Friends, have you heard of the "metaverse"?
In 2021, a novel concept term will quickly become popular on the Internet, causing widespread concern in the technology and investment circles. This conceptual term is the "metaverse".
Today's article will introduce it to you.
▉ Origin of the Metaverse
In 1992, the famous American science fiction writer Neal Stephenson (Neal Stephenson) launched his novel "Snow Crash".
Neil Stephenson and "Avalanche"
In the book, Neil Stephenson describes an online world that parallels the real world and names it "Metaverse." All people in the real world have a "cyber avatar" in Metaverse.
This "Metaverse" is called "Metaverse" in the English original. It consists of two roots, Meta and Verse. Meta means "transcendence", "meta", and verse means "universe".
Yes, the Metaverse is the protagonist of our article today - the Metaverse .
It is worth mentioning that the "network avatar" mentioned in the book is called Avatar in English. Do you all look familiar?
Yes, Avatar is "Avatar". In 2009, the famous American director James Cameron's classic movie was named after it.
Avatar's original meaning is "incarnation", and in Hinduism and Buddhism, it refers to a god who takes the form of a human or a beast. Today, virtual identities used by players in computer games or chat rooms are also called Avatars.
I believe that everyone will react quickly, the metaverse is not a real world, but a virtual world. In fact, to be more precise, the metaverse is the virtual world of the future (which doesn't exist yet).
When it comes to the virtual world, I believe everyone immediately thinks of another classic movie, that is, "Ready Player One" directed by the great American director Steven Spielberg in 2018.
The oasis in the movie is a metaverse (virtual world)
In fact, Neil Stephenson is not the first person in the world if he is just proposing a virtual world.
As early as 1981, in the science fiction novel Real Name Real Name, American computer professor Frovitch conceived a virtual world that can be entered through a brain-computer interface and has a sensory experience. Neil Stephenson has been sublimated and strengthened on the basis of Flovinci.
But in any case, Neil Stephenson is still recognized as the official proposer of the metaverse.
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▉ Is the Metaverse a game?
After talking for a long time, it is either a novel or a movie, which is too illusory. Moreover, the virtual world is all in our game. Did we enter the metaverse when we played the game?
This statement is both true and false.
According to Roblox, the "first company in the metaverse" (which itself is also a game company), a real metaverse product should have eight elements, namely: identity, friends, immersion, low latency, diversification, anywhere, economy system, civilization.
Identity : You can have a virtual identity that has nothing to do with your real identity, it can be a president or a beggar.
Friends : You can have real or AI friends that you can socialize with, whether you know them in real life or not.
Immersion : You can immerse yourself in the experience of the metaverse and ignore everything else.
Low Latency : Everything in the Metaverse happens synchronously, with no asynchrony or latency, for a flawless experience.
Diversification : Metaverse can provide rich and differentiated content, including gameplay, props, etc.
Anywhere: You can log in to the Metaverse anytime, anywhere , without space limitations.
Economic System : As with any complex large game, the Metaverse should have its own economic system.
Civilization : People come together to create unique virtual civilization, digital civilization.
Comparing games, you will find that even the most advanced computer games today cannot fully meet the requirements of the metaverse.
Identity and social, these two aspects of the game can be satisfied. Players can create the characters they want, complete interactions with other players, and form social relationships.
Immersion and low latency, we have repeatedly explained this when we introduced 5G and VR/AR. Judging from the current technology, it can barely be satisfied, but there is still a big gap from the perfect experience (720° high-definition image above 16K, refresh rate above 180Hz, and delay below 5ms).
Diversity, this involves content creation. Just like app development, this one depends on ecology. Once the ecology is mature and market driven, a large number of content creators will join to produce content and make elements in the metaverse, including gameplay, props, characters, scenes, etc. For now, it's still a long way off.
Anywhere, this is another technical issue. On the one hand, it depends on the digital infrastructure (our country has an advantage), on the other hand, on the means of access, that is, terminal equipment. A cheap and easy-to-use access terminal that allows users to access the Metaverse anytime, anywhere. Of course, the user also needs to have plenty of time (in the real world).
economic system. Today's games basically have economic systems, but they are very simple. However, our real economic system has been digitized, and it seems that it will not be too difficult to transplant into the metaverse in the future. Moreover, the current digital currency is becoming more and more popular, and it is likely to constitute the financial system base of the Metaverse.
Civilization, this is a bit mysterious. The current game, it seems that civilization has not yet formed, right? Mostly, culture.
All in all, games can be regarded as the primary form of the metaverse . In terms of technology, there is still a big gap between the two. Philosophically and ideologically, the metaverse is just getting started.
In the future, the Metaverse is likely to start with games and develop into a substitute for the Internet, deeply integrating digital entertainment, social networks, and even socio-economic and business activities.
▉ What technologies does the Metaverse rely on?
Having said that, why did the metaverse, which was proposed in 1992, suddenly become popular after 29 years?
Quite simply, a matter of timing. Imaginative imagination, early is a lunatic, and the one who grasps the opportunity is a genius.
Today, the reason why the metaverse is popular is not unrelated to the popularity of VR/AR technology in the past few years. Moreover, the rapid development of cloud computing, chips, 5G, and artificial intelligence technologies has also stimulated the revival of the concept of the metaverse.
