Tech

Play virtual DJ for your friends on Discord and DJ3D

For those under quarantine, virtual parties provide much-needed entertainment.

Robot disc jockey at the dj mixer and turntable plays nightclub during party. EDM, entertainment, pa...
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Party animals are getting restless. You can't exactly blame them. With quarantine measures in effect, people are turning to more fluid and virtual solutions to meet their party needs and kill lockdown-induced boredom. One of those solutions comes through DJ3D and Discord, which allows you to play virtual DJ for your crowd without having to buy any fancy equipment or book a bar for the venue. Pros and amateurs — and everyone in between — are welcome.

Parties made simple — Head on over to DJ3D.io, where the beta version of the program is live. According to its creator (masterspy7) on Y Combinator, DJ3D has been in the works for a while now. The maker of this nifty little virtual scene wrote that "this would be a good time" to release the website, presumably referring to ongoing lockdowns. So far, the program runs on desktop only.

All you need to do is pick a YouTube link of your choice, choose an avatar of your liking, and invite people to your e-gathering, if you'd so prefer. You can add up to 30 individuals, according to masterspy7, and allow them (or not) to change the video in the background. Here's what it looks like when you play Young and Company's insanely addictive "I Like What You're Doing To Me."

Knee-high grass because why not.DJ3D

DJ3D's versatility factor — While DJ-ing sounds like the go-to activity on DJ3D.io, you can get creative with your background. In fact, some people are already using it as a free virtual classroom to teach CSS Grid. It wouldn't be a surprise if DJ3D.io was used to run live streams for cooking, gaming, coding, stitching, and a lot more.

People will dig this — Virtual parties are on the rise with coronavirus-induced lockdowns in place. Normally, around this time in spring, live performances and concerts start popping up alongside parties and gatherings to usher the new season in. But with multiple cities and countries enacting measures for social distancing, these venues of entertainment are on indefinite pause.

It makes sense then that people are holding bachelor parties, poetry readings, birthdays, live music performances, and even weddings over video-conferencing software like Houseparty, Skype, Google Hangouts, and of course, the infamous Zoom. And while DJ3D isn't exactly a video-conferencing tool, it easily boasts the "party" bit of the hangout equation. You don't really need to dress up for it. All you have to do is throw a YouTube link in, invite your friends, play around with your emoji-avatar, and have a jolly good time.