We will not quite return to how things were before. Social interactions don't feel safe in the physical world: social distancing is the norm; the current troubled times we live in exacerbate the vital need for a safe social app: even the World Health Organisation now recommends to "play online games to maintain a safe social link". We all need human contact, and we are too scared to get it in real life. More than ever, we need to be able to meet people digitally, as real-life encounters are unsafe in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Even when the lock-down measures are lifted, we will stay cautious of social interaction in the real world: we will think twice before shaking hands or hugging people.
I always wondered how humans would communicate remotely in the future. Everyone uses social media platforms today, but they are very limited: all you can do is share images and text. Wouldn't you like to be able to talk to your loved ones face to face in virtual reality, instead of just exchanging text messages, to feel connected? Ever since reading "Ready Player One", I have been wanting to create my own "Oasis". This is what I am trying to achieve with Atom Universe.
Steven Spielberg's movie adaption of Ready Player One
Charlie Fink and Neal Stevenson call it the Metaverse. I think we are now witnessing its Genesis: why do you think Mark Zuckerberg bought Oculus? The next level of social media is an immersive experience where you can see your friends in front of you, as you interact with them in a virtual environment, through you Virtual Reality (VR) headset. Follow closely what becomes of Facebook's Horizon: "a VR world where users will be able to establish a presence, and connect with others virtually." I suspect they are trying to build their own Metaverse.
Mark Zuckerberg announced Facebook Horizons last year
You can even play virtual worlds on mobile phones these days: the success of social apps like Avakin Life or Club Cooee prove that the social, casual nature of a virtual world lends itself perfectly to the pace of mobile usage: frequent but short bursts of gameplay.
Avatars dance and chat in Avakin Life
There used to be a negative connotation in the heydays of Second Life, when in the early 00s a lot of people would be quite judgemental of virtual worlds fans: isn't it sad to spend so much time immersed in a virtual reality rather than in the real world? Unhealthy even? There was a stigma attached to virtual worlds. Linden Lab shut down its VR virtual world Sansar. Sony abruptly terminated its own virtual wold, PlayStation Home, though it was hugely popular and beautifully executed.
PlayStation Home: ahead of its time?
But the world has changed. The global pandemic only made more obvious what I have been believing since I started working on PlayStation Home content, and then when building Atom Universe: people need a safe digital experience for human interactions, to make up for the impossibility to get these human interaction in real life.
Users dress up, play, chat, dance and make friends in Atom Universe
Finally people will see that VR not as an isolating experience but on the contrary, as a social experience, where you can see your interlocutor, and look into their eyes as you dialogue with them.
Long live the Metaverse!
Bibliograhy:
Ready Player One
Snow Crash
Charlie Fink's Metaverse
