Skittish: Animal Crossing Meets Clubhouse

The Exhaustion of Online Interaction and the Rise of Skittish

Many individuals are experiencing fatigue with current social apps and virtual chat tools, even well into 2021. These platforms, initially intended to maintain connection during the pandemic, often feel more draining than genuine, in-person interactions.

However, a new vision emerges: what if online gatherings weren’t unpleasant?

Introducing Skittish: A New Virtual Event Platform

Skittish, a browser-based event platform created by XOXO co-founder Andy Baio, aims to redefine online social experiences. It’s a unique blend of social audio chat applications like Discord or Clubhouse and the engaging aesthetics of a video game, featuring charming, colorful animal avatars.

Unlike traditional video calls, Skittish functions as a place – a virtual environment where users can encounter each other, participate in activities, and embrace spontaneous connections.

Baio’s Vision: Comfort and Authentic Expression

Skittish is a natural progression of Baio’s interests, fostering an inviting and lightly gamified space for creative individuals to share their work and socialize. “I think I’m just drawn to places where people can be themselves,” Baio explained to TechCrunch. “With Skittish, it’s been really important to me that people can engage at the level they’re comfortable with.”

Baio has a proven track record of cultivating unique social spaces, primarily in the real world. He co-created XOXO in 2012, a Portland-based festival celebrating quirky creators. Though temporarily paused due to Covid-19, the festival continues to thrive in a vibrant online community of indie game developers, podcasters, and digital artists.

From Kickstarter to Skittish: A History of Innovation

Prior to XOXO, Baio played a key role at Kickstarter, both pre-launch and as its first chief technology officer. (Full disclosure: I’m a former XOXO attendee and member of the community.)

Skittish is designed to alleviate the pressure often associated with online social interaction. Baio envisions a space where introverts can observe from the periphery while extroverts can confidently engage at the center, mirroring real-life social dynamics. This range of social preferences is often absent in virtual environments geared towards work, contributing to widespread anxiety.

The Power of Audio and Spatial Awareness

Baio believes audio chat strikes an ideal balance. Removing the requirement of video reduces social pressure, while audio maintains a sense of presence that text-based communication lacks.

“There’s an assumption in a lot of virtual events that people want to be on camera all the time with strangers, which feels alien to me,” Baio stated. “Skittish is audio by default, and uses spatial audio so that you can hear people around you and lurk a little bit before deciding if you want to jump into a conversation. Socializing anywhere, even online, can be really anxiety-inducing.”

Differentiating Skittish from Clubhouse

While Clubhouse has become synonymous with social audio, its format doesn’t appeal to everyone. “I like the casual and conversational approach to audio, but [it] just feels like a series of conference panels and needs a strong moderator to be compelling enough to tune in,” Baio said.

How Skittish Functions

In Skittish, approaching a group of users (represented as animals – over 75 adorable avatars are available) allows you to hear their conversation, just as you would in a physical setting. Moving away diminishes the audio until it’s no longer audible.

For private conversations, users can separate from a larger group and continue their chat while virtually walking together.

Within a Skittish room, participants can move around, converse via microphone, place virtual objects, and even travel through portals to other rooms. Event organizers can stream videos and music from platforms like YouTube or Soundcloud onto a virtual screen, and can also broadcast themselves or speakers to the entire room.

Versatility and Revenue Model

Baio envisions Skittish as a flexible platform for diverse events, ranging from podcast readings and tabletop games to larger corporate gatherings. He targets creators with a Patreon following, with larger events offsetting costs for those connecting with their communities.

Event hosts can choose from pre-designed virtual environments or create their own custom spaces.

To minimize harassment and toxicity, Skittish is designed to exist only when needed. While moderation tools – including muting, kicking, and banning – will be available, Baio hopes they will rarely be necessary.

“I’m a big fan of dark social, in general, where people can feel more like themselves and moderation is much more human and manageable,” Baio said.

Development and Future Plans

The pandemic highlighted the need for more engaging online social experiences. Zoom’s initial appeal faded, and by late 2020, group video chat felt like a routine aspect of work, rather than a source of enjoyment.

“It’s a bit of a cliché, but Animal Crossing: New Horizons became a reliable escape for me during the pandemic, a daily source of comfort and routine when we couldn’t go outside,” Baio said. The game’s soothing rhythms inspired his vision for Skittish.

“… I think what inspired me most were the simplicity of the controls and camera, the overall tone of the game, and the social features, limited as they are,” Baio said. “You’re capped at seven visitors and it takes forever for people to fly in, but despite that, it’s just a joyful experience to have a bunch of people over to your island.”

The success of Animal Crossing demonstrated a desire for more relaxed and engaging online experiences.

Games that function as social networks are gaining popularity, as people naturally socialize while engaging in shared activities, whether it’s teaming up in Fortnite, building in Valheim, or exploring user-created games in Roblox.

The ability to express oneself through avatars is also a significant factor, as evidenced by the success of virtual item sales in games like Fortnite.

Skittish was developed with a $100,000 grant from Grant For The Web, a fund supporting projects utilizing micropayments for creators. Baio began prototyping Skittish in July, envisioning it as a temporary space for events rather than a persistent virtual world.

Skittish currently supports up to 120 simultaneous voices, with ongoing testing to increase capacity towards a goal of 1000 participants. Rooms can be password-protected, invite-only, or public, and Baio plans to introduce smaller, more intimate spaces for 3-5 users.

Skittish utilizes spatial audio technology from High Fidelity, the project of Second Life creator Philip Rosedale. Notably, Second Life implemented spatial audio in 2007.

Skittish will launch paid events this month as a trial, with wider access to follow. Baio intends to rely on paid events for revenue, while considering the potential for a free tier, balancing moderation concerns with hosting costs.

Experiencing Skittish Firsthand

I joined Baio in Skittish to explore the platform, and it immediately felt less awkward than traditional video calls. As a raccoon, I followed Baio’s owl around the virtual environment, similar to walking and talking in a park.

Skittish’s simple graphics and playful avatars create a relaxed and creative atmosphere. The avatars even have subtle animations, bringing them to life.

The sense of presence in Skittish, akin to experiences in AltspaceVR, is remarkable. Multiplayer games have long excelled at creating this feeling, explaining the popularity of platforms like Fortnite and Minecraft as social spaces.

Ultimately, Baio believes Skittish will succeed when users forge meaningful connections that extend beyond the virtual world. “Just like the events I’ve run in real life, I’ll know it’s working when I hear stories about people meeting each other in a playful environment and making new friends.”