The digital world of the 22nd century. What is the metaverse and why has it become a trend?
Last fall, Facebook changed its name to Meta. Thus, its co-founder Mark Zuckerberg decided to emphasize the change in the global mission of the corporation - the development of a virtual world, the so-called metaverse.
In 2021, the concept of "metaverse" has become firmly entrenched in trends, and sites such as The Sandbox and Roblox have experienced a real boom in popularity. However, for a simple layman, the word "metaverse" has remained something incomprehensible. What kind of animal it is and what it is eaten with, we tried to tell in this article.
In 1992, science fiction writer Neil Stevenson published a novel called "Avalanche". It describes a gloomy dystopia of the near future, where the world is controlled by large corporations. Among other things, the concept of "metamir" appears in the book.
This is a virtual reality system to which almost all residents are connected. In it, the characters of the book not only communicate — they practically live in the digital space.
It was Stevenson who laid down the basic interpretation of the concept of the metaverse. In fact, it is a virtual world in which users can communicate, have fun and even work, receiving a very real income.
So far, there is no global metaverse in the world in which separate virtual platforms intersect. Instead, companies are developing their own platforms. On them, users can not only explore existing locations, but also form their own.
For example, rapper Snoop Dog "built" a mansion on a separate island in the sandbox The Sandbox. At the same time, the territory next to this location was sold for almost half a million dollars.
Metaverses are not just another MMORPG-like entertainment. This is a much more elaborate and complex world. And this explains the high level of demand for technology.
How much time do you spend online every day? Most of us never go outside without a phone. Fitness bracelets, smart watches, heart rate monitors, smart scales and other assistants - all this firmly connects humanity with the virtual space.
It is worth combining these data and you will get a separate digital world. In fact, the metaverse is just the next stage in the development of this technology. Now it is in its infancy. But in the future, most likely, the metaverse will be unified, global and publicly accessible.
However, this requires enormous resources. So far, none of the companies is able to create a world in which digital avatars will receive all the possibilities and sensations. So in the near future, global digitization of humanity is not in danger.
The metaverse is also a huge field of profit opportunities. The technology of NFT (non-interchangeable tokens), in fact collectibles, allows you to endow content based on such a world with a certain value.
This can be seen in the example of locations in The Sandbox, located next to the "mansions" of celebrities. They are no different from others, but they are much more expensive. Their value is determined solely by the level of audience demand.
Some users even manage to earn money in gaming metaverses. They collect collectibles and then sell them. Others adhere to the strategy of "bulls— - buying locations at a low price and expecting a jump in their value in the future.
The sector in which big money is spinning is somehow "doomed" to popularity. Therefore, the metaverses continue to evolve.
In 2020, the Build The Earth project based on Minecraft appeared on the web. Its creators conceived to recreate the entire planet on a scale of 1 with the help of game tools:1. Despite the fact that the authors attracted hundreds of thousands of users and separate software to the implementation of the ambitious plan, it was not possible to finish it. And only the grandchildren of the organizers will succeed.
Now imagine that you need to create a realistic digital world, but not from pixel blocks. How long will this work take? It is simply impossible to answer this question yet.
Software such as NVidia Omniverse greatly simplifies working with metaverses. The company even made the site free! But this does not solve even a small fraction of all the difficulties associated with the development of a global metaverse.
And, quite naturally, it serves as a "locomotive" for many other industries. The fashion, music, art, big sports, games and IT industries are just some of the areas that will develop together and in the context of the metaverses.
It's simple — metaverses make it possible to escape into reality, in which the user creates his own environment. There is no war, pandemic, economic difficulties and lack of material resources.
You can earn money in the metaverse. A ticket to a concert of any artist in a virtual format is much cheaper, and "life" resembles an eternal party.
Someone draws inspiration here, someone gets income, well, while others just have fun. And this can change the usual view of the world. To give an impetus to the further development of mankind. What will happen in the end? Who knows, time will tell.