Most of us have seen the movie – The Matrix. It makes us want to believe that we are all living in a simulation. Only those who choose to take the red pill are able to “wake up”. Although then they have to face the hardships of the real world. So, unsurprisingly some want to go back to the virtual world because, for them, real life is too difficult… Let us look into this increasingly relevant digital universe – more recently named as the metaverse!
Caution – Multiple movie references, read and watch at your own risk!
The Alternate Life
Imagine if you could jump into a different world by just putting on a set of virtual reality glasses and lead a Second Life! An alternate life in the metaverse! That was the theme of the movie – Ready Player One. In the film, the orphaned teenage hero chooses to spend most of his time in a virtual universe called OASIS.
“People come to OASIS for all the things they can do, but stay for all the things they can be”, he says.
His point being that spending time in a virtual reality (VR) is not just about all the amazing mind-boggling things you can do. But it is also about the completely different (virtual) person that you could be.
Why do we want to know about it?
The possibilities in the digital world are endless! A person with a disability could choose to be a star athlete, and hile a poor person could choose to be a rich elite. Anyone could try to do things that they may not ever imagine doing in real life. Personally, I would go skydiving at every chance that I get!
The most fascinating part about the virtual world is that it is not just a topic of science fiction anymore. It is much closer to reality than you would think. Big Technology (Big Tech) companies such as Facebook, Microsoft and Epic Games are striving hard to bring it to the masses at a rapid pace. They call this virtual world the metaverse.
When was the term metaverse first coined?
The term Metaverse was first coined by science fiction author, Neal Stephenson, in his 1992 novel ‘Snow Crash.’ It is a combination of the words “meta”, meaning beyond, and “universe”. The novel referred to the Metaverse as a future virtual reality street – VR Street. It was a 100-meter wide path that ran around the 65,536 km long circumference of a fictional planet. But what exactly does the Metaverse mean in today’s world?
What does the digital world have?
The Metaverse that the Big Tech companies are trying to create is a shared online, virtual space that would have its own economy, jobs, shopping areas, and multimedia. It would exist even if there were no people logged in to it. So, if a digital tree fell in a virtual forest, it would make a sound even if no one heard it fall! Metaverse is still in its developmental stages. Quite like what the internet was in the early 1990s – way before we could even imagine its zillion possibilities.
According to Matthew Ball, a former Amazon Executive, the metaverse is a persistent, synchronous, and live experience that exists in both the digital and physical worlds. Just like the real world, it would offer people and businesses to create, own and sell goods and services. And the best part would be that it would be open to all.
Imagine if each shoe store that you go to in the metaverse had its own currency, required its own ID, and had its own independent shoe sizes. That’s what the digital world is like today. Metaverse would make the digital experience much like going to a real-world shopping mall!
Are we already in the metaverse?
The ongoing pandemic has clearly emphasized the importance of digital meet-up spaces. Zoom and Google Meet have become household names. In a way, we are already a part of this virtual universe. For example, even weddings and graduations were conducted in Nintendo’s Animal crossings: New Horizons – a life simulation game.
Second Life, a virtual social space launched in 2003, had more than a million users at its peak. Its users could build houses, organize events and design their own avatar. Duran Duran, a famous US band in the 1980s, even held their concert in second life in 2006. Soon after, they opened their headquarters in it for their fans!
Epic Games, the creator of the game Fortnite, wants to make Metaverse as common as the internet. To promote it, it got Ariana Grande, the pop star, to hold a virtual concert in Fortnite. It is also trying to get as many competitors to cooperate with each other, bringing interoperability closer to reality.
The biggest player, however, in the game is Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, has said that he wants to change Facebook from a social media company to a Metaverse company! And the advancements in hardware and software now can make it happen.
Facebook has recently created Horizon, its own version of OASIS. Based on that, it revealed Horizon workrooms for people to collaborate in a virtual space. Imagine if you could sit in a virtual 3D classroom wearing your VR glasses, interacting with your classmates, all from the comfort of your home!
Another Metaverse called Decentraland has its own cryptocurrency, MANA, to buy land and NFTs in it. It also has virtual versions of London galleries to help sell artwork.
Whatever shape the Metaverse takes in this decade, one thing is for sure – it is going to be a big part of our digital life. A new version of the internet is being created in front of our eyes. The question is will it ever be match up to the real-world experiences?
