Metaverse: A Cross Between The Internet And Virtual Reality

The past two years have seen the term “metaverse” go mainstream. We have even seen one of the social media companies Facebook rebranding to Meta to bring metaverse to life.

While the term has been around for several decades specifically since 1992 when it was first coined by Neal Stephenson in his novel Snow Crash, its real impact in the real world only came to play in the past few years.

What is metaverse?

Metaverse can be loosely defined as a virtual universe where participants can access digital avatars that let them take part in this digital world. It is a virtual world that allows people to digitize and go beyond our physical world as we know it.

The metaverse runs on a functional digital economy powered by cryptocurrencies (digital currencies) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). It allows people to connect, buy and trade digital assets, take virtual trips to digital locations, organize virtual events and charge for those who take part among other things.

The metaverse primarily promises a world of endless possibilities limited only by the user’s imagination.

Most importantly, the metaverse is not a single virtual world but a network of interconnected virtual worlds. Each virtual world can be designed and managed independently and have its own rules and characteristics but users can move freely between the different virtual worlds within a particular metaverse.

Virtual reality and the metaverse

Being an immersive virtual world where people can meet, chat, and collaborate as if they were in the same room, the metaverse heavily relays on virtual reality (VR) technology among other interoperable technologies like blockchain, augmented reality (AR), mixed Reality (MR), and the internet.

However, contrary to traditional virtual worlds that are generally unrealistic and unengaging, the metaverse virtual world allows users to interact more realistically and in a very intuitive and natural way using smartphones and other virtual reality viewers.

In addition, the metaverse usually includes a much more focused and universal concept of communities compared to the traditional virtual world.

The metaverse projects that are based on virtual reality are categorized as virtual reality (VR) metaverses and they are virtual 3D spaces that allow users to interact in several ways. These are arguably the most popular types of metaverses among centralized companies like Meta (formerly Facebook).

Meta has launched some VR metaverse products including the Horizon Worlds app and the Oculus Quest 2 VR headset.

Other VR metaverse projects include VRChat and Rec Room.

Other companies like Microsoft have invested in mixed reality (MR), which combines elements of VR and AR and real-world and digital object interactions just like a majority of blockchain metaverse projects.

Examples of popular blockchain metaverse projects include Decentraland, The Sandbox, Illuvium, Axie Infinity, and Second Life among others.

The Decentraland allows users to buy virtual pieces of land and interact with them as they would in the real world. The Sandbox allows users to create virtual worlds where they can buy and sell lands and assets with non-fungible tokens or NFTs. Illuvium is an open-world roleplaying game built on the Ethereum blockchain and it allows players to hunt and capture Illuvials, which are deity-like creatures that can be stored on Shards. Lastly, Second Life is an online world that lets users create digital avatars, explore the virtual world, interact with other users, and trade goods and services using the Linden Dollar, which is its in-world currency.

Conclusion

While it is still relatively in its early stages of development, different sectors are already experiencing the full potential of the metaverse. The metaverse has infiltrated into various aspects of our lives including games, social media platforms, movies, and real-world applications like aviation among others.

Many companies have hoped on board the metaverse bandwagon to leverage its interoperability and digital economy features and many are expected to join. Some of the big companies that have embraced the metaverse include Meta Platforms, Inc., Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Nvidia Corporation, Valve, SteamVR, Pixowl, Roblox Corporation, Unity Software Inc., Animoca Brands, Linden Lab, and VRChat Inc.