The Metaverse is coming!
Since Facebook’s (now named Meta) presentation of Mark Zuckerberg’s future vision of social media, the hype around the Metaverse and what it is has grown bigger and bigger.
To be honest the future of social media has been announced a couple of times before, even years ago, when Second Life was a thing but didn’t really become the new standard for social interaction online. And we’re not talking 2-3 years we’re talking over a decade ago.
So what’s all the hype now in 2022? Well, things have changed a bit. Technology advanced, devices got cheaper. And some players are 100% determined to invest in this new, more physical future of social media.
Actually, it goes beyond social media. At least according to the latest presentations of Meta, Nvidia, and Microsoft. It will be a hub of all your online activity, whether it’s for fun or for work. Some are predicting that meetings will be held in VR from now on.
When we put the obvious applications like medical, architectural, and of course gaming aside…what is the reason for all these players to bet big on the Metaverse right now?
I mean at least in Facebook’s (umm sorry…in Meta’s) case it’s obvious that they see a chance to break into the hardware-based ecosystem of Android (Google) and iOS (Apple). With the acquisition of Oculus and subsidized units for as cheap as $300 (Oculus Quest 2), Meta is flooding the market with devices to access this brave new world.
Needless to say, you need a Facebook account to access the Metaverse through their device.
But all that being said …as a Motion Designer, one question inevitably comes to mind. Does all this hold an opportunity for us to utilize our skillset and find new work? Grow our business and our personal brand?
I believe that the demand for audiovisual content will explode in the Metaverse. And if you have 3D skills on top this is probably going to be the golden age for content creators, 2D and 3D alike.
A VR world that heavily depends on visual content will bring endless opportunities to creators who can create such assets.
Don’t get me wrong, there are still many things that are uncertain. Will the users really sit there all day with these VR goggles on? Will the creators actually start creating in VR or actually keep creating the ‘traditional’ way?
As much as I welcome this new opportunity, I have to admit I’m not 100% sold on this new concept of Web 3.0. Remember how TVs came with these 3D glasses a couple of years ago, when everybody was hyping that 3D viewing experience in the movies and at home? Well after Avatar not much has happened on that end and those 3D glasses I used exactly once and never put them on again.
People just don’t like to put things on their face/head when they actually want to enjoy casual content. Pulling out your smartphone to check Facebook (okay TikTok) is one thing. But putting on a VR headset to dive into the next iteration of social media is a whole different threshold. The question is if that will also generate the momentum needed for the masses to actually get things moving.
My conclusion so far is this: I believe the Metaverse will come. Some say it’s already here. But time will tell if the masses will really adapt to this vision of ‘the new web’. Either way, as a content creator and 3D artist I’m ready to dive into it and see what opportunities it holds for us.
