Nowadays, it’s not uncommon to hear and see the word “metaverse” get tossed around from one news article to the next, and while innovation and technology are working up to realize its true potential, there are many parts of the metaverse already present today. So, even if your close friends, family, and peers are making it seem like digital and actual realities will start merging into a convoluted multiverse like the one Dr. Strange is trying to protect, there are far more functional characteristics.
Of course, there’s no denying that this perspective on emerging technologies is paving the way for technological advancements, revolutionizing the digital finance industry, and creating numerous economic opportunities. But, today, we want to take a closer look at something more personal and dive deep into what you can do with the metaverse today and how exactly it can shape and change your lifestyle right now.
Virtual Reality Games And Applications Are Nothing New
Firstly, looking at the metaverse and its functions as a social platform and a means of entertainment, virtual reality and augmented reality games and applications have widely been available since the first-ever VR headset was released. And while its support and more recent changes make it a lot less clunky today, it’s still essentially the same thing as it was years ago, helping people interact, communicate, and play with each other from across the world.
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Connecting With People Through VRChat:
If you’ve ever come across a fun video of people talking and interacting in different character designs from famous cartoons, games, TV shows, and the like, then you’ve most probably seen VRChat at its finest. It’s a platform where users can generate and play different full-body avatars, exploring different user-generated worlds and content. At its core, VRChat is a fully-functional social virtual world, the same thing that the metaverse claims, where you’ll be holding meetings and contacting people from your couch.
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Embracing The Community Of Beat Saber:
On the more game-oriented and entertainment side of things, one virtual reality game that stands out is beat saber and its active community and developer team. It was initially released back in 2018 and continues to see updates and a healthy player base to this day. And while the concept of a virtual reality rhythm game about slicing blocks according to the beat may sound simple, it’s not that far-fetched to expect many similar genres to pop up when the metaverse is fully realized.
NFT-Based Trading Games And Virtual Real Estate
Secondly, if we take a different look into the metaverse, specifically concerning the economic aspect, monetization, business opportunities, and earning potential, many NFT-based trading games and virtual real estate exist today. So, while many metaverse speculations will tell you that we will all be walking in a digital world buying digital goods, people are earning money and buying digital assets as we speak.
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Axie Infinity’s Play-To-Earn Economy:
One of the most successful and currently popular NFT games today is Axie Infinity, featuring its play-to-earn economy that has people worldwide earning a modest income and supplementing their monthly earnings. It is built on the Ethereum blockchain and lets its nearly two million active players stake their tokens, battle in the arena, and breed their Axies to sell them for profit. So, if you’re looking for a fun little time sink that can teach you a thing or two about how the metaverse digital economy might operate, this game is worth picking up.
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Building A World In The Sandbox:
Another game that’s built on the Ethereum blockchain is The Sandbox, a virtual world that lets its users create, build, and monetize their very own gaming experiences. However, regardless of how enticing making your own games, letting others play, and selling them as NFTs on the marketplace sounds, it’s actually the digital real estate that is currently booming. In fact, someone actually spent half a million dollars to be Snoop Dogg’s neighbor in the hopes that it would be worth even more in the future. So, if you’re curious about how appreciation might work in the metaverse, this is the closest thing you can get.
But Will We See A Full-Fledge Metaverse Anytime Soon?
Although numerous groups of people are hopeful that we will see something more in-depth and expansive in the near future, innovation and development still have a lot on their plate to work through before we get anything conclusive. And while Meta is increasing their budget allocation for Metaverse-related projects, the rest of the world still has a lot of catching up to do since these past two years were far from being stable or easy.
The Metaverse Still Has A Long Way To Go.
Overall, you don’t have to worry about being disconnected from recent innovations because the metaverse still has a long way to go, and even if you indulge in some of the metaverse applications mentioned above, this will hardly have any immediate effect on your lifestyle. But, when the time does come, just don’t forget to spend some time in the real world like paying a visit to Banner Solutions for hardware on a renovation, meeting your friends in real life at the nearest Subway, or going out to breathe some fresh air.
