What Is Metaverse? Does It Exist?

For a long time, the metaverse has been a popular topic. When Facebook changed its name from Facebook to Meta, the majority of people became aware of it. Even while the metaverse is a concept in and of itself, some people still associate it with Facebook or Meta. But what is metaverse?

What is the Metaverse?

The metaverse is a virtual realm where users can interact with one another.

Mark Zuckerberg describes metaverse as “an embodied internet that you’re inside of instead of just looking at.”

Simply described, the Metaverse is a virtual world in which people can interact with one another. They can buy fabrics, land, concert tickets, and other stuff from within the space.

While you can engage with your friends, relatives, and individuals from other communities on the internet, the Metaverse lets you experience it firsthand. It allows you to be within rather than see it from afar or through your phone or computer screen. I know what you are thinking it seems similar to Augmented and Virtual Reality.

AR, VR, & Metaverse

The majority confuses between the terms “metaverse”, “augmented reality”, and “virtual reality.” This is because both AR and VR allow individuals to interact with the virtual world. While it may appear to be similar to the metaverse, there is a significant distinction between the three. The Metaverse was created to enable human contact in the digital sphere. To put it another way, the metaverse is the huge ground for AR & VR where people may gather over numerous activities and have the ability to engage with each other in the virtual space.

The idea of metaverse originated one year after the Internet’s inception in 1991.

History of the Metaverse

The term metaverse was first used in 1992, by the science fiction writer Neal Stephenson in his novel Snow Crash. The metaverse as per his description was described as a virtual realm in three dimensions where humans could interact with others and software agents via their avatars.

With the premise established and technological developments, Philip Rosedale debuted his online game in 2003 based on a very similar concept. The game was known as Second Life. It provided avatars to the gamers, allowing them to digitally engage and interact while even making purchases. This money could potentially be exchanged for real money in the physical world as well. Since 2008 the game has received about 1 million users.

Metaverse and the Video-Games

While having its history associated with the gaming industry, it is often questioned if metaverse is just about video games.

The term “metaverse” refers to a concept that extends beyond video games. Some of today’s video games are based on a similar concept, allowing players to create their characters or avatars and interact with other players in a virtual world. Minecraft, Fortnite, Pokemon Go, World of Warcraft, are some games that fall under this category.

Avatars

Avatars are the digital representation of a human being as a game character. Players are enabled to create their avatars and add customizations to it allowed in the game settings. The avatars are enabled to function, communicate and roam around within the game premise, however, depending on the game limitations.

Video games, on the other hand, have some constraints. The metaverse relies on a person’s ability to freely move throughout the digital reality and play and design within that world using their avatars. Many tech titans are currently working on their metaverse initiatives in order to attain this technological marvel.

Tech-Companies in the Metaverse Run

The giant tech organizations such as Meta (formerly known as Facebook), Microsoft, Apple, and Nvidia are also jumping into the race of forming their metaverse.

Meta

The company’s decision to change its name to Meta is not the first step toward stepping on the next major stone. Rather, it began its metaverse adventure in 2014 when it purchased Oculus, a firm that makes virtual reality headsets. It shows how Meta uses both AR and VR to bring reality to the metaverse. It’s also interesting that starting in 2022, Oculus will rebrand and become a part of the Meta Quest.

Microsoft

Following Meta, Microsoft jumped on the bandwagon and began incorporating metaverse into Microsoft Teams. Allowing users to utilize their avatars to participate in meetings. It is, however, aimed by the group that this technology will eventually replace webcam photographs and that it will expand to include hand movements.

Apple

It is speculated that Apple is working on the production of AR & VR gadgets. It reflects the organization working towards the creation of the metaverse.

Nvidia

Nvidia has taken a different turn along with the metaverse creation. It is centered on the discovery of new technologies and communication channels for user cooperation. The platform is notable for integrating 3-D worlds into a shared reality and is known as the Nvidia Omniverse.

Is Metaverse a Single Universe?

The metaverse isn’t a single universe where all of the other metaverse initiatives can collide. It is considered to be a part of a larger universe that will contain several metaverses.

For example, if Meta (Facebook) is developing its metaverse for its users, and Apple is developing its metaverse, the ability for users of both platforms to connect with one another is currently limited.

All of these distinct metaverses will need to be linked together via the internet, allowing interactions between humans and users of various platforms. As a result, the tech giants will have to work together to allow their customers to travel around in multiple metaverse platforms.

This brings us to our primary topic: for the metaverse to be a single universe, a significant amount of work must be performed. To allow users to access other platforms and join the shared digital universe of their choice, collaborations and massive servers will be required. To unite in a metaverse, both the corporation and the end-user must excel in terms of servers and the internet.

Does Metaverse Exist?

Metaverse is a project currently in development that allows people to collide, communicate, and share a digital space using their avatars. A relevant concept to metaverse can be seen in video games, however, the idea has not yet been realized to its full potential.

If the goal is to create a metaverse that can be accessed by all planetary communities, this is still a long way off. As previously stated, an ideal metaverse would allow individuals to join their preferred reality and participate in their preferred activities. However, there are several drawbacks to this ideal scenario.

• To access multiple metaverses, the leaders need to unite and collaborate in the development process to allow users to participate in their preferred metaverse.
• Large servers are needed for people from all over the world to unite in a single metaverse.

Even though we witness some limitations to the project currently, there are still some significant improvements occurring on a daily basis. For instance, if we step aside from video games, we can see the concept of a metaverse in Microsoft’s Mesh for Teams or Meta Horizon.

Improvements like these are encompassing more and more individuals and are allowing them to be a part of the shared digital world!