READ MORE: Virtual Reality: A Real Metaverse That Everyone Seems to Ignore (InformationWeek)
The metaverse is the emperor’s new clothes. It’s a vague concept of a second life in the digital space provided to humans by tech corporations via VR sets. It’s nothing more than a marketing ploy that Meta, for one, is using to divert attention from scrutiny of the damage Facebook has done to truth and democracy.
That’s one way of looking at it, of course, and one that Vasily Petrenko, CEO and co-founder of Another World VR, adheres to.
He points to the confusion around the idea of the metaverse “because tech leaders typically don’t bother to elaborate on the practicalities of it.”
Another problem Petrenko has with the current usage of the word “metaverse” is that it erases the decades of VR innovation history that came long before Meta.
“The truth is that metaverses already exist, while Zuckerberg’s metaverse at this point is a hazy concept-in-the-making.”
Petrenko points to concrete examples that until recently would be called virtual reality but can justifiably now be called metaverse prototypes.
His list includes Fortnite, Epic Games’ online multiplayer game, which has also become a platform for hosting social events like concerts.
NAVIGATING THE METAVERSE:
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Petrenko likens the pioneering nature of theme park attractions, where virtual reality rides have for years combined ultra-resolution visuals with haptics like moving seats and full-body interaction to “provide a far more robust experience,” and one that “more closely resembles that of the physical world, compared to the experience of traditional video gameplay.”
There are, of course, many examples of VR’s almost routine use as an educational tool in schools or a training tool in military or medical facilities, while museums are using the technology to take their exhibitions on tour — virtually.
While acknowledging the technical limitations that these VR ‘verses have, Petrenko argues that the singular focus of VR developers will likely succeed in creating more fully rounded metaverse experiences long before Facebook.
It’s an odd opinion to hold given that Meta’s Oculus is the market-leading consumer headset, and that Meta is pumping billions into building practical metaverse experiences such as Meta Horizon Worlds, a platform expressly encouraging VR creators and users to collaborate and participate in virtual communities.
The universe of Jordan Peele’s “Nope” also exists in VR/Horizon World, courtesy of Meta Quest
“The truth is that metaverses already exist, while Zuckerberg’s metaverse at this point is a hazy concept-in-the-making.”
— Vasily Petrenko
What Meta is trying to achieve, and this has been Zuckerberg’s vision since acquiring Oculus, is a social virtual experience: to transplant the networks of relationships of Facebook into a 3D digital space. His idea is that users can experience live events virtually in VR (entertainment, work, training) and enable users communicate in real time with other people inside them.
You can argue whether Meta’s vision extends to the true interconnectivity demanded of metaverse purists or whether Meta will want to manage it as a closed shop, but surely Oculus with all of the millions of dollars being pumped into it will succeed on a grander scale than piecemeal independent VR projects.