Metaverse Alchemy | Interview with CEO of the Three-Body Universe: The three-body has the possibility of forming an independent metaverse

【Editor's Note】 Metaverse, the English name Metavrese, which originated from the concept of "Avalanche" in science fiction primary schools, shines in 2021: from NVIDIA's Lao Huang to Facebook's Xiaoza, to the domestic Baidu, NetEase, Tencent, Internet giants have laid out places. The first year of the metacosm?

Through interviews with industry experts, practitioners and analysts, the surging news reporter analyzed the "past and present lives" of the meta-universe, and first explored the meta-universe industrial chain and investment opportunities that Xiao he only revealed.

"There are two paths ahead of humanity. One is outward, leading to the sea of stars; the other is inward, leading to virtual reality. ”

As early as many years ago, science fiction writer Liu Cixin had already conceived of a "metaverse" world in his science fiction works. When the concept of meta-universe suddenly ignited the capital market this year, people naturally shifted their attention to China's largest science fiction IP "Three-Body Problem" in his pen.

Behind this well-known science fiction IP, there is a twisty and bizarre story like a "dark forest". In 2019, Lynch, CEO of Youzu Network, who has the right to complete the ip adaptation of "Three-Body", died unexpectedly, and under the attention of the outside world, Zhao Jilong, former vice president of the international business department, took over the position of CEO.

The surging news reporter learned that within the company, Zhao Jilong's code name is "Beihai", which is because his favorite "Three-Body" character is Zhang Beihai: "Zhang Beihai is characterized by being good at thinking, and finally made some important decisions, leaving hope for human civilization." ”

"What happened to the whole company was very sudden, and there was still some pressure when I took over." Talking about the feelings of being the CEO of the three-body universe, Zhao Jilong frankly said, "'Three-body' is Lynch's wish, but also the wish of our entire team, and we all hope to be able to do this IP well." ”

It is worth noting that in the meta-universe product "Xilang" launched by Baidu, you can visit the classic scenes and models of the three-body, and you can also look up at the space fleet shuttling overhead. Zhao Jilong revealed that the future will have a deeper combination with the concept of metacosmology. "We hope that there will be a three-body interface in the multiverse, and Baidu is just one of the collaborations currently launched."

The concept of metacosmity has become popular, how will it empower the development and operation of the "Three-Body" IP? And what kind of vitality will be injected into this "wandering" China's largest IP for a long time? Recently, the surging news reporter exclusively interviewed Zhao Jilong.

The following is the transcript of the dialogue:

The Paper: In the wave of metaversals at the end of this year, what are the deep-seated reasons behind it?

Zhao Jilong: In the science fiction and IP industry, in fact, the metacosm is not a particularly novel concept. The concept of metaverse, first coined by American science fiction writer Neil Stevenson in his 1992 novel Avalanche, understands a virtual space in which people can enjoy virtual immersive experiences, purchase digital goods, and interact with avatars.

Such a parallel virtual world has been interpreted a lot in science fiction literature and science fiction films and television, and the familiar "Avatar", "Ready Player One" and "Out of Control Player" are all manifestations of the filmization of the meta-universe.

In fact, the concept of the metaverse has been around for me for several years. It turns out that in my understanding, the metacosm is a virtual spiritual gathering place of a cultural group, and in the past, Baidu Tieba and QQ community were actually the prototypes of metacosmic products.

This year is called the first year of the development of the metaverse, and I think the deep-seated reasons for the popularity of the metaverse mainly include three points, one of which is the entrance to the metaverse: the rapid development of VR and other interactive interfaces, giving people a more pure virtual experience.

The second is the improvement of basic networks and computing power, and the enrichment of scientific and technological infrastructure such as 5G and cloud computing, which makes the data exchange into the virtual world cheaper and has also contributed to the development of the meta-universe industry.

The third is influenced by a more free and decentralized technology and humanistic trend with blockchain technology as the core, and blockchain and digital currency are equivalent to equivalent exchanges in the metaverse world, so that people can find spiritual sustenance in the physical space of the metacosm.

The Paper: We all know that the metacosm is a concept that originated from science fiction, as the most famous science fiction writer in China, there are many rumors on the Internet that "Liu Cixin is angry at the metacosm", do you know Liu Cixin's true view of the metacosm?

Zhao Jilong: I have communicated with Liu Cixin himself, he has never expressed such an idea, whether it is public or private, maybe some media have made some refinements of his writing style when reprinting, and some of the statements in his works have been transformed into public statements, which may not be very accurate.

