Decoding Metaverse
Metaverse has been floating around as a term, as an idea and as a future world for years now and Facebook’s decision to rebrand into Meta has thrown the term “Metaverse” into a fire.
What is Metaverse? You can call it virtual reality, augmented reality, digital space or cyberspace. The definition itself has many names but in simpler words, Metaverse is an online or digital world where people, or their avatars to be more precise, can play games, take a walk, meet friends, buy homes, or attend concerts.
Metaverse is probably your future address
If you overlook the motion sickness of a VR headset, you would probably end up in a lavish mansion overlooking mountains and floating miles above the ground. Half of us have already tasted a version of Metaverse via gadgets like Playstation, and Oculus Quest.
Metaverse has moved from a fictional concept from a 90s sci-fi novel Snow Crash to real-world digital spaces in form of games like Fortnite, etc. The concept of Metaverse assisted by VR or AR tools can be seen in many modern fictional storylines fuelling the possibility of them getting fabric of reality in coming years.
Sure, Metaverse is a concept-based space that is still far away from becoming a 100% real thing for ordinary people, who would in the future be buying plots on metaverse or going on dates or hanging out with friends playing games, but that cannot ignore the buzz it has created among companies who are putting in techs, tools, time and billions to become the pioneer of turning metaverse into an accessible world and not just a VR game. Microsoft, Facebook or Meta, Qualcomm, Epic, Nvidia and Apple are just a few of the many big fishes busy building the fabric of metaverse that would mint money and get people embedded into a whole new futuristic cyber world.
The challenges are immense as the inner space of metaverse cannot be achieved without external gadgets like smartphones, VR headsets, 3 D glasses, cloud servers and computers. For now, the wobbly concept of Metaverse and its unexplored ability to change the future is being explored and tested and worked on. While some skeptics believe Metaverse is just a fancy word for the fantasy world and online video games, we cannot ignore the fact that once upon a time VR headsets or 3D glasses too were illusionary tech dreams.
And the fact is that blockchain, cryptocurrencies and NFTs are moving out of their closed ecosystem and becoming available to ordinary people; clearly, the pathway to Metaverse has already been half built.
Real-life examples of Metaverse
To present the whole notion of cyberspace that is expected to become a universe of its own, here are a few real-life examples of metaverse as well as the fictional mention of the same.
1. Fiction
Ready Player One
The dystopian novel Ready Player One offers a glimpse into a VR-powered virtual world called OASIS. This representation of Metaverse displays an online multiplayer simulation world, where players can hang out, play games, joins competitions, buy virtual artifacts or simply cruise around with help of VR headsets. The movie adaptation of the novel is a more visual representation of what the metaverse would feel like. Facebook’s project Facebook Horizon is based on the concept of Ready Player One’s OASIS.
Netflix’s sci-fi shows like Black Mirror San Junipero or Kiss Me First are fictional adaptations of virtual reality and its power to create metaverse. Both the shows offer storylines where characters enter a virtual world, meet people, make friends, fall in love, fight bad guys, drive cars and even walk around causally.
2. Online Games
Fortnite
Metaverse has a long list of examples in the gaming industry but Fortnite falls on top. Representing the gaming sector for a metaverse lookalike contest, if there was any, Fortnite is a new world gaming platform, where gamers or players explore virtual but life-like environments experiencing a whole new world. Fortnite Concert with performances from artists like Travis Scott, Ariane Grande and Marshmello is clearly one of the finest representations of what metaverse is going to give. Virtual concerts, virtual events, virtual environments and more. Minecraft and Roblox fit the same checkmarks for real-life-based and existing Metaverse examples.
Second Life
Second Life is another gaming example for Metaverse, where players with their digital avatars enter the online world and interact with the virtual environment, experiencing it, buying/selling or trading assets or services virtually. Second Life is considered as closest metaverse blockchain example offering a glimpse into what metaverse could potentially be capable of.
Sandbox
Counting gaming examples to display Metaverse’s existence also needs the mention of Sandbox. Sandbox offers an entry into virtual worlds where players can do both, play and explore. Players get to build their own virtual space, enjoy ownership and use NFTs for the virtual buying or selling of digital land. A fine example of how digital currencies are a crucial pillar in building the futuristic metaverse.
3. Virtual Real Estate
Decentraland and SuperWorld
The dystopian novel Ready Player One offers a glimpse into a VR-powered virtual world called OASIS. This representation of Metaverse displays an online multiplayer simulation world, where players can hang out, play games, joins competitions, buy virtual artifacts or simply cruise around with help of VR headsets. The movie adaptation of the novel is a more visual representation of what the metaverse would feel like. Facebook’s project Facebook Horizon is based on the concept of Ready Player One’s OASIS.
Netflix’s sci-fi shows like Black Mirror San Junipero or Kiss Me First are fictional adaptations of virtual reality and its power to create metaverse. Both the shows offer storylines where characters enter a virtual world, meet people, make friends, fall in love, fight bad guys, drive cars and even walk around causally.
What to expect from Metaverse future?
Metaverse might be a more gaming or virtual fantasy concept restricted to a limited section of people, but with the speed many coporate giants like Apple, Facebook, NFT, Microsoft, etc are pushing their tech teams in a corner to make 3D virtual reality a thing to make profit from, Metaverse one day might be a reality beyond sci-fi books, movies, shows and online games. The pandemic sure has sent Metaverse creators and builders into a frenzy knowing this is where the money is and a possible virtual and augmented reality powered human avatar-based colony. It wouldn’t be wrong to say the chances of moving our virtual avatar into Metaverse cities are higher than moving ourselves into colonies on Moon.