What Really Is the Metaverse?
The term “metaverse” itself is not as new as it seems. It was first coined by Neal Stephenson in his science fiction novel Snow Crash in 1992. It is used in the book to depict the imagined dystopian future in a virtual reality world.
There is no single definition of the term accepted by everyone. Most often, though, the phenomenon is described as a network of 3D virtual worlds aimed at social connection – a simulated digital space focused on creating a real world-like environment for users’ interaction, a synonym for “cyberspace,” etc.
Even though the concept was introduced 30 years ago, it has become a particularly hot topic only recently. Today, the metaverse is the hottest buzzword, especially in the tech, finance and business industries. Who hasn’t heard about VR goggles, 3D avatars and virtual reality video games?
The reason why the metaverse is becoming so popular is that it’s projected to be the successor of the internet. Many compare the metaverse at this stage to computers and mobile phones at the end of the 20th century. So, here’s one thing that’s clear – it’s only the beginning for the metaverse, and it’s really hard to predict what will become of it in the future.
However, there are already many metaverse projects of different kinds. Some of them present virtual reality video games and platforms with avatars. Others develop virtual spaces for streaming concerts and sports games, art galleries, virtual property, etc. It is also worth mentioning that the metaverse is pretty tightly interconnected with crypto blockchain technology.
Let’s take a look at some of the most prominent virtual worlds and see how they work.
1) Second Life
As mentioned above, Second Life is one of the first virtual worlds that got its start back in 2003 but is still considered one of the most popular metaverse platforms.
Second Life residents can create their own 3D avatars and live their lives inside the virtual world, engaging themselves in different activities, from entertainment to dealing with virtual businesses and property.
2) IMVU
Similar to Second Life, IMVU offers its users the ability to create a 3D avatar and enjoy life in the virtual world.
3) Minecraft
Minecraft is a sandbox video game developed by Mojang Studios and released in 2011. Despite being very simple, it remains one of the most popular games in the world with over 141 million active players.
4)The Sandbox metaverse
The Sandbox is a well-known NFT-based virtual world game. The alpha version of its metaverse was released only at the end of last year. The platform provides virtual land that users can buy and use for whatever they want – whether it is a concert, a sports event, an NFT gallery or just a video game.
