I am now the ambassador of a city-state. No, not a real country like Singapore, but a metaverse game and virtual city-state built entirely on the blockchain: Cryptopia. 

As the recently appointed Cryptopia Ambassador for the Philippines, I represent our city-state to the outside world — in particular, the Filipino community. This is my role in the real world.

Within the metaverse, I have chosen to join the Traditional Faction, which, along with Tech, Eco, and Industrial, is one of the four Factions that have different views on how best to run a Cryptopian society.

Within Crytopia, you can choose to play for free as an adventurer, build your reputation, and earn digital assets by completing quests. Or you could buy NFTs (non-fungible tokens) from the start and build a business empire as a tycoon by claiming virtual land, profiting from its resources, and employing other players.

Also Read: “See you in the metaverse” – Yours, life

By being completely built on the blockchain, Cryptopia is not only a Web3 game but also, in a way, a model for the decentralised future of our real world.

Much ado about the metaverse

Cryptopia is part of the second generation of blockchain games, which are moving away from the old play-to-earn model that the meteoric rise of Axie Infinity made popular. It is also an example of a metaverse.

Yes, that much-hyped buzzword that Mark Zuckerberg is betting the future of his company on, to the point that he renamed Facebook, Inc. to Meta Platforms, Inc. in 2021.  

Yet what exactly is the metaverse?

Like “cyberspace”, which was first coined by the Father of Cyberpunk, William Gibson, in his 1982 short story “Burning Chrome” and later popularised in his 1984 debut novel “Neuromancer”, the term “metaverse” comes from science fiction.

It was Neal Stephenson who first coined “metaverse” in his 1992 science fiction novel “Snow Crash” to describe an immersive virtual realm that users accessed via VR goggles and explored through computer-generated avatars.

Since much of science fiction eventually turned into science fact, we are now living in a world where the metaverse is a reality. Just look at the recently concluded CES 2023 in Las Vegas, where both Web2 and Web3 companies presented their own visions for the metaverse.

“A common thread throughout CES was the creation of frictionless experiences that focus on what fans and communities really want. These experiences also need to be delightful – which will prove key to mainstream metaverse adoption.

“‘In the metaverse, we are all world builders, and we all have a chance to build,’ Hackl concluded. ‘At the end of the day, it’s about people.’”

To VR or not to VR

While Zuckerberg seems convinced VR is the way, different paths to the metaverse exist. And while a metaverse doesn’t necessarily have to be built on Web3 – in fact, many metaverses now are Web2 ones – I’m convinced that blockchain technology is what will lead to mainstream adoption of the metaverse.

First of all, Web3 games and NFTs (now called digital collectibles by mainstream brands such as Starbucks) have proven the allure of owning digital assets and having the ability to profit from them or gift them to others.

Also Read: 7 trends changing the reality of immersive gaming

Not only that, but blockchain and cryptocurrency can become the building blocks for DIDs (decentralised identifiers) that allow users to use one digital identity to log in to different sites and applications while protecting their privacy. Again, as part of the Web3 ethos of decentralisation.

The virtual and the real

Of course, I won’t deny the appeal of VR, which, after all, was part of the original meaning of the metaverse. In fact, I’m a big believer in VR. I was fortunate to have bought a PICO 4 VR headset during the holidays, which allowed me to watch the first VR concert of the K-pop girl group (G)I-DLE. This was streamed for free to PICO users in 10 countries, which happily included Malaysia, where I’m now based.

And if you think metaverse concerts are just a fad, think again. They are becoming so prevalent in video games such as Fortnite and PUBG Mobile that last year, the MTV Video Music Awards even added a new category for “Best Metaverse Performance“, which K-pop girl group BLACKPINK won.

The metaverse is expected to reshape society, including these five trends, in the next decade. Just as the internet created new ways to work and play, so too will the metaverse. And they won’t just be jobs involved in building the metaverse, but also jobs within the metaverse.

Apart from Cryptopia, examples of Web3 games that are creating new metaverse jobs are Ark of Dreams and GensoKishi Online. In Ark of Dreams, players can earn by performing tasks and even putting up their own businesses. Meanwhile, GensoKishi Online is bringing in big brands like Sanrio while also introducing a UGC (user-generated content)-a to-earn model that allows content creators to sell virtual items.

So don’t expect the metaverse to go away anytime soon. From the Seoul government opening up its metaverse project to the public to The Sandbox launching a Lunar New Year event in the metaverse to Lenovo introducing its Project Chronos motion-based system that might do away with VR headsets, the virtual will become increasingly part of our reality in 2023 and the years to come.

In the end, there won’t be one metaverse to rule them all. Perhaps a multiverse of metaverses, then?

–

Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic

Join our e27 Telegram group, FB community, or like the e27 Facebook page

Image credit: Lucrezia Carnelos on Unsplash

The post Giving a boost to business through finance automation appeared first on e27.

Source link