(2022-01-21) Webb Designing Multiplayer Apps With Patterns From Architecture

Matt Webb: Designing multiplayer apps with patterns from architecture. I’ve found myself looking at architecture to pick up hints on designing multiplayer apps. Or rather: the coming ecosystem of multiplayer apps.

The web is social in lots of ways.

These islands of social interaction are joining up. Increasingly the web is going multiplayer (and yes yes the metaverse too) and we step between them – desktop to Slack to Zoom to Figma.

BUT – how should it feel to move between them?

How do we design transitions between different interaction modes and social contexts?

Here’s A Pattern Language (Amazon UK) by Christopher Alexander

Pattern 127. Intimacy Gradient

Unless the spaces in a building are arranged in a sequence which corresponds to their degrees of privateness, the visits made by strangers, friends, guests, clients, family, will always be a little awkward.

instead of “degrees of privateness,” I’m thinking more like “degrees of intimacy” or maybe “degrees of social intensity.” So video calls on Zoom are hotter,

The designer’s job is to move the user up and down this social gradient with the user maintaining agency and anticipation of what’s next.

130. Entrance Room

Anyway I’m not just talking about Zoom – we spend a lot of time going in and out of these social spaces.