The meaning of the word metaverse is “beyond” or “after the universe”. The word on it’s own means “transcending”.
Image From: Unsplash, by Steve Johnson
It is not clear what the Metaverse will look like, since we don’t have one ready yet.
We find online MMO games, online platforms that were not as successful as they might have been under different circumstances (Second Life), social media websites, with slight gamification, and the current state of VR, which wasn’t as successful as expected.
Another technology close to VR is Augmented Reality (AR), which is rapidly developing and will even find a use case in modern warfare.
All the above combined in a unique, user-friendly, and addicting approach will become the Metaverse. Or, “a” Metaverse, since most possibly there won’t be just one.
Unless we consider all gaming corporations will simply allow Zuckerberg to create the only Metaverse.
Almost every article on the subject, refers to the Metaverse as the new internet. The news acknowledges the Metaverse as an isolated technology that would be standing alone but this is not exactly right.
It is not presented as a concept that unites elements running on the internet and combines more technologies, but mostly as an infrastructure network of its own, with the assumption there will only be just one Metaverse!
The internet is a communications technology that connects the world in a visual and audio approach. It needs infrastructure, though. The Metaverse will just run on top of the internet and this infrastructure, but it doesn’t need more fiber optic cables installations,routers, and ISPs managing traffic. It is unrelated to such infrastructure and possibly the only required hardware will be a VR set.
We can use a desktop computer even for 10–15 hours. Are we able to do the same with a VR set every day?
Even a VR headset won't be necessary. It will just be interconnected and interoperable apps working together in a 3D environment.
We were already connected in an audio form, and already had computers technology, and the internet combined these two technologies.
The Metaverse will be a 3D world providing interoperability. One where emails can also connect, so you can use your email, maybe the banks will connect, and depending on each Metaverse, maybe cryptocurrency wallets will also connect.
As Facebook wasn't the only social media available, the same will be with the Metaverse. There will be plenty of them.
Zuckerberg may think that we will all be wearing VR headsets for the rest of our lives, but I don't think this is going to happen. There is a real-life security issue and most people don't feel confident wearing a VR mask for too long.
Probably the Metaverse on its beginnings will just be a more interconnected life-simulation platform similar to "Second Life" with various options to select which game to play by entering a certain zone. Then it will be additions that will eventually include most of the internet domains, operating inside a 3D world.
Decentraland is a crude Metaverse. Probably it won't become a representation of a Metaverse in the future as better developments can certainly appear.
After four years of development, Decentraland is not progressing as much as initially expected. The team behind it had plans for VR support, but probably scrapped them or delayed.
This 3D world partially uses the Ethereum blockchain to record transactions of NFTs, such as items, avatars, usernames, and land. It is a Web3.0 website that connects with various networks using the Metamask wallet. It doesn't run entirely on a blockchain. The 3D world is running on centralized servers. It won't be possible to have any platform running entirely on a blockchain at least for the next five years, though.
There will be plenty of metaverses, not just one. Apple, Google, Nintendo, Ubisoft, and almost every gaming corporation will try to create their version of the Metaverse.
It will eventually be a Multiverse of Metaverses, and the public will select which will be worth more.
The Metaverse is not another layer on top of the internet. It is not a communications technology either.
It is a combination of technologies that we already have available (a 3D world with avatars, social media, email) added with anything that could interoperate with this virtual world (e-banking, trading platforms, entertainment, online concerts, movies, theaters). Also, it is supposed to contain technologies that have not yet evolved to a degree that can be supportive. AI, for example, is still has progressed but probably not to the extent we are hoping for yet.
The movie Ready Player One is possibly what the gaming industry should aim for. This movie gives a perfect impression of what a Metaverse would be, although it focuses mostly on the gaming factor.
Meanwhile, with a Metaverse, one can even work from home or have a relaxing time hanging with friends at an online cafe, visit various entertainment locations that could be free or for payment, and this is just a few of the possible interactions we will have when using the Metamask.
There are endless possibilities, and this was the reason Meta uses the infinite symbol as its logo.
VR/AR will be a central point in the concept of Metaverse. However, there are fundamental technological difficulties for this concept to succeed in the short term.
Technology is rapidly developing, and perhaps we may find a different Metaverse, perhaps with the use of hologram screens instead of the LCD/LED technology we have today.
A Metaverse is not a new communications system, and it will certainly not replace the internet as the media are suggesting. It will be using the internet but not require any special infrastructure.
After the Facebook disclosure of rebranding to Meta and building the Metaverse, we should expect new announcements from more industry leaders.
Certainly, there will be many more attempts since the concept, as theoretically discussed so far, seems to have unlimited possibilities and it certainly can create a vast digital economy.
Equally important is the inevitable use of NFTs in any Metaverse. The protocol of NFTs provides an absolute right of ownership for digital assets and presents one of the best developments the blockchain/cryptocurrency industry has produced so far.
The era of the developing company owning every digital asset inside a game or platform is gone. The entertainment sector must acknowledge once and for all the fact it is selling individual rights of digital property to its customers. Only then a real virtual economy in the entertainment and gaming sector can reach its maximum potential.
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