What is the Metaverse?

Metaverse is a theme that is as of now famous in practically all circles. Not only technology activists, economic and business activists are also busy discussing this technological breakthrough.

The popularity of the metaverse immediately rose drastically after Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook CEO) announced a name change at his company to Meta Platforms, Inc. With the popularity that is owned by Mark Zuckerberg, as well as with the inclusion of Facebook in the category of the largest social media in the world.

Not only rebranding in terms of name, metaverse is synonymous with various futuristic ideas.

The virtual world is presently not simply a fantasy, however can turn into a reality. Then, what is the metaverse? In this article, you’ll find a full explanation of the metaverse, how it works, examples, pros and cons of metaverse.

Table of Contents

metaverse

Metaverse is a virtual world that allows users to connect, communicate, work, play, and transact like in the real world.

Fundamentally the term metaverse up to this point has not been characterized with assurance.

In simple terms, metaverse is a virtual world concept that can be owned and filled with various objects and activities like the real world. This concept is a combination of several elements of technology, including virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) .

How Metaverse Works

The metaverse works fundamentally equivalent to in reality.Users are required to enter the virtual world first by using the help of technology that supports AR and VR.

For now, the only device needed to enter the metaverse is a VR headset like the Oculus. After entering the virtual world, the user can perform various activities in the metaverse as well as in the real world.

In addition to using a VR headset, users are also required to have internet access and certain additional requirements for a collection of certain NFT artworks .

Things to Do in the Metaverse

Metaverse is present as a virtual world by providing various activities that can be carried out by its users. Here are some examples of activities you can do in the metaverse.

Virtual concert

Watching concerts virtually is one of the activities you can do in the metaverse. The concept used in this virtual concert is almost the same as a live concert. By using the help of technology, users will be able to experience an impressive virtual concert atmosphere.

Playing games

For gamers, the metaverse can be a fun future platform of choice. In the metaverse, users can enjoy the game world like the real world. You can play games like in the movie Ready Player One, fun isn’t it?

Based on information from the Meta site, the following are some games that already support virtual reality technology :

Decentralized
Axie Infinity
Sandbox
Yield Guild Games
Mines of Dalarnia
Chromia
Gala
Discuss with co-workers

Well, this is what most business people have been waiting for. Doing work online with the same experience as working in an office. This will be realized with the presence of the metaverse .

In August 2021, Meta introduced Horizon Workrooms . Horizon Workrooms are workspaces using virtual reality technology . So Horizon Workrooms users can connect with other users, and can collaborate and create in new ways that have never existed before.

In the virtual space provided by Horizon Workrooms, users can not only meet online. But also can feel joined directly in the virtual office of the metaverse .

Take a trip online

With the virtual world, it is certainly not impossible to travel online. We can do this with the help of headphones and glasses that already support AR and VR technology as well as the help of a smartphone or PC.

View digital artwork and clothing

Previously, works of art such as paintings could only be seen in the real world. This time you can see the painting in digital version. The price also varies, from thousands to billions.

Recently, the public has also been enlivened by the presence of paintings or drawings which are then referred to as digital assets and are known as NFTs ( Non-Fungible Tokens ).

You can see a collection of NFT collections on various marketplace sites such as OpenSea , Binance, SandBox, and AirNFTs. In addition to buying and selling NFT you can also buy various knick-knacks for your digital avatar.

Bored Ape Yacht Club is one of the NFT collections that is included in the best seller category . One of Bored Ape’s artworks sold for IDR 350 billion in September 2021. If you have expertise in digital painting, you can also sell your work in NFT form.

Metaverse Example

Technological developments also allow for a metaverse . With the existence of artificial intelligence (AI) which has become increasingly sophisticated, the metaverse is also undoubtedly growing.

Here are some examples of companies that are already implementing metaverse technology in their products or other aspects of their business:

Microsoft Metaverse

Currently, Microsoft (the company founded by Bill Gates ) is rumored to have started developing his company with the metaverse concept. The largest software company for Windows-based operating systems is already using holograms and continues to develop its applications.

