It can be difficult maintaining friendships with people you don’t see for months. Something that makes this especially true for me is that with my friends, an important means of bonding has always been over video games, movies, and other media. These things are by no means what is holding us together, and we would in all likelihood remain close companions without them, but it helps to be able to play. Butt for many games, there is no online voice chat option which makes this complicated.
Enter Discord, the long distance communication app meant specifically for gaming. This program features several improvements over other similar programs like Skype, Mumble and Teamspeak, including a better user interface, text chat with more options for embedding images and videos, and better sound quality with more options for optimization. Servers are free and securely protected, and in case of a temporary server breakdown, the app will automatically switch over to a working server with very little delay. Plus, it works on Windows, Mac, Android, Linux, iOS and in web browsers, meaning that just about anyone can access it.
The developers of the program, Hammer & Chisel, hope to have their app replace other communication software. Millions now utilize the program with a quickly growing base of users. As such, the developers are looking for ways to profit from bonus features like emoticon packs, though they have stated that the core program will remain free.
I realize this must sound like an advertisement, but it really has helped make my friends and I feel closer when I’m away at college, sometimes even separated by whole states. We can talk more often, and conveniently experience the same things we used to when we were physically in the same place. It feels nice to know that this is possible, and it's all thanks to modern technology. Discord was created relatively recently, in 2015 and has been gaining ground ever since. This, of course, begs the question- what's next for long distance communication? Star Wars-like holograms?
I can't say for certain, but I'm looking forward to finding out when the time comes, because it's only going to get better.