Metaverse is the word that everyone who has a social media account and follows technological developments has been hearing frequently recently. Recently, Facebook announced that it will rename its portfolio of companies to “Meta” and announced that it will put its companies in a position to adapt to building the metaverse. That’s why the term metaverse has peaked among trending words. The meta-universe may become the next evolution of the internet, though not a reality right now.
What Is Metaverse?
With the idea of augmented, virtual, mixed reality, and extended reality, an important environment for commercial and social participation is created. There is currently nothing that could be described as the metaverse. Just like the entire internet term, the metadata warehouse is a formation containing millions of subcategories. Metadata will represent the Internet transformed into a large computing platform. We use the Internet because we can meet many of our needs, such as having fun, socializing, accessing services, obtaining information, communicating, and selling goods. When Metaverse is involved, it also incorporates a combination of extended reality (XR), augmented, virtual and mixed reality. Metaverse acts as a converter and makes virtual and 3D environments accessible in real-time to engage in social and business engagement.
Metaverse supports the persistence of entitlements, history, identity, objects, and payments. Unlimited users, each individually active, can simultaneously experience the Metaverse universe. There will be 3D simulations and worlds in the universe that are created and persistent in real-time. Thanks to Metaverse, you can come side by side by creating a virtual space with people who are not in the same physical space as you.
Extended reality has so far seemed limited to playing games while wearing VR glasses. As XR games became more popular, technology advanced a bit more and it became clear that this feature could be brought to a subset of niche enterprise applications as well. Metaverse has the ability to connect digital assets to real-world economic activities. The Metaverse can give these assets strong real-world economic connections. That is, digital assets within the Metaverse can be invested, and goods and services produced and traded there.
Metaverse Universe and NFTs
The basis for creating value in the metaverse is, as you can imagine, based on NFTs. NFT is the name given to immutable, unique, and copyrighted digital assets that can be stored on the blockchain. If the use of XR ecosystems increases, people may even bring elements of the digital economy into their offline lives. Thanks to NFTs, anyone can prove that they are the owner of that product by producing a virtual product. The Metaverse is also a universe for creating and trading virtual goods. So NFT is a potentially fitting financial architecture for the metaverse.
Metaverse, which is basically composed of these ideas, may have infinite concepts in the following stages. Metaverse is still in the concept stage to be able to reduce harmful content and media, protect the privacy and be inclusive. Because of this, the world’s leading technology companies, especially Facebook, are investing in the development of Metaverse. These companies also include Roblox and Epic. If Metaverse is successful, it is predicted that the behavior of businesses and consumers on the internet will change.
In the Metaverse universe, every application will be able to connect with each other. For example, while playing team Valorant with your extended reality glasses, you will be able to like the posts on your Instagram feed. You will be able to visit Paris, Istanbul, and Kyiv on the same day with a few friends. Social networks are universes that enable people to connect with each other independently of each other. The Internet connects them all.
In fact, the term metaverse was first used by Neal Stephenson in the 1992 novel Snow Crash to refer to a 3D virtual world inhabited by avatars of real people. After that, many science fiction movies, TV series, and books pointed to the metaverse and similar formations. The second most common reference for those interested in the Metaverse is Ernest Cline’s 2011 novel Ready Player One.
Metaverse Multiverses
Online worlds and multiverses are digital spaces that can focus on many themes, from a wide variety of 3D environments to plain text environments. Multiverses that can work with the real world will have Google Maps and even stores. Imagine parallel universes with one or even several more than the house you live in. Universes such as Minecraft, The Sandbox, or Decentraland can be interrelated.
The Metaverse universe can be associated with many things, which I will list below:
- Designs that look suitable for virtual and augmented reality glasses and headsets and support other hardware.
- A structure that allows users to create their own virtual items and environments.
- Real-time 3D computer graphics and customizable profile visuals.
- Feature sets that can be associated with legacy web services and real-world activities.
- Less competitive, goal-oriented, person-to-person social interactions.
- Links with the external economic system to generate profits by creating and selling digital assets in the virtual world.
Most games are in a very different state than when they were first released. Because companies care about user experience and provide a dynamic development service. In fact, it creates its own sandbox in many games. For example, why wouldn’t it be possible to attend an in-game demonstration inside DOTA 2? Wouldn’t you like to see a hero and the skill he throws up close? People are in high demand for VR and AR products. Until a few years ago, the VR market was very small. However, one VR glass is sold for every 5 phones currently sold. We need to think that these ratios will equalize in the future. The fact that Facebook’s Oculus Quest 2 headset has sold more than 8 million units has also pushed Apple to develop VR / AR headsets.
A company called Polygonal Mind is creating a system called CryptoAvatar that produces 3D NFT avatars and lets you use them in Metaverse universes. This system is the continuation of the 2D avatar artworks like Bored Apes, CryptoPunks, Cool Cats, and others that came into our lives with NFTs. 2D images can be used in the same way in every world, but the same cannot be said for 3D products. Because every environment and every game uses different engines. You can process 3D things you create in programs such as Autocad, and Google Sketchup in Decentraland. But a different game may not accept it.
Will Metaverse Replace the Internet?
The Internet is usually the 2D version. Metaverse, on the other hand, turns different experiences that you can’t do in a 2D app or website into versions that you can do with the term embodied internet. A single application where you can play games, watch something, chat with your friends, and shop at the same time can be in the metaverse. Thanks to Metaverse, you can try on the shirt you buy from an internet store and see how it will look on you.
Are there any benefits in the metaverse?
The idea of Facebook for the metaverse is far from being realized. It will take years, if not decades, to be fully realized (if it ever will).
Zuckerberg did not specify when his company would benefit from his metaverse activities. The company plans to invest $150 million in a fund to train people to build the metaverse and to subsidize units that people will use to access the metaverse. Zuckerberg also said the company plans to invest billions of dollars over the next decade to build the metaverse. Metaverse fans see this as the next stage in Internet development.
Currently, people communicate with each other online by visiting websites such as social media platforms or using messaging applications. The idea with the metaverse is to create new online spaces where interactions between people can be more multi-dimensional, and where users can immerse themselves in digital content instead of just looking at it.
As more people start working and going to school remotely, the demand for ways to make online interaction more realistic is increasing.
Metaverse Cryptocurrency Projects
Axie Infinity (AXS) is a user-run blockchain-based war and trading game. In the game, you can collect token-based creatures known as Axies to trade, upgrade, breed, and fight. It is a game that was inspired by popular games such as Tamagotchi and Pokemon.
Decentraland (MANA) allows users to create applications and content on the Ethereum blockchain and monetize them. This game allows you to buy and build on plots on a virtual reality platform.
Enjin Coin (ENJ) allows users to create clans and websites, host virtual goods stores, and chat. It is built on the Ethereum blockchain and is a game that allows you to tokenize in-game items. This allows digital assets to be bought and sold with real-world money.
Sandbox (SAND) allows users to create, build, develop, sell and buy digital assets in the form of games. Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO) and non-fungible tokens (NFT) are combined in the Sandbox decentralized platform. The Sandbox platform leads the “play to earn” industry.
WEMIX is a platform focused on digital asset exchange, trying to nurture a blockchain gaming ecosystem with users’ experiential value.
Division Network (DVI) is a VR content ecosystem. It is a game that allows players to enter the NFT market with virtual reality. You can trade it by creating unique items in the game.