From a technological standpoint, we (seem) have touched the threshold of the metaverse, and it is no longer as remote as it once was.
What are the underlying technologies of the metaverse?
Roughly speaking, the metaverse includes technologies in several aspects - chip technology, network communication technology, virtual reality technology (VR/AR/MR/XR), game technology (game engine, game code, multimedia resources), AI Artificial intelligence technology, blockchain technology.
The metaverse is a digital universe, a parallel world. Therefore, the metaverse is based on digital technology and is inseparable from IT and CT technology.
To support the operation of the huge metaverse, it must first have extremely powerful computing power and algorithms .
The foundation of computing power is the chip, no need to explain, right? What about the algorithm? It is software, but also long-term talent accumulation and ecological management. Everyone gathers firewood and the flame is high. Only by adding more talents and investing more resources, can the Metaverse be built brick by brick.
Virtual reality technology, game technology, AI artificial intelligence, all belong to the category of IT. From the perspective of CT communication, the Metaverse is also a hot spot that can be rubbed off.
Didn't it say "anywhere" before? Without communication and low-latency 5G/6G/all-optical network, users cannot access the Metaverse, and can only enjoy themselves in a single machine. What's the point of that?
Finally there is a blockchain. What does blockchain have to do with the metaverse?
Of course it does. Didn’t I say earlier that the Metaverse needs a financial system and virtual currency? Behind the virtual currency is the decentralized blockchain technology. Otherwise, why do you think people in the currency circle are so excited about the Metaverse? At present, there are several metaverse books published in China, and the authors all have backgrounds in the currency circle or the chain circle.
▉ Metaverse, the carnival of capital?
The birth of a new concept is, of course, indispensable in the hype of the capital circle. Excited investors, can't wait to get in the car.
The Internet technology giants in the United States were the first to lay out the metaverse.
In 2014, Facebook acquired virtual reality company Oculus for $2 billion. For now, what appears to be for VR/AR is actually for the "metaverse".
In addition to Facebook, Google, Amazon, Disney and other giants have also carried out the strategic layout of the metaverse.
The first domestic game company, Tencent, also keenly observed the opportunities of the Metaverse. At the end of 2020, Ma Huateng put forward the concept of "full real Internet", claiming that it can "transform reality into reality and help users achieve a more realistic experience".
Now it seems that, both in terms of the overall concept and the specific details, the "full Internet" is very similar to the concept of "metaverse".
In April 2020, Epic Games' shooting game "Fortress Night" held an online virtual concert for American hip-hop singer Travis Scott in the game, attracting more than 12 million players to participate online, shocking the entire network.
Travis Scott Fortnite Concert
In 2021, the concept of the metaverse really begins to explode.
On March 10, the game company Roblox was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock price rose 54.4% on the first day, and the market value exceeded 40 billion US dollars. A year ago, Roblox was valued at just $4 billion. Roblox is the first company in the world to write the concept of the metaverse into its listing prospectus, known as the "first stock of the metaverse".
Soon after, at the end of March, gaming platform Rec Room completed a new round of financing, totaling $100 million.
Then, in April, Epic Games received a $1 billion investment to build the metaverse.
Domestically, it is not far behind.
In March this year, MetaApp , a mobile sandbox platform developer , announced the completion of a $100 million Series C round of financing, led by SIG Hainer Asia Capital. The company claims to create a metaverse world for all ages. This financing is also the largest single financing of the domestic Metaverse track so far.
On April 20, the game engine developer Code Qiankun (known as the "Chinese version of Roblox") received a strategic investment of nearly 100 million yuan from ByteDance.
On May 28, cloud game technology service provider Haima Cloud completed a new round of financing of 280 million yuan.
……
Facebook's Zuckerberg has proposed transforming Facebook from a social media company to a metaverse company over the next five years or so.
Nvidia, a well-known hardware manufacturer, has specially launched Omniverse, a virtual collaboration platform, known as the metaverse of engineers. Huang Renxun said: "We are on the cusp of the metaverse," and "Omniverse is an important part of building the metaverse."
In fact, everyone should also understand that those who vigorously support the metaverse are either game software companies, game hardware companies, social network companies, and blockchain companies. Behind the endorsement of the platform, there is a certain interest relationship.
▉ Conclusion
Experts believe that with the development of digital technology, human beings will definitely complete the digital migration from the real universe to the metaverse in the future.
The entire migration process is divided into three stages: digital twin, digital native, and virtual reality.
After digital migration, a whole set of economic and social systems will be formed in the digital space (metaverse), resulting in new currency markets, capital markets and commodity markets.
The digital avatar of human beings in the metaverse will live forever. Even if the physical body in reality is annihilated, you in the digital world will continue to live in the metaverse, retaining your character, behavioral logic, and even memory in the real world.
If this is the case, what the metaverse brings is not just a technical problem, but an ethical problem - the digital me, is it really me? Is he capable of fulfilling human rights and duties? Can I inherit my property? Is it still the father of my children, the husband of my wife in the real world?
These issues require human beings to think constantly and formulate corresponding guidelines.