DEFINITION August 2022 - Web

INDUSTRY. METAVERSE ROUND TABLE

real human interactivity at our metaverse installations. Our recent movie premiere, for example, wasn’t like watching a movie on a streaming service, which is an entirely passive experience. It was far more akin to visiting a real movie theatre, with conversations going on in the lobby beforehand. We were all there, through our avatars. How close are we to a realised metaverse? What is still needed? JAMIE ALLAN: We already have the capabilities to build complex, shared virtual worlds in which we create content. But for consumers to access fully immersive virtual worlds, we still require advancements on the technology side. Networks and compute capacities need to be improved, to handle the processing and delivery of the experience. Also, creators and platforms need to open

up to more interoperability between the emerging leaders, who will provide frameworks for consumer digital worlds. That being said, we are already seeing glimpses of what will become the norm for multiplatform delivery of content and different experiences using the same IP – albeit still within a single virtual space. ROAZZI-LAFORET: There are a lot of micro developments happening in the technology that is taking us there. For example, metaverses are just beginning to build physics engines into their platforms, which will make it all look and feel more real. Applications are also being built which will bring IRL functionality, like banking and shopping, into metaverse platforms. It will take time, but not as much as we think. NOBLE: There are still questions to be asked around the delivery. Speaking from the perspective of the technology to power creation, there were two key aspects that had been holding its arrival back for a while. Firstly, the processing power and graphics technology required to not only enable the creation of digital worlds, but enhance the quality of the

DAVID LEVY: Increased immersion will naturally be more impactful on consumers, and create higher yields of lasting influence on an individual’s behaviour and decision making. For many, the experience might conjure images from Ready Player One , where individuals need headsets, haptic jumpsuits and a funky treadmill – but I don’t think this would lead to the adoption companies like Meta hope for. The need for expensive, complicated hardware will mean only small numbers of consumers can access the full experience the metaverse has to offer. Initially, a lot of content will still be consumed on personal devices and home entertainment systems. ALANNA ROAZZI-LAFORET: At Decrypt Studios, what we have been most pleasantly surprised to see is all the

“The need for expensive, complicated hardware will mean only a small number of consumers can access the full experience the metaverse has to offer”

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