guardian boundary. Then, use non-transparent tape to mark out the corners of each Guardian Boundary, ensuring that no boundary overlaps with another. Allocate each participant a space with a corresponding floor number and pin Code against their name.
Tape Measure - For measuring guardian boundaries.
Print outs or digital copies (Tablets are ideal) of pin codes and participant lists against floor space allocation.
Antibacterial Wipes and a Microfiber cloth - Provide antibacterial wipes to clean headsets between rounds, particularly if players are rotating, and use the microfiber cloth to defog headset lenses, ensuring the cloth is clean so that the lenses do not get scratched.
Spare AA batteries - To replace batteries in hand controllers is required.

Connecting Remote and On-Site Participants

Central screen – This should be set up in the event space for the facilitator and remote individuals to join and participate remotely. Ideally, this should be located in a separate space not being used for VR.
Conference microphone/speaker system - These devices are fitted with omnidirectional microphone systems which are designed to pick up and isolate speech in larger spaces, this is essential for ensuring that remote participants can hear all on-site participants. Many conference rooms will have these facilities already, however it is best practice to bring one which can be easily plugged in and used if needed, such as the Jabra Speak 510.
Dedicated AV laptop - having a laptop which runs the conference call without running the facilitator application is useful to ensure you can provide tech support to remote participants throughout the entire event.
A facilitator laptop - one of the facilitator laptops can be connected to the conference call and screen share the experience if there is a participant drop-out.

Recommended Event Timings

Standard Demo: 90 minutes, 6-8 participants
Pilot: 3 hours, up to 12 participants
Workshop: 4 hours, 12 participants per cohort

Floor Space

Remote Participants

Remote participants should choose a clear floor space which allows for a 9 x 9ft (3 x 3m) room scale/custom VR boundary. An approximate measurement of the space can be derived by physically pacing out the boundary (1 pace = roughly 2ft). For an optimal experience, use only standing, room scale/custom VR guardian boundaries.

Participants who are unable to stand, or who are wheelchair bound can use the Adjust Height feature in the Accessibility section of the Oculus Settings menu to give seated participants a similar viewpoint to standing participants. Note that this setting prevents participants from picking up objects off the floor if they are in an A player role.

Ensure participants who are at home shut any pets away before entering VR.

If remote participants do not have access to a space which meets our boundary requirements, they may find that virtual objects are often outside their boundary. Ensure all participants have been instructed on how to re-center their boundary (by holding the Oculus/Meta/Pico button on their handset).

On-Site Requirements

Before booking an event space, ensure the space is large enough to accommodate the number of VR boundaries which need to be set up.

For an optimal experience, allow enough space for each headset to have a full 9 x 9ft (3 x 3m) guardian boundary. An approximate measurement of the space can be derived by physically pacing out the boundary (1 pace = 2ft). For an optimal experience, use only standing, room scale guardian boundaries.
Smaller seated boundaries can be set up for use by B and C players only. Doing this allows smaller spaces to be used for Jenson8 experiences. Allow at least 5 x 5ft (1.5 x 1.5m) space for each headset. Then set up a room scale/custom VR boundary around the seat.
Participants who are seated, unable to stand, or who are wheelchair bound can use the Adjust Height feature in the Accessibility section of the Oculus Settings menu to give seated participants a similar viewpoint to standing participants. Note that this setting prevents participants from picking up objects off the floor if they are in an A player role.
If you are using a Meta Quest 3, ensure you manually set up your boundary instead of allowing the headset to automatically set up the boundary space, to ensure boundaries do not overlap.

Jenson8 recommends that each individual uses the same headset throughout the entire event, particularly if any Psychometric Applications are being used. If space is limited and participants are rotating between spaces for each game:

Each headset should remain in its guardian boundary the entire time.
If players need to rotate between spaces (i.e. if space limitations require B&C participants to be seated) and Psychometric Applications are not being used, there is no need to rotate player roles in the Dashboard between games. Each headset can continue to use the same Activation Code. For hygiene reasons, ensure each participant takes their earbuds with them when they switch to a new headset.
If players need to rotate between spaces and Psychometric Applications are being used, ensure that each participant changes the Activation Code before joining a game. This will ensure that metrics are assigned to the correct Dashboard account for report generation. For hygiene reasons, ensure each participant takes their earbuds with them when they switch to a new headset.
Do not have participants pick up their headset and move to a new space as the guardian boundary will have to be redrawn.

