At 9 a.m. on a recent weekday, I stood in the Banter virtual broadcast studio with SideQuest founder Shane Harris.
Next to him is an avatar with the name "Rev. Lunar Tiger" above his head, and to the right are three cameras positioned very close to the cameras we use to record our weekly VR Download podcast.
我告诉Harris稍等一下，当我开始在Slack上给我的同事David Heaney发消息时，从Meta Quest 3的底部看出去，手指在键盘上轻敲。在Banter中，我看到的是类似Bonelab的基于物理的游戏，似乎在独立的Quest 3上表现出色。我告诉David，Banter只是一个大约150MB的下载，不会占用他多于10分钟的时间。8:54时，他同意安装它，9:00时他问我在哪里见面。
“Slipstream Island,” I replied. "Rev. Lunar Tiger in top hat and skirt will lead you to the right place."
The timestamp of my next message on Slack was 9:10 a.m., when I was editing his article about Meta's CTO dismissing the possibility of an official Quest 3 eye-tracking add-on. With the headset on my head, I've made good on my promise to him and have gone back to editing his articles.
In between email timestamps, I watched David find our room, meet Harris and ask some questions. If you've been using VR for a while, you'll know that these timestamps have their own story. After we demoed Banter, I asked Harris to explain how the app is designed to do better than existing platforms. He replied:
"Banter is our exploration of what a 'Metaverse' could be. We didn't think it needed to be filled with screaming children, or populated by mostly avatars of the same type. We wanted to create something completely new, focused on stunning visuals effects, full-body action and great performance stuff. We try to leverage existing open web technologies rather than trying to reinvent the wheel. Banter uses a built-in web browser to integrate everything we love about the internet into the world of XR and space," Harris wrote. "We want it to be more inclusive and accessible than VRChat, while also focusing on standalone devices first rather than as a follow-up idea. We want Banter to be filled with interesting features that creators can build with no limits and no cost , and there is no need to prove their loyalty.”
VRChat has had a head start for many years, during which time it has learned some valuable lessons about how to scale such an endeavor while also growing its passionate user base. VRChat allows users to quickly sign up on its platform, using either Oculus or Steam. account. Banter launched just last year and includes guest rights that allow you to enter some worlds without formal registration. It also supports Unity's Cinemachine camera tool, and its small initial file size means you'll be up and running in VR in no time.
"As a guest you can do most things and enter most of the world. You will get a default generated name and that 'ball' style avatar. If you want to customize your avatar or add friends then you need to link your SideQuest account. You can then change your avatar or add friends from within the app within the 'Me' icon in the menu," Harris explained. "Currently visitors are not banned when entering a world, but some spaces have the option to not allow visitors."
It's not easy to compete on a platform like VRChat or Rec Room, and reality is littered with attempts like AltspaceVR that have tried and failed in the social VR space. How does Banter continue to be "standalone first" while embracing the avatars that people love in the PC version of VRChat?
This is a very obvious open question, and we'll see where Banter goes from here. We were curious to test the virtual studio we were shown off and see if it could meet the needs of our VR Download show. It's also a tough Quest, but we'll check it out soon. Still, we feel like the timeline here, and the good representation we've seen in Banter's world, is enough to share with our readers right away.
If you're interested, you can check out Banter on Steam, it hasMostly positive reviews, and can also be found inMeta Quest’s App Labfound on .
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