Why layout matters

In PatchWorld, spontaneous jam sessions happen every day — in our template studios and in user-created worlds. Every Thursday at 11:00 CET, we also host an open jam where anyone can drop in. Since January, as part of MUSMET we’ve been experimenting weekly with room sizes, instrument placement, lighting, and ensemble flow to tr to figure out the best conditions and set-up to allow flow in a VR jam session.

To broaden the picture, we shared a survey with more than 50 VR musicians across platforms like PatchWorld, VRChat, Banter, TribeXR, and Csound Meta.

The results were clear. Musicians value above all:

  • The feeling of presence and connection, like being “in the same room.”
  • Clear synchrony and good sound to stay in time.
  • Accessibility and inclusivity, jamming across ages, skills, and continents.

But they also flagged recurring frustrations:

  • Latency and sync issues that break flow.
  • Lack of expressive cues (no facial expressions, limited gestures) that make it hard to “read the room.”
  • Unclear roles or overcrowded layouts that sometimes create chaos.

These insights made one thing clear: if VR is to support truly social music-making, the layout of the jam room matters just as much as the instruments inside it.

Co-Designing the Best Jam Room in 3 Sessions

We invited two groups of five PatchWorld users — from professional musicians to hobbyists, from power-users to newcomers. Over three one-hour sessions, they joined us in PatchWorld to prototype their ideas. The result? A community-driven design process that led to something remarkable.

Session 1 — Prototyping with primitives

The method was playful and accessible: using primitive shapes and small-scale models, each participant built and explained what they felt was most important when making music with others. Many great ideas came out of these discussion and by manipulating those models. we discussed as a groups over each proposals and The propositions were compelling, with many of the modstrong and elaborate with beautiful models

Session 2 — Voting and scaling up

In the second session, participants voted on two favorite models, which we then merged into a single layout and scaled up to full size in VR.

What we learned from scaling up:

  • Small ensembles of 3–4 players created the clearest sound mix and strongest group flow.
  • Semicircular and tiered layouts improved visibility, eye contact, and reduced avatar overlap.
  • Flexible peripheral zones allowed beginners or spectators to join without disrupting the main groove.
  • A central “host” platform gave clarity to who was leading without imposing hierarchy.

One participant summed it up: “I need to see the others as much as I need to hear them. That’s when it feels like we’re really playing together.”

Session 3 — From models to live tests

The third session put the prototype under real conditions: Thursday jams with up to 14 participants from across the world, aged from 10 to over 60 with all skill level.

These incredible jam sessions completely validate the design! What started as simple shapes and sketches is now a vibrant virtual venue. More than just stage design, this is a new approach to social music-making in the metaverse: inclusive, flexible, and built by the community itself.

PatchWorld is really the dream framework to this type of collaborative work!

What made this process unique is how PatchWorld itself enabled an iterative, real-time collaborative workflow. Together we could move, scale, and reshape the room; add restrictions, paths, and anchors; test various instruments and acoustics; balance the mix between parts; and get feedback instantly from participants inside the jam. This live prototyping made the co-design not only faster, but far more efficient— musicians could feel the results of their ideas just as they played and the possibilities were endless

Shroom Hill: a template for the future of VR jamming?

All of these insights have been rolled into a new PatchWorld jam world: Shroom Hill. Already live and hosting spontaneous jams several times a week, it’s quickly becoming a favorite spot in our community.

But Shroom Hill deserves its own spotlight. In our next article, we’ll take you inside the world — from the arrival path to the layered ensembles featuring our community-made Universal Rhythm Box, fun toys to rave with, intuitive light controls and VJ tools, and the glass-bubble center stage equipped with advanced devices powerful enough to rival any real-life club.

Stay tuned.

Join the journey!

  • Thursday Jam — every Thursday at 11:00 CET.
  • Spontaneous Jams — watch for pop-ups on Discord.
  • Watch the playlist — recordings of our weekly jam tests are available on YouTube.
  • Try PatchWorld — download it on the Meta Quest Store and explore Shroom Hill.
  • Learn more about MUSMET — visit musmet.eu.

Huge thanks to all the participants and jammers who helped shape Shroom Hill. From primitive shapes to live stress tests, your ideas built the space where we now meet, play, and discover the music of tomorrow.