Metaverse, here we come.
The metaverse is a Web3.0, spatial (and often 3D) game-engine-driven collection of virtual environments with expanded currency that reminds me very much of the early days of the Internet. It’s experimental, mostly empty and buggy, but with a lot of very devoted people behind it.
But what is the value that a Metaverse space can provide?
It is Communal (brings together a group of people), Communicative (allows communications with gestural, body-language nuance that zoom can’t convey), allows for somethings that can’t be done (or are limited) physically, it’s shared globally (across geographies), helps overcoming physical obstacles in the real world, and allows for global travelling without moving.
How does a virtual world fit our human legacy?
We are social animals, so individually it must support our self expression (through avatars and homes), our sense of ownership of territory, provide serendipity in social interactions, opportunity to make money, to gain recognition and to learn.
How will it relate to the real world?
It could be Meta-only (a completely native experience), of Meta-Physical impact (where a Meta-native VR has impact in physical), or physical impact only (where Meta is just an extension of a physical experience).
I’m only just starting to scratch the surface, but it seems like an exciting confluence of elements as we slowly move towards a W3 future.