Concepts of virtual worlds and indeed, open world deployment, aren’t exactly new facets of gaming. Nevertheless, gamers might be forgiven for wondering what the big deal is with the metaverse and why many game developers are now looking seriously into this idea, and why technologies like blockchain, cryptocurrency and the wider Web3 are involved.
In truth, gamers are likely to have experienced the foundational aspects of the metaverse in the various 3D virtual spaces that they experience in modern game titles.
However, the differences that may elude them are crucial:
- Open, shared, persistent. While game virtual worlds tend to be closed and restricted to the borders and the created content that developers build, and can be shut down at any time, the metaverse is an open, shared, and persistent virtual world that users can freely access, freely expand, and ideally, manage and operate across distributed servers that no one entity can shut down.
- Diverse, open functionalities. Game virtual worlds are also typically specific environments with specific functions. For example, the virtual world of games like Fortnite are maps that players enter but cannot do anything with it other than to fight (some concerts were held on Fortnite but on restricted play). Metaverse worlds tend to serve diverse functionalities – they can serve as office spaces, meeting solutions, shops, exhibitions and even pure PvP gaming.
It can also be confusing to see many games use the metaverse tag, without really showing what a true metaverse should be able to do.
Cradles: Origin of Species is one such game in development that aims to capture the spirit of the metaverse, without losing sight of the ideal to create a new game introducing innovative gameplay and experiences.
And now, more serious metaverse idealists are also entering the development scene, perhaps none more significant than the actual originator of the “ metaverse” term, Neal Stephenson.
Straight out of Snow Crash
Most of the literature that examines the origins of the Metaverse agrees that it can be traced back to nearly 30 years ago when notorious cyberpunk author Neal Stephenson coined the term in his 1992 novel Snow Crash to illustrate a different online environment.
Cradles, in its development, hasn’t neglected to mention this reference, perhaps in admiration of the fact that the author was ahead of his time. For most other projects, that is usually the point where talk about Stephenson stops before moving on to Meta (the Facebook Meta, that is) and other corporate-driven ideas. Taking a small pause to embrace the past and Metaverse’s roots, most move right to the present.
But it is important to pay heed to idealists like the Snow Crash author.
Even though Stephenson has been into cryptocurrencies and cryptography for a long time, as expressed in his Cryptonomicon novel as well, it wasn’t until recently that he stepped into the playing field. The crypto movement was embraced by millions of enthusiasts worldwide, yet the founder took his time to dip into the metaverse.
Odd or not, there’s no need to decipher Stephenson’s decisions anymore since the OG is back in his game with the launch of his own effort: Lamina1.
L as in Lamina1. Why it’s important to metaverse and Web3
When it rains, it pours – a common saying expressing that similar events follow one another, whether in a negative or positive context.
Most folks first heard about Metaverse when Zuckerberg shared his aspirations with the world. From not knowing what it is to everybody talking about it, there is no doubt that Meta served as a great PR for the Metaverse itself.
However, corporate-grounded projects soon got their opponents. The partnership between Stephenson and Vessenes emerged from conversations and a single conviction that it was time to found a new Layer 1 Blockchain. The creators of Lamina1 imagine it being a base layer for the Open Metaverse, namely a place where Stephenson’s vision could be built – a wide web connecting a supporting community and spatial computing tech.
Openly expressing the need to create a sincerely Open Metaverse as an alternative to the Metaverse visions presented by monopolies, Stephenson brought his vision and core objectives, and combined them with Vessenes’ experiences and aim to fulfill the crucial dreams from Satoshi’s whitepaper.
Further, what do we know about the technical aspects of Lamina1? Even though not many pieces of information have been revealed yet, we do know that the layer-1 blockchain provides a more integrated and modern Web3 ecosystem that will be the first building block for the Open Metaverse.
Even more, the carbon-negative Lamina 1 chain will probably encompass high transaction volume combined with an economic design and novel incentive mechanisms to aid in the emergence of diverse economies for creators. According to Vessenes, Lamina1 and Web3 are concepts that serve to address essential inequities in the contemporary Web2 ecosystem.
Though the project is in the very early stage of development, it shows massive potential. All because Stephenson imagined that the primary objective of the Metaverse would be to provide a fierce base layer of open-source tech that provides crucial services and incentives to creators.
A reminder that dreams don’t go to die even after all that time is something Stephenson has just given to us.
It’s worth noting that not all blockchain games are applying the Metaverse tag recklessly. Cradles has taken pains to point out several times that it is a gaming project, not a metaverse one. It doesn’t mean that it doesn’t want to build aspects of what the metaverse should look like, but it means it doesn’t mind taking the long road to the Metaverse by involving its community to create a digital environment that would eventually move toward the ideal of a Metaverse.
When that moment in time arrives, the Cradles’ Metaverse will probably mirror Lamina1 in some of its aspects. Perhaps as a tribute to Stephenson and Vessenes in their undertaking.
For games like Cradles, it’s easy to see them support and be encouraged by any and all attempts to build such a version of Metaverse, especially one that is open and free.
Don’t Lose Sight of All That Data
On one side we have big tech monopolies, and on the other, we have crypto visionaries. As Veseness mentioned, people produce valuable content and give it away to the big tech for free. People should be able to choose to give their stuff for free, but only if they want to. The decentralized structure of blockchain still looks like a utopian dream, and the comparison between West Coast tech monopolies and digital visionaries is reminiscent of David and Goliath.
But the visionaries are not wrong. If we only take a look at corporate-driven projects of Metaverse, we can see that there are many dangers hidden in disguise.
As pointed out in an expert opinion, Metaverse’s ultimate aim is a mixed reality – blending digital and real worlds together.
We all may have an opinion whether that’s good or bad, but the danger lies in the fact that the market for it is immense, and whoever grabs control over it will be able to control the whole reality.
Subsequently, data is the new oil, and such data would be extremely valuable on the market. The point of that expert opinion was not that the Metaverse is bad, but that it is too significant to let one company gain all control.
Imagine that we are all spending our time in an encompassing universe that is single-handedly controlled by one single big tech company. Looking at Zuckerberg’s Meta, there are already many dangers relating to privacy pitfalls arising out of numerous past non-compliances and unresolved or partially explained safeguards regarding future data breaches, advertising, AR glasses, and all you can and cannot imagine.
It is no secret that commercial interests are the cart before the horse of societal interests, but the amount of data that can be gained from people engaging in new virtual realities is huge. Plus, taking into account contemporary conditions, big tech companies could store, manipulate, repackage and finally, immensely monetize it, becoming more and more powerful.
Such monopolistic ideas are being marketed all the way, and other ideas, merely less corporate-driven ideas, are not really visible. However, they are coming up with alternative solutions. Just taking a look at the dangers posed by corporate-driven metaverses and the loss of the free market to big tech companies will hopefully bring more publicity to other ideas.
Whether policing and regulations in the Metaverse could help, or remove barriers to entering the market for other Metaverse creators, we have to slow down and choose wisely. The opportunity to win over an opponent is often provided by the opponent himself. And haven’t corporate-driven Metaverse projects shown us enough?
So while the entire concept may not have bought over many gamers yet, the fact that the Metaverse OGs have now entered the arena should give hope to games like Cradles: Origin of Species that the fight for the future of Metaverse has only just begun.