My understanding is that he has not publicly expressed any opinions, but in his works he will talk about some hope for human development, and he will also make some predictions about the future development of mankind. I think the reason why Da Liu will be summarized by the media as "angry meta-universe" is because he was deeply influenced by the science fiction works of the Golden Age. He prefers humanity to explore space civilizations rather than virtual worlds.

The Paper: Do you think the concept of metacosmology is reflected in "The Three-Body Problem", and in what ways?

Zhao Jilong: I think the three-body belongs to the broad concept of the metacosm. In the three-body world, there is a three-body civilization that is reborn from the fire and will invade the earth in a hundred years, and human beings explore new ways of survival in outer space through long-distance voyages, and the three-body has become a virtual spiritual territory in the hearts of fans and users, so it is a broad meta-universe world.

Why are the three-body able to form a separate metacosm? Because the description and details of the three-body itself have the prototype of the metaverse, it itself exists as part of the metaverse form.

In my opinion, the metacosm may be a multi-dimensional common development in the early stage, whether it is An Internet company, a technology company or an IP practitioner, will put forward its own metacosmonic concept. Each independent metaverse has its own unique setting and narrative, and I think the three-body has the possibility of forming an independent metaverse.

Specifically, I think there will be interfaces to the three-body metaverse in multidimensional metaversms. In terms of content, there may be content related to the three-body in different metaversms, such as the story of the three-body itself, the world view, and the classic scenes and characters.

The second is the combination of consumption scenarios, in the diversified metaverse, you can buy consumer goods in "Three-Body", such as "Green Storm" drinks and so on. Third, in the early metaverse products, the social scene in the "three-body metacosm" can be introduced. In our existing communities, book and film fans who have been identified as fans and gay relationships can find their own organizations in different metaverse scenarios.

In my opinion, the main combination is the combination of content, consumption scenarios and social relationships.

The Paper: How to look at this meta-universe boom at the end of this year, in addition to the Internet giants, many small and medium-sized companies, independent entrepreneurs have also joined the "meta-universe entrepreneurship", are you optimistic about this boom?

Zhao Jilong: I think this just shows that the concept of metaversity has been developing in the Internet for a long time. VR, AR, cloud computing, virtual digital people and other technologies, in fact, the major Internet companies have been accumulating, so the development of up to now, I think it is very logical.

The concept of a metacosm can be a spiritual resonance for large corporations. In the multidimensional metaverse I just mentioned, each company has a different way of cutting in and from an angle. In my mind, the metacosm is a disruptive industry, defining a new logic of socialization, content distribution, and consumption in a new virtual world, and it will be a very big track.

Of course, this has also attracted many small and medium-sized investors and entrepreneurs to pour into this track, is this a state of long-term development? I think there will definitely be problems behind it, but it must be a good thing that more people are involved.

As an emerging industry, government supervision and self-regulation are definitely needed in the early stage of development, and the biggest problem behind this is the problem of technology and logic. For the metaverse, if the metaverse really becomes a successful product, it means that as a person, a large amount of time in a day must live in the virtual world, in this virtual world will form a new identity belonging to the individual, this identity and the real world, will bring privacy, the right to security, personal rights, etc., all need to be respected and understood, the entire community managers need to set the relevant rules.

The Paper: What stages do you think the metacosm needs to go through in the process of moving towards the industrialization of production?

Zhao Jilong: I think it takes a long time to accumulate and develop, and eventually there will be integration and mergers like the Internet industry.

Specifically, in the process of the development and growth of the metaverse, it also needs four levels of accumulation. First of all, the bottom layer is the continuous growth and enrichment of technology, as an entrance, it can bring users more and better virtual experiences. The second is the gradual enrichment of content supply, whether it is entertainment, consumption or social networking, it needs a large number of content providers to bloom, and such content providers are still very scarce.

The third is the user's mind, and everyone's acceptance of the virtual world should be improved. Finally, it is necessary to form a unified virtual space, with real social interaction and consumption, and everyone really has an experience, which will continue to develop and form an industry.

I am very much looking forward to the emergence of a unified meta-universe world. Just like in real life we have ID cards and passports that can be flown unimpeded around the world. I expect that in the world of the metaverse, everyone can also have their own "pass", and at the same time, this world is freer and more open than today's Internet world, providing more open scenes and possibilities.