Examples of the Metaverse
We are years away from seeing the metaverse in action. At least, that is what Meta (Facebook) says, who is already working on a virtual world where users will be able, among other things, to communicate with their friends or relatives in a way very similar to how they do it in reality. In any case, Meta has not invented the term metaverse either. The term metaverse comes from a virtual world where we can interact with other individuals, this concept has been present for years in the video game industry, although not exactly with that name. Fortnite Metaverse While the game is based on competing against dozens of players on a map until remaining the last one standing and winning the game, the game’s ecosystem became a huge platform where interacting with users through avatars. Fortnite makes it possible for players to customize their characters with ‘skins’ that have the possibility of being purchased in the in-game store. These are presented in the games, and other players can admire or even acquire them if they want to. It is also possible to chat with other players through voice chat or make moves that have the possibility of representing friendship. Users can even make their character dance. Habbo and Second Life are also metaverses. Habbo is another representation of the metaverse. This platform, created by the Finnish company Sulake, is very similar to the metaverse that Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, wants to build since this virtual world is a space where users can interact with each other through different virtual spaces. Curiously enough, Haboo (also called Habbo Hotel) offers the possibility of chatting with friends through chat rooms in the shape of hotel rooms. Habbo also has its virtual currency, the ‘Habbo Coins’, which can be exchanged for real money. Second Life metaverse Second Life is another huge example of a metaverse before Meta. This virtual platform, in particular, enables the relationship between users through avatars and different spaces known as viewers. The digital possessions of Second Life are a criterion very similar to that of the NFTs since they can only be used virtually. To trade an object on the platform, in addition, a virtual currency called the Linden dollar is required, which is only available in Second Life. NFTs and cryptocurrencies are important in the virtual world, and they come before Meta. Both NFTs and cryptocurrencies could also be considered part of the metaverse, and they also come before Meta. NFTs are digital possessions that the user can only interact with virtually, just like cryptocurrencies. Both assets, moreover, have different uses in virtual worlds. For example, it is possible to acquire an NFT of an object or add-on for a virtual game based on the metaverse, and proof of this is the yacht in the video game The Sandbox that was acquired for 149 Ethereums, about $650,0000 at approximately the exchange rate. They also called non-fungible tokens, in short, are digital possessions with which the customer can only interact virtually, just like cryptocurrencies. Of course, the metaverse that we could see in a few years will be much more advanced than that of Habbo or Second Life.
