These days, all the changes pushed by digital transformation that we encounter are still working in bits and pieces, and the real-world experience still needs to be sufficiently challenged by the digital experience all around us. Metaverse is the ‘Next’ of this digital transformation or an inevitable all-encompassing digital future shaped by several immersive technologies. The glimpses of the immersive experience created by a mobile game development company put into real-life contexts can give us some idea of the Metaverse.
Just when the parental company of Facebook was named Meta, people from everyday walks of life sensed a shift toward a broader and advancing transformation. It is already happening and will shape the mobile game development trends of the future. According to Statista, Metaverse’s market valuation by the end of this year is going to reach 47.48 billion U.S. dollars, and by 2030 it will be valued at more than 678.8 billion U.S. dollars. Here in this post, we will define, characterize and explore development opportunities around this new concept called Metaverse.
What is Metaverse?
Metaverse refers to an internet-supported 3D space allowing immersive interactions with computer-generated characters called avatars and other objects. For such immersive interactions in a virtual environment, Metaverse uses different online platforms, including social media, gaming apps, online education and training platforms, and decentralized transactions such as NFTs.
What are the Key Characteristics of Metaverse?
Metaverse offers you a virtual space with virtual characters allowing virtual interactions mirroring the real world. So, immersion and openness are the two characteristic attributes of Metaverse. Going deeper, we found the following core characteristics of Metaverse.
- Interoperability: The seamless transition from the real world to the virtual world and the opposite becomes only possible when all OS and application compatibility limitations are eradicated.
- Decentralization: To ensure seamless access to data and all interaction channels, decentralization of the data is important.
- Persistence: The digital avatars and interactions should constantly exist just like objects in the real world.
- Discoverability: All virtual assets should be discoverable and usable at all times.
- Addressing Privacy Concerns: Since in this virtual world, every user interacts freely, like in the real world, protecting privacy is always a key focus area.
Examples of Metaverse Serving Different User Contexts and Needs
Metaverse, as we have understood, refers to a virtual environment facilitating multifaceted digital interactions defying the real-world limitations of physical distance, time zones, compatibility, accessibility, etc.
This ability to defy limitations makes Metaverse so unique as a virtual reality that businesses can no longer refuse their digital footprints. On the other hand, individual users or customers also have the optimum freedom to create multiple personalities for different contexts and purposes.
What does this digitally fluid and immersive environment signify for addressing different purposes and contexts? Let’s explain with a few examples.
● Creating an NFT Marketplace powered by Metaverse
Non-fungible Tokens, or NFTs, are decentralized currencies used to preserve, store and make transactions of unique goods that cannot be replicated. Since NFTs are still popular among a small community of tech-savvy designers, creators, digital artists, game developers, digital object creators, etc., such a marketplace can interest more people by further exploring the virtual transaction possibilities. There can be a variety of NFT marketplaces for every blockchain network that supports NFTs.
● Shaping Immersive Gaming Experience with Metaverse
Shaping immersive gaming apps using Metaverse offers another great possibility for game developers and players. To be precise, game development has experienced the impact of immersive reality before other virtual experiments. Since Metaverse brings together all the different technologies to shape a fluid virtual world facilitating all sorts of interactions, the immersive gaming experience in the Metaverse gaming world will be stronger than ever.
● Virtual Real Estate Market Powered by Metaverse
Earlier, people used to dream of buying land on the moon someday. Now, they can buy land and properties of their dreams in the virtual world. In the virtual world of Metaverse, you can buy a plush workplace in Burj Khalifa and hold meetings with colleagues in that virtual skyscraper office. The immersive experience of the Metaverse will help you experience virtually everything you miss in the real world. So, you can purchase land of your choice in Metaverse and make a marketplace for these virtual properties.
How To Build a Metaverse?
Now that you have understood the underlying technologies that make Metaverse happen as an all-encompassing virtual reality mirroring the real-world environment around you, it is right to focus on our original question. How to build a Metaverse?
- As we have explained above, there are multiple use cases of Metaverse, and you need to choose the one that suits your interest and passion best. Here working on a unique and catchy idea is key to your success.
- The second most important thing is elaborating the core idea with an immersive virtual interface.
- It is always good to know that Metaverse works best with decentralized Smart Contract technology. So, you need to align the UI code with the smart operational contracts. Here it would help if you had Blockchain along with some conditional statements. All the conditions for the app should be articulated well in advance.
- For the storage system, you need to use IPFS or Interplanetary Filing System, which allows keeping content data in the thousands of peer-hold storage systems instead of a central server repository. Since the data can be accessed from multiple nodes, the Metaverse cannot slow down or become non-responsive.
- Now, you need to work a lot on core AI and VR features and functionalities to allow intuitive, automated, and smart interactions based on contexts and user needs.
- Finally, you need to test your Metaverse application rigorously. It is always advisable to release a beta version first, providing insights on user experience, user traction, market demands, key pain points, etc. After addressing these, you can release the final version.
Last Words
Metaverse is likely the ultimate frontier of digital transformation happening all around us for years. The entire human race is not prepared for Metaverse, but it brings such an irrefutable promise that we will eventually huddle together in this virtual world. The real world will still exist, but the Metaverse will make it more intelligent.
