Some people have decided to ditch boring Zoom meetings and instead sit around a campfire in Red Dead Redemption 2. Zoom has become the standard for most schools and workplaces during the COVID-19 pandemic, but several groups have noted that it is difficult to remain attentive and productive while using the popular app. What better way to stay focused than to hang out with a bunch of cowboys in the wilderness, all the while avoiding being killed by bandits and animals?
Red Dead Online has long been a great way for players to hang out with friends and explore the world of RDR2. Players are able to join a posse and roam the game to their heart's content while being a bloodthirsty bandit or a kind-hearted cowboy. There is actually a lot to accomplish in Red Dead Online, and players can spend hours immersed in the world. The one thing that few could have guessed was that players would use the game for corporate meetings.
Viviane Schwarz stated on Twitter (via Rock Paper Shotgun) that their team hated Zoom meetings so much that they decided switching to Read Dead Online was a much better alternative. The group sits around a campfire drinking coffee and discussing plans for current and future projects. Schwarz assumed that the game would be a ridiculous method for holding meetings but apparently, "The Cowboys just look right when they’re sitting around the campfire? They look like they’re in a meeting: scratching noses and frowning, and occasionally gesturing."
Schwarz and her colleagues have put in several rules and steps for making Red Dead Online as efficient for their meetings as possible. They have coffee breaks because it feels realistic, but also to stop players from idling and being kicked from the game. They have also done things like emoting to help things feel more immersive or using in-game assets like catalogues to represent real life documents. Schwarz says that the best part of holding meetings like this is that when the meeting is over the team can mount up and go off to commit crimes or arrest bad guys.
Red Dead Online may not be the most effective method for holding meetings, but it for sure beats the boring aspects of sitting through a long Zoom meeting. It also probably boosts camaraderie between teammates to go on quests post-meetings as well. Gamers out there who want a more fun alternative to their corporate functions during quarantine should ask their boss to switch to Red Dead Online.
Red Dead Redemption 2 can be played on Xbox One, PC, and PlayStation 4.
Source: Viviane Schwartz (via Rock Paper Shotgun)