RESEARCH
An alternative REALITY?
Trying to investigate something that technically doesn’t yet exist is difficult. Luckily, there are already hints of what the metaverse could be, as OPI’s Michelle Sturman finds out…
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ou’ve likely heard the word ‘metaverse’ mentioned recently, probably related to Facebook as it generated headlines late last year by rebranding to ‘Meta’. According to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the metaverse is the embodied internet where you’re in the experience, not just looking at it, and you can do almost anything imaginable. He believes the metaverse is the successor to the mobile internet. In the company’s Q4 2021 earnings call, Zuckerberg said the metaverse – through its Reality Labs division which includes augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR)-related consumer hardware, software and content – is an investment priority. This will equate to billions in spending. He added that the focus will be on the foundational hardware and software required to build “an immersive, embodied internet that enables better digital social experiences than anything that exists today”. Meta may seek to dictate the direction of the metaverse, but as it stands, there is no true definition of the concept because, in reality (pun intended), no one really knows what it will look like or how it will work. Investopedia offers a pretty good description: “As the metaverse grows, it will create online spaces where user interactions are more multidimensional than current technology supports. Instead of just viewing digital content, users in the metaverse will be able to immerse themselves in a space where the digital and physical worlds converge.”
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WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN? Undertake any research into the metaverse and you’re likely to come across Matthew Ball, venture capitalist and essayist – well worth reading, especially his seven core attributes of the metaverse – who is often cited by those currently building or investing in this version of the internet. As such, his definition of the metaverse carries weight: “The metaverse is a massively scaled and interoperable network of real-time rendered 3D virtual worlds which can be experienced
synchronously and persistently by an effectively unlimited number of users with an individual sense of presence, and with continuity of data, such as identity, history, entitlements, objects, communications, and payments.” He also notes it is often “misdescribed” as virtual reality, which is actually just a way to participate in the metaverse. Nor is it a user-generated virtual world or a video game. Accessing the metaverse can be done through mobile or online, although the more immersive encounters will require VR and AR. However, there is already an inkling of what a non-VR, web-based metaverse could be like. Early explorers of the World Wide Web almost 20 years ago will remember Linden Labs’ Second Life – which still survives today – a multimedia platform where you created an avatar and inserted yourself in an online virtual world.
The metaverse is a massively scaled and interoperable network of real-time rendered 3D virtual worlds Those with children and/or teenagers will likely be familiar with the user-generated platform Roblox, or the massively popular game Fortnite. The latter is owned by Epic Games which, incidentally, last year announced a $1 billion funding round to support its long-term vision for the metaverse. REALITY BITES Virtual reality has been used for some time in gaming and consumer sales are expected to outpace enterprise spending. ARtillery Intelligence, which chronicles the evolution of AR and VR, estimates the sector will rise to $22.4 billion in 2025. Last year, consumer spend was $5.67 billion, driven by gaming, and enterprise was $3.44 billion due to its relatively narrow use. Originally hitting the limelight through Niantic’s Pokémon Go, augmented reality is currently
