Let us try to understand why VR/AR has become so popular and why Facebook and other giant tech companies poured billions of dollars into the Metaverse. What suddenly became clear to the industry that was not clear with MMORPGs and all the available gaming?
Indeed, advances in technology, computing, graphics, and clouds have played a considerable part. AI has come out of its infancy, and combining AI with VR will be a challenge discussed in other posts.
Surprisingly, the primary reason for RPGs and the Metaverse to break into the mainstream has nothing to do with technology - and everything to do with psychology. Covid-19 and the era of an actual pandemic were upon us.
Social contact for millions was cut, having long-lasting psychological effects on entire populations. In simple terms, physical human contact disappeared.
Suddenly there was a rush on VR. It came to the ludicrous point where Linden Lab, owner of Second Life, ran out of virtual land. For over eight months, they had nothing to sell. It shows how swiftly people gravitated to VR without delving into that disaster.
Why? In VR, you can interact with other humans, not just through a Zoom face-to-face but also in a social environment. People can travel, go shopping, buy clothing, homes, and land - you name it, a designer or creator is making that virtual product. Programmers could create better experiences for the users.
So, though cut off from human contact, many still had the socializing aspect - ‘Social Interaction Without The Dangers.’ This is critical to understanding what happens afterward.
The woman in the attached image has just walked out of the NYC Subway, going shopping. She may be an Avatar in a VR, but she can walk down the subway steps, get on a subway and travel around. She can go store to store, buying anything from hair down to shoes. She can purchase a new Avatar body, head, and makeup. Then back to the Subway to travel to the next stop or teleport out.
You are limited, of course, by how much real money you can afford to change into virtual currency. But once you are “immersed” in the VR, one develops a whole new identity. Friends are made. Relationships begin. Love is sparked. (More on this aspect in another post.)
In VR, you live out a dream which you may not know you had.
VR, especially the RPG aspects, where you can create and do business and take part and socialize, became an answer for many in the era of Social Distancing.
And once those who were in lockdown discovered the positive aspects of VR, VR/AR exploded on the scene.
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About the Author:
Ted Gross is Co-Founder & CEO of “If-What-If.” Ted served as a CTO & VP of R&D for many years with expertise in database technology concentrating on NoSQL systems, NodeJS, MongoDB, Encryption, AI, Disruption, Chaos & Complexity Theory, and Singularity events. He has over 15 years of expertise in Virtual World Technologies & 6 years in Augmented Reality. Ted continues to write many articles on technological topics in professional academic journals and online.