I always thought this metaverse crap was just an obvious money-making scheme that preyed on isolated people during COVID-19. They only started developing their metaverse platforms during the pandemic. Of course they all failed to capitalize because the world largely returned to normal while they were still flaunting NFTs and unfinished metaverse platforms that still can’t do better than a private Minecraft SMP with your friends.
I suspect that it’s one of those things that will happen at some point in the future, but we just don’t have the technology and equipment ready for it just yet. I figure it’s similar to AI research in like 2007 when they were able to put the computer on Jeopardy and have it compete against the contestants. It worked, but it wasn’t ready for mainstream usage at the time.
The second life/metaverse/virtual reality concept will never be widely accepted by the majority of the population because it just isn’t what the vast majority of people want. They want communication methods that compliment their real world lives.
Yes, it will probably be more popular at some point than it has been so far if they can pull off affordable ultra realism, but the escapism of virtual worlds appeals to a relatively small portion of the population. Not to mention that a lot of people have a limited amount of free time, and even if it was extremely popular at first, the novelty would wear off fairly quickly for most people.
The massive popularity of Ready Player One, which was a mostly bland and bad story besides having a Metaverse in it, might imply otherwise.
The popularity in the fictional setting, based on speculation?
The popularity of the book/move, which is a short period of escapism not at all comparable to virtual reality?
The popularity of the book/movie incorporating a classic concept of cyberpunk, yes.
We’ve been dreaming of a Metaverse just about since we’ve had internet. Only, nobody’s made one that’s worth a damn in the real world yet.
Dude it’s a book.
“Gladiators would be popular because there’s this movie called Gladiator that everyone loves and that has heaps of Gladiators.”
Everyone loved How To Train Your Dragon, yet drag has hardly met any dragon riders! It’s not fair!
I think that’s just a coincidence because it was also just after buying Oculus and developing the Quest 2 which sold like hotcakes. I think things fizzled out because everyone I know, myself included, got tired of VR after a couple weeks because the software just isn’t there and it can be quite isolating to use.
SteamVR on PC is excellent FYI. Lots of great VR games on Steam
Yes, but it is also very different. I have a VR headset and use it every now and then. But compared to “normal” gaming it is quite different.
When playing a non-VR game you can just minimize the game and check stuff between rounds/matches/when you pause/etc. With VR I feel like you have to be there all the time, and the headsets are still heavy so you can’t play as long. Not to mention you are usually standing.
I like VR and think it will be good eventually, but it is not there yet. It is 100% playable as it is, but the overall tech is not quite there yet.
VR is totally “there” for those who want to use it, and it does take a little more effort than plopping into a chair and clicking a mouse. But that’s life - you get more out of things you put more effort into.
There was hype?
Within the billionaire bubble there was a lot of hype. Outside of that, not so much.
A new platform to colonize, gathering info on what people were looking at in the virtual world and selling that to advertising made their wallets go very erect.
I think the biggest part was selling people fake clout for a nearly 100% profit margin. They were going to sell us virtual clothes and status
in massen masse for our very real money. Not that this doesn’t already happen in gaming but it would have been expanded greatly
Some people just love looking at themselves.
You’re joking, but there are lots of people in VRChat that love spending a lot of time looking at their own avatar in front of in-game mirrors.
Man, I hate looking at myself in mirrors or even hearing myself in recordings. I just don’t understand people who actually like it.
I mean, in VR you’re really just checking how well you did your avatar. There’s a sense of accomplishment in doing something that looks like you with a very limited set of tools. Haven’t tried it in VR, but I know the exact feeling from The Sims series.
Bingo 👆
Well it’s not like they’re looking at their actual faces, they’re looking at an in-game avatar that’s often highly sexualized or otherwise very pretty
I was assuming they’re making the character look like themselves. It’s totally understandable if you’re RPing and seeing how your character looks in some getup.