For participants who are standing, ensure they put their headset down in the middle of their boundary before leaving the space. For participants who are sitting, ensure they put their headset down on their chair before leaving the space. This reduces the chance of technical issues with the guardian boundary.

Protocols

Prior to Event

See a detailed session checklist project plan with timeline here.
Event Space Network - A gigabit hardwired broadband and a local Wi-Fi network should be used whenever possible, but it is good to have a 5G Router as back up. You’ll need to run a recce on the event area to map out participant space and discuss with your Tech team. If possible arrange for a dedicated fixed line into the space, or have the space's IT Team allocate the appropriate amount of bandwidth to a dedicated local Wi-Fi network.
Each headset should be labelled with a corresponding pin code associated with the session, and the name of the participant who will be using the headset during the event. Pin codes can be found on the Participants tab of the J8 Dashboard after a Session is created. These will be entered on each headset after launching Apollo or Boomerang.
If you are running an event in which participants will be seated (B and C players only), set out each chair and mark the floor space where it has been placed. This measure ensures that the chair can be moved back to the middle of the headset guardian boundary in the event that it is moved.
Discovery Deck: If you are using the discovery deck, ensure that the correct content (videos etc) is included for the specific event.

Communication

Create a backchannel for communications between staff members and facilitators. Jenson8 recommends using an encrypted third-party messaging app that everyone has access to (Such as Telegram). Check and update this communication channel often. This needs to be a separate platform to the one the workshop or session is being run on to avoid any confusion. For more information, refer here.
Determine if the event will run primarily through Teams or Zoom. Ensure that the facilitator is familiar with required conference features (like screenshare) depending on the facilitator’s familiarity with each software.
- Make sure all participants have access to the meeting link ahead of the event
- Ensure that when a VR session begins, all participants are muted so the audio does not create feedback in the call or in-game.
- Participants should also mute their device they are during the video conference call when not speaking to reduce the chance of feedback.
- If multiple groups are going through VR experiences simultaneously, use the conferencing app’s breakout room feature to separate groups between VR sessions. Let groups stay in their breakout rooms for about 25 minutes before convening all participants for about 5 minutes to share group learning before beginning the next VR session.
- When the facilitator is remote and the participants are on site, ensure that the conferencing device where the facilitator will be debriefing the participants has a view of all the participants. If the facilitator can't see who is speaking, it will be difficult to run a successful debrief session. You will not be able to see and understand each individual's thoughts, reactions, and opinions. Make sure that each person is either:
  - On their own individual screen or laptop
  - Gathered in a central place where they can clearly be seen by the facilitator.

Tech Staff and Setup

Make sure you have an adequate number of tech support staff for the event. Tech support staff should be familiar with VR headsets. For remote sessions, it is a good idea to have at least one tech support staff per facilitator. The same applies for Hybrid events, plus at least one member of Tech Support staff on-site for each 10 headsets. On-site staff should physically chaperone up to 10 players at a time.
Discuss the number of games, players per game, and number of players in each role for each game with your tech support staff ahead of the event. Making several last-minute changes to these may make their job more difficult and impair the quality of support they can give.
If you are running concurrent sessions, you will need to replicate your staff, headsets, and facilitator laptops to account for each session.
Determine the location of all participants. Jenson8 does not support remote participants located in the People’s Republic of China
Create a session on the J8 Dashboard. Once a session is created, a corresponding pin code will be created for each user. These will be input on each headset after launching Apollo in order to enter the game. Pin codes reset every 60 days, or every time a Dashboard update is released.
For on-site setup, ensure pin codes are entered into the headset prior to the beginning of the session.

