Reporting by XinZhiyuan
Edit: Peaches Small salted fish
Meta officially took the first step to make the metaverse a reality, the first virtual world platform Horizon Worlds debuted, supporting up to 20 people online at the same time, but was complained by netizens that it was a copycat version of "Minecraft".
Want to go to a Jay Chou concert?
Or go to the Metaverse and listen!
Recently, a video of watching Jay Chou sing "can't open his mouth" "live" in the sandbox of the meta-universe platform (Sandbox) has aroused heated discussion among netizens.
On the stage, Zhou Dong was playing a glowing piano, singing while playing.
Offstage, countless fans waved glow sticks neatly to the rhythm, and loud cheers could be heard on the spot.
Although the appearance of the people here is quite rough, don't say, there is really a concert flavor!
Some commentators felt that the set of this concert was quite advanced, and also integrated the elements of Zhou Dong's "Ferris Wheel".
There is even news that the video was liked and forwarded by the founders of Sandbox!
Sandbox is one of several "virtual world" sites currently online where people can socialize, play games and even attend concerts.
Just this week, New York-based Recycl realm announced that it had once set a record for a record $4.3 million in Sandbox.
Since Facebook changed its name to Meta and officially entered the metaverse, the popularity of the term "metaverse" has not diminished.
Over the past week, four of the largest sites in the metaverse space, Sandbox, Decentraland, CryptoVoxels and Somnium Space, have sold more than $100 million worth of land, according to data site Dapp.
The recent virtual music festival in Decentraland also attracted nearly 50,000 visitors.
Even luxury brands have begun to enter the metacosm.
Of course, as the pioneer of the "metaverse", Meta is naturally not willing to be taken over.
On Friday, Meta opened its virtual world platform Horizon Worlds, officially taking the first step toward making the metaverse a reality.
Users can experience it directly for free, without invitation.
However, horizon Worlds support is currently available in North America, and users need to use the Oculus Quest 2 headset to create characters.
Meta open metaverse
Horizon Worlds released an internal beta in September 2019, with thousands of testers hosting regular comedy shows, movie nights, and meditation classes on the platform, as well as virtual items such as replicas of Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters.
But the effect is similar to a copycat version of a sandbox game like Minecraft.
Now it's evolved into a scalable multiplayer VR social platform that blends Roblox with the OASIS VR world of Ready Player One.
Users need a Facebook account to log in and can play online with up to 20 people at the same time.
When you enter Horizon Worlds, you need to create a 3D avatar. Interestingly, this avatar has only an upper body and no legs.
You'll then enter a custom world where you can build custom worlds and games.
Meta, for example, is launching Arena Clash, a team-based 3v3 laser tag game.
In addition, there are Wand & Broom's urban adventure games, Pixel Plummet arcade-style battle royale games, and Mark's Riverboat's virtual yacht game.
Horizon Vice President Vivek Sharma said the key to Horizon Worlds is the ability to write basic code that determines the form of an object's action, such as shooting when the user presses the trigger, or bouncing when the ball touches a surface.
Meta calls code script blocks, and it runs like layer overlays in Photoshop, creating complex interactions by linking different rules together.
In the future, Meta will release a free script library.
However, while horizon Worlds' trailer looks glossy, the gameplay inside may be a little childish in terms of current completion.
Some comments on Reddit also point out that Horizon Worlds is not yet satisfactory in terms of the professionalism of the "virtual world" construction.
As a result, Meta introduced a $10 million creator fund in October, hoping that some experienced builders would create immersive experiences for this "metaverse."
However, there are always netizens who say "pierce the heart": "Without Quest 2, isn't it impossible to experience anything?"
GATES: Within 3 years, virtual meetings have moved to the metacosm
Recently, Bill Gates predicted in a year-end letter that the rise of the metacosm will dramatically change the future of work.
Gates notes:
The Covid-19 pandemic has revolutionized the workplace, with more companies than ever before offering flexibility to employees looking to telecommute. These changes will only intensify in the coming years. Telecommuting will only pull more people into the metacosm.
In the next two or three years, he predicts that most virtual meetings will move from 2D images to metacosm, a 3D space with avatars.
Gates likens two-dimensional images to the game show Hollywood Squares. This is the form currently offered by most video conferencing platforms such as Zoom or Microsoft's Teams.
In the metaverse, people will have their own 3D avatars, so that they can attend meetings in virtual office spaces or other destinations, and interact with the avatars of their colleagues.
The end effect Gates wants to achieve is that people can use avatars to meet people in a virtual space that can very realistically simulate the feeling of talking in a real room.
However, Gates pointed out that users must wear VR/XR helmets or glasses to do this.
At the same time, in order to be able to accurately capture expressions, body language, and sound quality, people need expensive technology equipment, such as VR headsets, and even motion-capture gloves.
Gates also mentioned that Microsoft is working on adding 3D avatars and other metaversmic elements to its office software Teams.
Microsoft CEO Nadella also shared the experience scene in the mixed reality conference platform Mesh, where people can meet and interact through avatars, and can also share Office files.
Last month, Microsoft also announced a partnership with Meta to make its Workplace enterprise social networking software compatible with Teams.
Netizen: matrix, step by step
For the opening of Meta's first metaverse platform, some netizens said, "Matrix, step by step."
Some netizens said, "upgraded version of the game", "3D version of the QQ show".
Some netizens expressed puzzlement about the virtual person who only has half a body.
What are your thoughts on the opening of horizon Worlds virtual world platform?
Resources:
https://www.gatesnotes.com/About-Bill-Gates/Year-in-Review-2021
https://thenextweb.com/news/horizon-worlds-minecraft-release-analysis
https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/9/22825139/meta-horizon-worlds-access-open-metaverse
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02kCEurWkqU