Currently, Microsoft is rumored to have started to develop the company with the metaverse concept. The company developed by Bill Gates has used holograms for various purposes such as online meetings and presentations.

Reportedly, this company will adapt the Windows operating system to create a corporate version of the metaverse . Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel are also rumored to be usable virtually with digital avatars.

Later, users can share files and chat in the virtual world. The Microsoft Teams meeting app is also reported to be adapting the metaverse concept to create AR and VR based experiences.

Microsoft also has Mesh , a mixed reality platform that is able to present virtual objects (holograms) that are the same as the real versions, as if we were actually next to various things in the hologram.

Roblox

In addition to Facebook and Microsoft, Roblox also enliven the metaverse . The game which was launched in 2006 has succeeded in developing a virtual environment by combining the concept of metaverse with VR and AR technology.

Like Meta and Microsoft, Roblox users can also create a home, play, work virtually.

Closing

Metaverse is a combination of virtual reality and augmented reality technology that provides a new and unique experience for its users.

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Metaverse in creative works

Avalanche

The term “Metaverse” first appeared in Neil Stephenson ‘s 1992 science fiction novel ” Avalanche “.The Metaverse is a virtual urban environment that develops along a 100-meter-wide road covering the entire 65,536-kilometer perimeter of a featureless, black, perfectly spherical planet .There is a subculture of users who are always in the Metaverse ; they are nicknamed ” gargoyles ” because of their bizarre appearance.

The Matrix

The film “The Matrix ” describes a dystopian future: humans are unknowingly trapped in a metaverse called the “Matrix”, and intelligent machines use the human body as a source of energy at the same time distract humans.

Ready Player One

The 2011 sci-fi novel Prepared Player One and its film variation of a similar name portray a world in 2045 that is grasped by an energy emergency and an Earth-wide temperature boost, creating broad social issues and monetary stagnation. The manner in which a great many people get away from the truth is through VR glasses and wired gloves into a metaverse called Desert garden. Desert garden is both a greatly multiplayer web based game and a virtual society.

Neurocaller

The 1984 science fiction novel Neurocaller describes a dystopian future with cyberspace .The novel popularized the term cyberspace .Unlike the metaverse, cyberspace is a more inclusive concept that reflects the whole of a shared online space that spans all dimensions of representation.For example, unlike the fictional Cartesian separation of body and mind introduced in Neurocaller (body and mind can only observe one or the other), the Metaverse allows its users to interact with the virtual environment while remaining conscious to their real environment .

Sword Art Online

2002 online science fiction novel ” Sword Art Online ” Description In May 2022, ARGUS, a major brand electronic machinery manufacturer, released the NerveGear , a machine that can be realized, and people can fully dive into the virtual world through NerveGear.

Speeding up the world

In October 2007, the online science fiction novel ” Accelerating the World ” described that in 2046, everyone uses a terminal connection device called ” Neuro -Linker”, and most of their lives can be constructed not far from the online world. future.

Summer War

In 2009, the online sci-fi animation film ” Summer Wars ” directed by Mamoru Hosoda depicts a world with 1.6 billion users around the world and a large virtual world “OZ” as the mainstream. The system provides direct translation in multiple languages.The guardians of “OZ” are two whales named “John” and “Youko” .

Princess Dragon and Freckles

In 2021, the online sci-fi animation film “The Dragon and the Freckled Princess ” directed by Mamoru Hosoda will describe the metaverse as a large virtual world named “U” with 5 billion users around the world. When users register a personal account of “U”, they need to use a smartphone with personal accessories to scan biometrics and personal information, thereby creating a virtual avatar referred to as “AS” and using technological devices (smartphone, computer, etc.) etc.) into the virtual world. “U” can protect the user’s personal information security and stimulate the user’s potential, provide automatic translation in multiple languages, and the physiological and psychological reactions of the user during login will be projected on the “AS” at the same time, and can also engage in entertainment, business, competition , performances and other activities, the creator has the right to release the user’s “AS” appearance to expose the true colors. “U” did not set up a guard system, so volunteers formed a self-police team to manage the order of “U”.

