Throughout the last several decades the way people communicate and connect with one
another has radically evolved. Compared to the start of the millennia when communication
technology was more text-based, today there are devices capable of full HD video calling. The
past two years during the COVID-19 epidemic have only added to the need for continuing to
advance communication technology. The time spent indoors, separated from friends and family,
left many people feeling alone and lonely. If left untreated, pervasive loneliness can have
long-term effects on an individual's physical and mental health (Mushtaq and Shah 2014). Video
calling was a great avenue for staying connected, but it can ultimately end up feeling stale and
not very engaging. The next communication platform will be more immersive, allowing one to
interact with others in a shared virtual environment. The project, HangoutVR (HoVR), aims to
make use of game and VR technology to provide individuals with a new way to connect with
others by providing a shared environment where they can all interact and play together. As a
multiplayer game, HangoutVR uses a client-server architecture. In this model, all players are
connected to the internet and Steam. One player then hosts a lobby and acts as the server for all
other joining players, or clients. Once players have joined a session, they are free to interact with
others using the multitude of features offered in HoVR including things such as voice chat, text
chat, object interaction, and more. over voice and text chat. The results provide a preliminary
working prototype of HoVR. Future work will focus on creating a more customized player
experience (ex. Avatar customization) and streamlining the experience in VR.