Gaming 101: What Is The Metaverse?

The Metaverse is a network that combines aspects of social media, online gaming, augmented reality(AR), virtual reality(VR) and cryptocurrencies to enable users to interact virtually.

You can think of the Metaverse as the world's digital twin. It is more or less an extension of the real world: human profiles are signified as avatars. Office spaces, property, concerts are all replicated in the Metaverse.

The Metaverse is a shared virtual network that people can access through the internet. It provides a "virtual world" experience in which human expressions and gesticulations are replicated.

It is not surprising that Facebook has been investing in the Metaverse for some years now. Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg has said that the platform would shift from being just a social media platform to a Metaverse company.

The term "Metaverse" was coined by the sci-fi writer, Neal Stephenson in his 1992 novel Snow Crash. In the novel, humans as avatars interacted with each other and software agents in a three-dimensional virtual space that used the metaphor of the real world.

In the years to come, some of Silicon Valley Founders began to pick interest in the idea of this vision of a virtual universe merged with a physical one. In 1932, the term "virtual reality" appeared for the first time in an essay written by Antonin Artuad and titled "The Theatre of Cruelty(First Manifesto."

From the year 1992 to 2004, Some organizations like There Inc, Blaxxun Interactive, Linden Labs and IMVU developed different 3D virtual worlds, games, applications and online social networking websites which provided different avatars for play, interaction and buying items with digital currencies and rewards.

Over the years, The Metaverse has evolved beyond being an experience that was enjoyed by users in the gaming world. Games like the Unreal Engine and Fortnite have shown what a useful tool this network could be: it is for this reason that an organization like Facebook is willing to invest a lot of resources into the Metaverse and the Great Galaxy Initiative has raised $325 M for The Metaverse and next generation games from up to 70 investors.

The gaming industry has shifted from a system in which a large percentage of the earners are developers: the play-to-earn games has resulted in income generation for the gamers and the Metaverse increases game earning potential.

A large number of the existing metaverses today are powered by blockchain technology: users need cryptocurrency or NFTs to transact on these networks. The play to earn games have their own metaverses with native cryptocurrencies that are used for transactions and receiving rewards.

The lockdown came with a lot of boredom: on the plus side, people realised the potential in the gaming industry. The crypto play-to-earn games, Axie and Alien Wood reported an increase in the number of users. Axie reported 250,000 active daily players and 90,000 ETH traded on it's marketplace.

It is therefore not surprising that the gaming platform, The Sandbox has shifted from its original traditional gaming to crypto gaming. The Sandbox Game Maker console allows users to create games from scratch, enjoy other games and buy digital property, thanks to the Metaverse.

According to a report released by The Verge on the 19th of October 2021, Facebook is planning a name change. This change is set to transform the brand image from being a social media brand to being known as a metaverse platform.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has already mentioned that in the years to come, Facebook will transition from a social media company to a metaverse company. The company is set to hire 10,000 staff in Europe to build the Metaverse.

Facebook has also invested a lot of resources in virtual reality, augmented reality, developing hardware such as the Oculus VR headsets, AR glasses and wristband technologies. It will also invest $50 million to partner with organizations that will help build the Metaverse responsibly.

Despite all of these, Facebook has been facing serious criticism for being harmful to teens and some of these critics argue that the rebrand is a distraction from the ethical attacks on the Facebook brand. However, Facebook is currently focused on becoming bigger: the Metaverse may be the next big thing.

The Metaverse is a reality of so many possibilities: imagine being able to study, work, interact, attend concerts, earn money, play games in a digital world that is actually an extension and at the same time a combination of the physical world.

It is most likely that in the future, business meetings, online entertainment, work training and even online learning will be provided on the internet with the Metaverse. This is why many organizations are investing in the Metaverse: the potential of the network to revolutionize the world is glaring.

There are security concerns with the use of The Metaverse: data breaches, exposure to malicious malware and fraud can easily occur unless the developers ensure maximum security of the network.

If you ask me, I would say the Metaverse is the next big thing after the internet. Would I use it? As an online learner, concert attender or digital meeting member, yes I would. However, gamers are guaranteed to enjoy the whole Metaverse experience: I hope you will too, even if you are not a gamer.

This article is part of The Gaming Metaverse Writing Contest hosted by HackerNoon in partnership with The Sandbox.

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