What Is This Metaverse Thingy Anyway?
A skeptics guide. It's not what you think. Or maybe it is.
A reporter just asked me what the metaverse was.
I launched into a beautiful explanation of how the metaverse was the next incarnation of the internet. Instead of watching TV on a flat screen, it was like stepping through that screen and being with the actors on stage. You could affect the outcome.
“Sounds like a bunch of hype to me,” he said. And that was that. End of discussion. I was summarily dismissed.
I scratched my head.
What was I doing with my life then?
At Future House Studios we build metaverses. What do Sonic the Hedgehog, George W. Bush, and Justin Bieber all have in common?
They’ve all been in the metaverse. We’ve helped put them there. That seems significant.
Here’s an example of some of environment, lighting, fx, and design work we did to help Wave’s build their Justin Bieber Virtual Experience:
The Metaverse is Stories
It its simplest, purest form, a metaverse is a series of stories. It’s world building + tech.
Middle Earth is a Metaverse. So is Narnia. So is Star Wars.
In a way, all those text-based adventure games we talked about are also metaverses. (Thanks to readers like Jacob for recommending Choice of Games, and Clancy for recommending Twine, where you can actually make your own Choose Your Own Adventure). Those are metaverses too.
So now take those, and add all the latest tech from Minecraft and Roblox, and you have the modern incarnation of a metaverse.
In its ultimate form, a metaverse is a 3D, interactive world people can experience together.
It’s Ready Player One
That’s the easiest explanation. This book has defined and coalesced the tech for the future.
The story is incredible. In it, 80’s culture basically saves the world. But it all takes place in a grand Virtual Reality landscape where players can experience all the pop culture they’ve ever dreamed.
I highly recommend it (though parents, please read it before handing it off to your kids. You might want to skip some chapters)
Cheeseburgers Need Metaverses Too
Even big brands are getting in on it. The Wendyverse is one of the earliest incarnations of a metaverse for a big brand.
I just hopped into my Oculus to try it out.
Silly? Yes. But oh, so fun.
Necessary?
For Wendy’s it was. They got 52 million views in a matter of weeks. And sold lots of cheeseburgers! (You could actually buy them inside the metaverse and then redeem them them IRL)
Try this Series: Stuck in the Game
Christopher Keene was already thinking about the metaverse more than 5 years ago. He crafted this series called the Dream State Saga. It’s basically the awesomeness of Ready Player One mashed up with Sword Art Online, plus some more LitRPG action. So we published it, and have been working on books with Christopher ever since.
The first book alone has racked up nearly 100 awesome reviews so far.
Noah promised himself he would never play the world’s most popular MMORPG—the Dream State. He’d already lost too many friends to the addictive virtual world…
The Metaverse is Minecraft. The Metaverse is Roblox. The Metaverse is Fortnite.
The concepts have already been proven in these microcosms. Billions of people collectively play in these worlds. They’re growing.
Now that everyone is figuring out how much fun these places can be, we might just be traversing the web and stepping through those TV screens together.
So, now you decide: is the metaverse just hype, or is it the real deal? Let me know what you think:
See you in the future.
Adam Sidwell
Creative Director
Future House Publishing & Future House Studios
And Another Thing…
Hugo Award-Winning Author Will McIntosh’s The Classmate is out this week!
The Sword of the Week: Sword of Ba’Heer.
The Sword of the Ba'Heer is only mentioned by Aech while Parzival is looking for Artifacts that will enable him to fly up to the Third Gate, in wake of the destruction of Castle Anorak by the Cataclyst. The item is returned to Aech when Parzival, having gained administrative powers over OASIS, resurrects Art3mis, Aech, and Shoto's avatars, along with all their items.
A lot of people are talking about the Wendyverse over here in this social media post. Connect with me on LinkedIn.
And think of the metaverse in short spurts too. It might be for 10 minutes at a time as you visit a world and find out information or make a transaction.
The metaverse might evolve to simplify being websites in 3D.
Thought there will undoubtedly be some that will want to matrix the thing and spend their whole lives there.
I BEG of you all to come check out my humble Newsletter, “A.M.’s Newsletter”, because I have an amazing series I call, Horizon Star Walk. On the Planet Oria, Aurora Borealis, Orion Pulsar, Ares Aldrin, and Gemini Taurus are on the run for their illegal activity, the stakes are HIGH for them all. A young Guardian of Oria, Sinsen Orbit, is hunting them down with his Officers backing him up. Will he catch them to be executed before the Queen and King of Oria, or will they successfully escape to Earth? Subscribe to find out!