What would life be like in a metaverse and do you want in?

Metaverse is the new buzzword with most people throwing it around like it’s decided that we all want to be citizens. Maybe you do, maybe you don’t, but let’s talk about it before we add our voice to the rest of the sheep baying for release. Looking at you, pastor.

I say “release” because if you strip away all the cool jargon, that’s what you’ll find. It’s based on the premise that”how I do things IRL is not cool; give me a second life where I can have more control to change things”. Let’s just stop there. Control in a virtual world? Now there’s a paradox. Think video games, because that is what any metaverse is – a video game setting. It’s a simulation, and all virtual worlds are based on bytes and pixels. The code can be sophisticated, so much so that it gives the illusion of user control, but there are always rules that limit the experience. Users can bend and break it, but it’s there.

When does immersion become gluttony?

My first taste of the metaverse came with the video game aptly titled “Second Life” (2003). By the way, the concept of the metaverse is not new. In fact, it’s very old. The concept first emerged three decades ago in a science fiction novel. Anyone who played games like World of Warcraft has had some experience of what a metaverse feels like. Fortnite and Roblox are more recent examples. However, what the ‘cool’ people mean when they talk about “the metaverse” is simulating real-life experiences, meaning your next staff meeting happens in a virtual world with employee avatars. You can own possessions, rent or sell real estate, and so on.

Life in a metaverse is based on the assumption that things like war, famine and pestilence will make life unbearable and people will plug into a different reality that makes everything a bit better. Unless you have too much money and you bling up your virtual world with an NFT art piece like Beeple’s “EVERYDAYS: THE FIRST 5000 DAYS” that sold for $ 69,346,250. That’s over 1 million rand to own the original digital work that everyone can view online for free! But hey, in the metaverse, you are the only avatar that can claim to own it. NFT art is a big thing already, and I wish I could own some of these pieces. It is extraordinarily beautiful. So, for some it can offer an escape, for others it’s prestige. For you?

Let’s take a step back. I’ve been playing video games since I was ten years old. I love it to bits and hope to continue until I can’t see anymore. It offers me something I can’t get anywhere else, and so it offers something very special to everyone.  Personally, “immersion” is the key and it has many different shapes. We can talk for hours about the hooks developers use to pull people into virtual worlds. The key to immersion is about making participants care about the world you’ve created. They need to care enough to invest time, money, and themselves in it.

Our lives are made richer by these virtual experiences (yes it can be addictive, but so too can the food you eat). What I can’t deny is the fact that it does offer me an escape, and that is not wrong in itself. Watching a good movie or reading a book does the same – it’s the level of immersion that changes. People will join a metaverse for the exact same reason. How long you spend there, what you do, and how much currency you use depends on how immersive it is. Therefore, escapism.

Again, the concept of a metaverse isn’t bad or evil; in many ways, we already dabble in it. Facebook is a prime example. The time we spend online is already bordering on virtual gluttony. We’re diluting the quality of what it means to be a family, a partner, a friend, a person. If you can’t define who you are in this life, what makes you think you’ll find it in a virtual one? On the other hand, I understand what the anonymity of a virtual world offers in terms of exploration – but that is for another discussion.

Who plays God in the metaverse?

Notice how I said ‘a’ metaverse and not ‘the’ metaverse? Will it exist of different communities, say like countries, or video games, with its citizens able to cross over? Sony and Microsoft are still struggling to make cross-play a reality in 2022! Some say the metaverse will replace say our experience of the Internet as it is now. South Africa already boasts its place in the global metaverse called Africarare.

There’s a second thing at the heart of the metaverse. Money.

Podcast: Will Apple win the race to the Metaverse?

Every gamer knows this; the game is only as good as the tech that supports it. Now imagine the tech needed to connect to a virtual world that mirrors all of life. All.Of.It. What about real estate (are we going to call it virtual estate?), branding, and all the economics that would make up these worlds or world. Who will own the intellectual property? The list is pandora’s box, and the possibility to make money? Endless.

According to Analysis Group, the Metaverse could boost the global GDP by 2.8% within ten years. I assume that a big chunk of the income will come from brand advertising.

A different perspective

Let’s approach it from a different perspective. Why would you want to exist in a or the metaverse? Find the answer to that question. If you hate your life and want to know how it feels if you love it, then step back. For the longest time, I struggled to find “me”. I had no sense of self, identity and all that. Virtual worlds gave me a platform to explore who I wanted to be, and it can be a great thing. Unfortunately, it can also be the worst thing because. It. Is. Not. Real.

I love disappearing into the many virtual worlds I belong to. I enjoy connecting with people from across the globe. It enriches my life in many ways IRL can’t. I am a child of the Internet, but with my roots planted firmly IRL.

Don’t fall for the metaverse sell.

Play a great MMORPG.