
Guide To The Metaverse

Latest Metaverse Headlines

It divided the technology industry leaders, became one of the fastest growing sectors, and trends as a buzzword of the year. But what is the Metaverse?
The Metaverse is the fusion of computer-enhanced environments within perceived reality. Often utilising various methods of extended reality, the Metaverse is an immersive, virtually enhanced environment populated by computer-generated graphics. The Metaverse has come to incorporate Web 3.0 ideas for decentralised ownership within metanomics (the metaverse economy). The Metaverse, we believe, is the next evolution of the internet.
History and Origins of The Metaverse
The term originated in Snow Crash, a dystopian science fiction classic by Neal Stephenson in 1992, to describe the virtual world people travelled in using avatars. Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline, introduced us to the concept of a virtual reality Metaverse, brought to the screen in 2018 by Steven Spielberg. But today’s Metaverse is far from such science fiction worlds. In many ways, the Metaverse is at its birth and consists of siloed platforms. The Metaverse will indeed arrive with interoperability when you can seamlessly navigate Metaverses across various platforms.


Virtual worlds date back as far as 1978, Multi-User Dungeon or MUD ( MUD1 to distinguish it from its replacement) developed by Roy Trubshaw and Richard Bartle at the University of Essex. Initially a TELNET game, MUD was the first game to feature talking avatars and a multi-player digital world. Often described as the forerunner to today’s Metaverse, Second Life from Phil Rosedale’s and Linden Lab’s featured a graphical virtual world, customisable avatars, and its own currency. Decentraland, the first decentralised Metaverse, came along in 2017. Utilising blockchain technology allowed actual ownership of digital assets.
The Metaverse currently spans gaming platforms such as Fortnite and Roblox and centralised owned platforms such as Horizon Worlds and AltspaceVR. Mixed Reality platforms such as Microsoft Mesh and decentralised Metaverses such as The Sandbox, Decentraland and Cryptovoxels. You can enter the Metaverse via mobile and desktop devices and with extended reality headsets. The headsets transform you into virtual and mixed reality worlds that are highly immersive.
Metanomics and the Metaverse Economy
Already the Metaverse has an economy where you can buy NFTs for digital assets supported by Blockchain. Enthusiasts claim in the future, we will learn, work, shop, socialise and be entertained through the Metaverse, that this disruptive technology will impact every aspect of our lives and introduce a fusion of technology and reality. But not everyone agrees. Whilst Microsoft and Meta (formerly Facebook) have made multi-billion dollar investments into the Metaverse, some Tech Leaders have been less than impressed.


Technology Leaders Split
Recently former CEO of Google Eric Schmidt described the Metaverse as a “confusing marketplace with no clear definition of the concept and how it will affect people’s lives”. Elon Musk recently remarked, “Sure you can put a TV on your nose. I’m not sure that makes you ‘in the metaverse.” And PlayStation inventor Ken Kutaragi “can’t see the point“. The Metaverse, in many ways, mirrors the development of the world wide web with pioneers building a new technological world and pushing the boundaries with each product. The Metaverse is yet to be defined, it is not here yet, but the foundations are being built.