The desire and ability to go into a video game, virtual world, or
even into the internet itself hasn’t been anything new. From
“Wreck-It-Ralph Breaks The Internet” to “Ready Player One”,
we’ve seen this trope in countless fiction mediums. The idea
that the internet is a virtual world in it of itself, one where people
can encounter one another, make interactions with themselves
and the world, and even affect the real world with their choices
in the digital one.
If you think of it like a massively expanded virtual world, where
players don’t just control avatars on a screen with a mouse and
keyboard, then you’ve got the right idea. Instead, the person
accessing the metaverse is their avatar, and they can move
around, speak, and travel the virtual world as easily as they can
in the real world.
It will also connect the virtual world and the real world to make
the pair closer than ever before. For example, have you ever
seen in Science Fiction where a character might wear goggles
that give them a heads up display of their surroundings? They
can look at people and instantly gain access to public
information about them, or do the same with buildings or items.
With the metaverse, we might have that technology too.
The Metaverse might seem a little confusing, but with a little bit
of open mindedness and understanding, you’ll know just what
this place is, so let’s start with a simple definition, shall we?
Definition
The Definition that most people can agree on is this one. The
Metaverse is a set of virtual spaces where you can create and
explore with other people who aren't in the same physical space
as you. Think of it like a video game MMO world. In games like
Final Fantasy or World of Warcraft, players from all over the
world log into servers. Their avatars are visible in game, and
they can interact with one another, participate in events, and
even drive the game’s economy.
The Metaverse is going to be like that, only instead of going into
a video game world, you would be logging into a world similar to
our own. The Metaverse will be like one huge shopping mall,
where you can log into different servers that are all owned by
different companies. Imagine logging into Amazon’s virtual
world and ordering all your packages with simple gestures. You
won’t need to take out your phone, but instead put on a
headset.
Additionally, the Metaverse will be able to support your Avatars.
Whether you want to buy real life items to put in your virtual
room, or just have an avatar that reacts to your movements and
body language, your virtual manifestation of your avatar will be
just as important to the metaverse as the worlds you inhabit.
Persistence
Finally, the last major definition (one so important it needed its
own subheading) is the word ‘Persistence.’ Persistence in the
metaverse refers to the continuity and sense of presence that
you will feel in the virtual world. There will be several ways to
connect to and experience the metaverse, from your phone, PC,
Ipad, or VR headset, and the creators of the metaverse want to
make sure that you feel like you and your Avatar matter in both
of them.
Persistence gives connections between the various ‘worlds’ of
the metaverse and is primarily experienced by avatars. For
example, let’s say your avatar gets a new pair of glasses from a
VR shop in the virtual world. Then you hop off the virtual world
and get into the metaverse on your phone. Your avatar will have
the same glasses on, and no matter how you access the
metaverse, the glasses will remain on.
This persistence of a cosmetic item is an example of how
persistence as a whole will work in the metaverse. Basically, if
your Avatar buys something, makes a change to their look, or
makes a change to their own personal world, those changes will
show up no matter how you access the metaverse.
Implementation
Well, this all sounds well and cool, but how will it be
implemented into the everyday consumer’s life? Much like how
you need to buy a VR headset from a certain company (Such as
the Oculus Quest or the HP Reverve) to experience certain
games and features, you will probably need to buy a headset or
a system from the companies that will be getting into the
Metaverse, including one from the company Facebook has
created, appropriately called: Meta.
Otherwise, it should be like any other online activity. You will
need to create an account, customize an avatar, and then you
can explore the worlds of your choosing. The theory goes that
the metaverse should be quite unlimited, so once you get
logged in you won’t have too many limits on where you can go.
Required technology
Despite there being quite a lot of advances in the realm of
virtual reality with the rise of headsets, VR gaming, and avatar
creations, the technology to create a 100% immersive world in
digital just doesn’t exist yet. The technology that we have
access to for virtual reality is merely the lightest scratch on the
surface of what everyone hopes the Metaverse might become
one day.
Mark Zuckerberg has said that he hopes the technology will
come out in 5-10 years, while Meta has given their estimate at
around 10-15 years. Meta is already placing technological
advancements in the pipeline that will help them get to where
the Metaverse as we understand it is possible, but that’s still a
long way away.
Who knows what type of technology might be required to create
this world, or what type of people are aiming to create it? It’s
certainly, something that will be worth watching, especially if you
have any interest in the technological field of study.