Popular culture

Movie:

Electronic World Warfare ( 1982)
” Tron: Legacy ” (2010)
The Matrix (1999-2021)
Dimensional Hackers ( April 16, 1999)
Sensory Play ( April 23, 1999)
Player One ( 2018)

TV series:

Black Mirror (2011) ( Netflix )
Season 3, Episode 4: San Junipero
Season 4, Episode 1: Federation Starship Callister
Season 5, Episode 1: Life and Death

Animation:

” Summer Wars ” (2009)
Fate/EXTRA Last Encore (2018)
The Dragon and the Freckled Princess (2021)
Video games
Fate / EXTRA （2010 ）
MetaCity M

Novel:

Sword Art Online series (2002)
The Accelerated World series (2007)

See:

closed platform
Information space
Multiverse
super network

Metaverse Pros

Immersion and Shared Environment

Due to the fact that many of these solutions are in virtual reality, it creates a fully immersive experience for collaborating in the metaverse . You no longer feel like you’re sitting in your makeshift home office, but instead feel like you’re in a well-designed meeting room.

Participants can interact with the same environment by drawing on a whiteboard and moving around the objects . Create a memorable bond and experience compared to people looking at their monitors separately.

Commitment in the moment

You are no longer presented with a single flat screen view filled with camera images (or profile photos of those with the camera turned off), but instead have virtual versions of your colleagues all around you.

People will look in the direction of the presenter, nod their heads or even raise their hands as if they were in a physical space. They are also not looking at different content while in front of a camera.

Spatial audio

Thanks to spatial audio , the sound appears to come from its source. This makes it easier to identify who is speaking and maintain focus than on a conference or video call where all sound is coming from one direction.

When someone to your right begins to speak, you see everyone turn their heads to listen just like in a real face-to-face meeting.

It is possible to have parallel conversations, since the further away you are, the lower the audio will be . Making it easy for smaller groups to break up and have a conversation without the need to activate break rooms or start new video calls.

The tools are getting better

With manual tracking and with the right settings , you can type almost as well as in the real world because your real hands are playing on a real keyboard and you can see them in the virtual world too.

Watching others speak in VR is becoming more and more believable along with natural-looking blinking . Hand gestures and body tracking are also bringing more life to digital representations of people, allowing them to be more expressive.

Although many of these solutions provide cartoon avatars, there are enough real-world cues to remind you that you’re talking to a real person.

Metaverse Cons

Hardware

To participate in the full experience and collaborate in the metaverse, additional hardware is required. Virtual reality hardware has shrunk a lot in recent years and is more accessible to the general public, but it is still an additional purchase for businesses as it is not a device that is integrated into the daily workflow, rather unlike laptops and cell phones.

Privacy and security concerns

There is a lot of concern about security and privacy in these spaces . Some of the big companies looking to create virtual collaboration solutions make money by advertising and/or selling user information. This creates a lack of trust for companies that have private internal meetings.

Another thing to consider is screen recording . Similar to how users can record their screen when on a video call, this can also be done in these metaverse collaborations.

Although you can have some control over when your computer screen is shared in the environment, manual tracking is good enough to play a video of someone typing and use it to discover keystrokes that can compromise security and passwords.

Not the same experience for everyone

Some people cannot participate in virtual reality due to physical limitations . Some are subject to motion sensitivity, vision problems, or other circumstances that prevent them from wearing headphones and fully immersing themselves.

Most solutions provide video chat to bring in non-headset participants, but that creates separation and differentiated experiences.

They are often passive observers who are unable to use many of the tools in the environment or have great difficulty trying to use these interfaces in 2D.

Lack of access to the real world

While some solutions provide the ability to use the computer in these virtual spaces, there’s still so much more that you’re used to having access to in the real world that you simply can’t in VR .

For example, simple things like drinking a glass of water can be difficult using a headset when you can’t see where the glass of water is in the real world and your glass hits the headset while you’re trying to take a quick sip.

It ‘s also hard to interact with your phone while wearing headphones . Not to mention how weird it looks to others when you try to interact with real world objects.

What is the Metaverse?