4 ms·

At the end of the day the "metaverse" will just be a bunch of servers that are keeping track of different application states that are sent to different VR clien

by proc0 4y ago

At the end of the day the "metaverse" will just be a bunch of servers that are keeping track of different application states that are sent to different VR clients. It's basically a VR MMO game (massive multiplayer online). It seems Meta did not see this connection well enough, considering John Carmack left with concerns, and he represents the pinnacle of this effort to take video games into a new domain. The Metaverse will have to leverage all the lessons from video games, or risk reinventing the wheel. On a side note, I'm surprised Epic and MS didn't contribute more to the actual metaverse, since they both have experience making games. I think Epic is probably in the best position to take this forward and Meta could follow (instead of the other way around).

lumost 4y ago
Why would anyone want to take this forward? It’s not a given the meta verse (whatever it was) is a thing people actually want. Mark could be excused for investing in a new platform as a long term hedge for FB - however we’re now seeing heavy competition from things that look nothing like the meta verse.
- krapp 4y ago
  >It’s not a given the meta verse (whatever it was) is a thing people actually want. It is, just not Facebook's brand of it. The metaverse people wanted was VR Chat, or something like it. Facebook wanted to make the Metaverse ubiquitous, tame and mundane, but VR's whole draw is escaping mundanity.
  - SturgeonsLaw 4y ago
    Yeah exactly, VR does have a certain draw, but who'd want to spend it in a sanitised, ad-filled, corporate shithole
- hn_throwaway_99 4y ago
  > Why would anyone want to take this forward? I think there is pretty good evidence that as a gaming platform, VR will do well. But I agree that Facebook's original vision that we'd all be sitting around with headsets on all day, working with remote coworkers in this legless dystopia, was dead on arrival and not anything people ever really wanted. I don't fault Zuckerberg too much for his original push into the Metaverse. He knew that large tech companies without a "platform" often struggle mightily in the long term - I'd argue that the 2 biggest tech giants that are struggling the most right now (Meta and Netflix in my opinion) are struggling precisely because they lack the "platform moat" that Google (Chrome and Android), Apple (iOS), Microsoft (Windows and Azure), and Amazon (FBA/FBM and AWS) all have. It just turned out, I think, that VR/AR was the wrong bet - I think generative AI will have a much larger direct impact, which is why you see so many companies now scrambling to put a stake in the ground in AI.
  - peanuty1 4y ago
    Meta actually announced legs are coming to avatars in their multiverse a few months ago. https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/11/meta-announces-legs/ https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/11/meta-announces-legs/
- proc0 4y ago
  It's been proven to work with MMOs. I think people do want rich 3d interactions with other people, it's just about execution and making a virtual world people want to be in. With gamers, that world can be low resolution and the interactions are mouse and keyboard, but in the end most gamers are in it for the social experience of playing with other people. VR can now allow everyone to be as immersed. We basically need a VR MMO that is designed for everyone to find something they find fun and entertaining while also doing it with hundreds or thousands of other people. In other words, an MMO game for non-gamers.
  - lumost 4y ago
    MMOs are a big genre, but they’ve been on the decline for the last 10 years or so. In the case of FB, the pertinent question is whether 1-3 billion people will spend >20 hours per week in a VR MMO. Anything less doesn’t justify the money spent.

by proc0 4y ago

lumost 4y ago

Why would anyone want to take this forward? It’s not a given the meta verse (whatever it was) is a thing people actually want. Mark could be excused for investing in a new platform as a long term hedge for FB - however we’re now seeing heavy competition from things that look nothing like the meta verse.

krapp 4y ago
>It’s not a given the meta verse (whatever it was) is a thing people actually want. It is, just not Facebook's brand of it. The metaverse people wanted was VR Chat, or something like it. Facebook wanted to make the Metaverse ubiquitous, tame and mundane, but VR's whole draw is escaping mundanity.
- SturgeonsLaw 4y ago
  Yeah exactly, VR does have a certain draw, but who'd want to spend it in a sanitised, ad-filled, corporate shithole
hn_throwaway_99 4y ago
> Why would anyone want to take this forward? I think there is pretty good evidence that as a gaming platform, VR will do well. But I agree that Facebook's original vision that we'd all be sitting around with headsets on all day, working with remote coworkers in this legless dystopia, was dead on arrival and not anything people ever really wanted. I don't fault Zuckerberg too much for his original push into the Metaverse. He knew that large tech companies without a "platform" often struggle mightily in the long term - I'd argue that the 2 biggest tech giants that are struggling the most right now (Meta and Netflix in my opinion) are struggling precisely because they lack the "platform moat" that Google (Chrome and Android), Apple (iOS), Microsoft (Windows and Azure), and Amazon (FBA/FBM and AWS) all have. It just turned out, I think, that VR/AR was the wrong bet - I think generative AI will have a much larger direct impact, which is why you see so many companies now scrambling to put a stake in the ground in AI.
- peanuty1 4y ago
  Meta actually announced legs are coming to avatars in their multiverse a few months ago. https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/11/meta-announces-legs/ https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/11/meta-announces-legs/
proc0 4y ago
It's been proven to work with MMOs. I think people do want rich 3d interactions with other people, it's just about execution and making a virtual world people want to be in. With gamers, that world can be low resolution and the interactions are mouse and keyboard, but in the end most gamers are in it for the social experience of playing with other people. VR can now allow everyone to be as immersed. We basically need a VR MMO that is designed for everyone to find something they find fun and entertaining while also doing it with hundreds or thousands of other people. In other words, an MMO game for non-gamers.
- lumost 4y ago
  MMOs are a big genre, but they’ve been on the decline for the last 10 years or so. In the case of FB, the pertinent question is whether 1-3 billion people will spend >20 hours per week in a VR MMO. Anything less doesn’t justify the money spent.