I always say that it's hard to bring video gaming into the workplace without your boss telling you to focus up and get on with your work. I mean, if you're sat playing a Super Mario Bros. Wonder demake instead of filling in spreadsheets, I can see where they're coming from, but bringing a bit of fun into the workplace and a bit of character is bound to make workers feel more inspired, right?
That's definitely what new company Fevertime are proposing with their video conferencing system that makes you feel like you've stepped up to get a high score on Donkey Kong back in the 80s.
Created by designers MyeongHoon Cheon, Dugyeong Lee, Gyeong Wook Kim, & Dayong Yoon, it's effectively the next level of evolution when it comes to systems like Zoom and Teams. The main camera in the setup looks just like an arcade joystick, and a base unit that it stands in looks very much like the classic Famicom design with very similar colours. It even has cartridges that can be slotted in to bring up different meeting modes, making the whole thing a tactile experience that promotes fun and togetherness, which is the whole ethos behind the Fevertime brand.
Like Zoom, you can set up meetings, plan meetings in advance, but this concept differs from the competition by displaying everyone's content onto a shared surface. Everyone sees everything at the same time to create a true virtual meeting where everyone is looking at the same thing, and, as our friends at Yanko Design put it, this unified space encourages users to use eye contact and think about spatial awareness.
I don't know when Fevertimes bold retro concept will make it to the UK anytime soon, but I love it, nonetheless. I've worked in the corporate world where meetings drag on and no one ever really listens, so I know how much something like this would inject a little personality and fun into the workspace.
Lots of people love to game, and if they don't currently do it, they'll have grown up around it or have played as a child. It's also nostalgic - who doesn't want to slot in a meeting cartridge like they were slotting in The Legend of Zelda? Fevertime might have a hard job beating the competition, but they've certainly captured the 8-bit heart pieces and nostalgic minds of the retro gaming community with this design, and I would love to have one taking pride of place here at Retro Dodo Towers!