Remote Tech Checks

Tech checks should be completed for all remote participants a minimum of 2 weeks before the event, please see the Running Tech Checks article to familiarise yourself with the process.

On-Site Tech/Facilitator Checks

Please read our VR Headset Protocols before running an event. It is a good idea to be familiar with these.

Checks should be carried out to ensure the event space and all equipment is suitable and ready for the event:

Run internet speed tests - Run an internet speed test at the event space to ensure that the required speeds are being met for running the session. (https://speed.cloudflare.com/)
Set up guardian boundaries - Set out each floor space as detailed in the "Event Space" section and configure the Guardian Boundary in the corresponding headset. Label each headset to ensure they can easily be taken back to the correct boundary area if removed.
Updates - Ensure all facilitator laptops and VR headsets are up to date.
Headset Microphone Check - Ensure that microphone permissions are enabled for any Jenson8 app which requires voice chat functionality. More information here
All headsets and Handsets - Your headsets should be group checked on location. Do not run headsets individually, they need to be tested concurrently in the same numbers intended for the live event, in the event space, on the network connection you’ll be using.
Headset and Handset Charge - Ensure headsets are fully charged and controllers have adequate battery charge remaining before the event starts.
Earbuds - Plug a set of ear buds into each headset prior to the event.
Laptops - All facilitator laptops should be checked in the space, in the location they will occupy during the event. Ideally laptops should be plugged in to mains power, or if not possible ensure they are fully charged before the event. A wired network connection will also help improve reliability.
AV - Video screens / conferencing audio should be tested prior to the event as required.

Day of Event

The facilitator will go explain the structure of the event, as well as the timing and schedule of games to the participants.
All staff should check in 15 minutes before the session via Telegram to confirm they are ready and that no last-minute changes have arose.
Tech staff should ensure they can provide support for remote participants over the conference call at all times.
At the start of each game facilitators should go through the action of set up:
- Check headset battery
- Launch Apollo/Boomerang
- Check or enter the pin code
During a game, do NOT let participants leave their guardian boundary with the headset or remove the headset. If they have a problem with their headset or the game, ask them to raise their hand so that Tech Support staff can help them within their Guardian Boundary.
Show all participants how to recenter their boundary - 'Navigate yourself back to the center of your boundary area, then hold down the Oculus/Meta/Pico button for one second. If you find that objects are still out of reach, try a different orientation'.
Do NOT allow participants create or re-draw their Guardian Boundary at any time. Inform participants at the beginning of the session that if they are prompted to create a new boundary, they must raise their hand so that Tech Support can ensure the Guardian Boundary is safely restored.
When entering a game, it is a good idea to do an audio roll call once everyone has entered the lobby to ensure all participants are connected to voice chat.
If there are any spare headsets, the tech team may want to consider entering it into the session - this allows participants to re-enter an active game in the event of a disconnection. To do this, ensure that the headset is entered into the relevant Jenson8 app at the beginning of the game. Note that the headset must stay within the guardian boundary at all times and the auto-wake function must be turned off in the settings.
If a participant feels sick or needs to leave the game at any point, the headset should be left on the ground within the guardian space. For participants feeling sick, they should be instructed to take a seat and ensure they are well hydrated before returning to their headset.
When participants are rotating space between each game, Jenson8 recommends that each individual rotates to a new headset which remains in its guardian boundary the entire time. Do NOT have participants take their headset to a new space. For participants who are standing, ensure they put their headset down in the middle of their boundary before rotating. For participants who are sitting, ensure they put their headset down on their chair before rotating. This reduces the chance of technical issues with the guardian boundary.
During debriefs and at the end of the session, participants should be instructed to leave their headset in their guardian boundary. For participants who are standing, ensure they put their headset down in the middle of their boundary before rotating. For participants who are sitting, ensure they put their headset down on their chair before rotating. This reduces the chance of technical issues with the guardian boundary.
If participants are rotating headsets - Instruct participants to keep their earbuds with them and provide antibacterial wipes for people to use before putting on a new headset.
Refer to the troubleshooting articles if needed.