Ever since the metaverse concept started floating around and Facebook changed its name to Meta, the whole thing began gaining a lot more prominence in the mainstream. Everyone is talking about the metaverse now, and many projects have already come up with their own metaverses.
However, many people still do not understand what the metaverse is. Some believe it’s the future of the internet, as Mark Zuckerberg and a few other notable CEOs keep saying every day. But if you asked the leaders of various metaverse projects and companies, they’d say something else, maybe a video game or a whole digital world field with endless possibilities.
So, what is it exactly? Is it as futuristic as some make it out to be? If not, when will it be like that? This piece will answer these and many other questions, so let’s jump right in.
What Is the Metaverse?
In essence, for now, there is no single defined term for what the metaverse is, primarily because so many companies are working on it. That’s why we have several metaverses at the moment, not a single one as initially envisioned.
However, we can still say that every metaverse aims to be an integrated network of various 3D virtual worlds. In many cases, you can enter these worlds through virtual reality (VR) headsets, which are becoming more popular every day.
The goal of the metaverse is to create an immersive experience, and some projects are succeeding in this endeavor with exciting options like NFTs and tokens you can buy and sell. Some companies even offer play-to-earn tokenization, where you can play video games and earn tokens that can later be traded or sold.
In essence, many metaverse businesses have found innovative and exciting ways to incorporate blockchain, cryptocurrency, and NFT solutions to make their offerings more compelling to users.
Where Is the Metaverse Right Now?
If you’ve ever seen a metaverse game or virtual world, you know that it’s all still fairly rudimentary. If it uses the benefits of virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR), then the world is likely elementary in terms of graphics, far from the levels many modern blockbuster video games have reached.
When you compare a blockbuster game like Last of Us 2 or Ghost Of Tsushima to a typical metaverse, you see the vast discrepancy in the visuals. The metaverse is, simply put, too far behind.
The graphics are underwhelming, usually because VR and AR engines aren’t as sophisticated as those powering typical video games. But even metaverses that function like regular video games often have low-quality graphics, usually limited by the vast expanse of their worlds and features they have to focus on.
All of this is understandable as the technology is not yet there, but we cannot deny that these underwhelming visuals take you out of the experience.
People expect to be immersed in this world, but all they get are cartoonish characters and avatars, with surroundings and objects more reminiscent of a game from 2005 than a modern video game.
To attain an immersive experience, we’ll need the metaverse to be much better-looking and more realistic.
When Will the Metaverse Evolve Beyond Cartoonish Avatars?
So, since it’s clear that the metaverse is supposed to be more akin to modern video games, we need it to evolve. We need it to reach a stage where hyper-realistic objects and avatars become commonplace.
It also needs stunning surroundings that will take your breath away, especially if you’re using VR.
This extreme realism will undoubtedly be tempting to many people who would otherwise never try a metaverse. When we reach that stage, the fledgling metaverse concept will become truly immersive and irresistible to users.
Naturally, we already have companies working on that, and the industry is bound to reach this expected level. It will be on the back of innovative businesses like Looking Glass, a Web3 platform that specializes in NFT architecture, play-to-earn tokenization, and, most notably, immersive metaverse environments.
Looking Glass strives to create a new generation metaverse with 3D assets far superior in quality to most other projects.
Other companies are attempting similar things with varying degrees of success. But they all share the same goal — to offer a more immersive metaverse experience and create something that will be as irresistible as a virtual world can be.
Bottom Line
The metaverse concept is still new and certainly not close to what we want it to be. It’s way behind what was envisioned when we first started talking about the metaverse.
However, as companies are already working hard on advancing it, we see noticeable advances in the quality of the visuals and features every year.
In the not-so-distant future, the metaverse will likely be as immersive as modern video games, if not more.
The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.
