Tonight, I set out to discover whether I could play music in my Discord server via the aid of a bot. It turns out I can, and it has become a sort of jukebox for me and my friends to use. It was a bit of a hassle to set up, but I can say with confidence it was well worth it, and for a very specific reason. The bot plays music that we can all hear, and that makes it just a little bit closer to being in the same room.
I have spoken before about the way in which a Discord server or an Overwatch group brings us together and unites us in a digital space, producing the kind of shared experiences one used to have to be present for in person. The jukebox provided by the bot in this case serves to make the experience just a little more shared, and that is a good thing. Sitting here, writing my blog, listening to my friends narrate as they game, I know we are listening to the same music. It gives us something to comment upon, a sort of digital “isn’t this lovely weather” when the weather we’re having might be radically different at even the same moment. And that is a valuable thing.
