You cannot escape the metaverse. You will be assimilated to the collective machine, or at least a good portion of your target market may. It’s expanding, and with the advent of virtual reality tech, it’s only going to become more in your face, in more ways than one.
Facebook changed its name to Meta. The Metaverse crypto exploded to new highs during the last rush. Celebrities like Snoop Dogg and brands such as Gucci and Nike planted their flags in this emerging industry.
Now I bet you’re wondering how you can use this to your benefit. Using a Microsoft Excel sheet, I developed a rubric, which I use to judge the different metaverse worlds I explore. Today I’m giving you the guidelines from this tool so you can determine which platforms would be excellent for your business or creative projects. If you have any ideas to add to the list, let me know in the comments below.
At the time of this writing, I’ve explored Decentraland, The Sandbox, Spatial, Roblox, Second Life, Monaverse, Somnium Space, Voxels, Microsoft’s AltspaceVR, and VRChat. I still want to explore the Otherside once it comes out, Dreams (if I ever get my hands on someone’s Sony PlayStation), Facebook’s Horizon Worlds, Victoria VR, Wilder World, Solice, Netvrk, and Metahattan when it’s released. I may write separate posts which review different worlds in the future.
Top: Sotheby’s. | Left to Right: A wedding venue in Decentraland (145, -120); Coffee Bar by M2 Studios in Spatial; and an accountant’s building in Decentraland (-116, -67).
Metaverse Platform Rubric
1a. Ability for Words to Pop Up When You Reach a Specific Spot
Whether it’s a warm welcome, an announcement for an event, a promotion for a business, or a way of initiating and continuing a storyline for your immersive experience, this ability is something I am keen on the platform having. Any creatives should look for this capability.
Conversations with NPC’s
Left to Right: Conversation (text) about art with an NPC in Decentraland (0, 1); Conversation (text) about Samsung with an NPC in Decentraland (103, 77).
Non-player characters (NPC’s) standing or walking around are ideal to enliven a scene and they can add to the fun of the experience. The ability to program them to chat how you want allows another way of engaging your audience, whether the character is giving more information about the services or products you offer, sharing what inspired your art in the virtual gallery being visited, or advancing the storyline in a themed game or interactive tale.
2. Can You Place Text In?
Don’t miss this simple requirement to convey information in a straightforward manner! If direct text is not enabled, but you can still place in images with text, then that works as a substitute.
3. Can You Create Web Links to Direct Users to Them?
You want to place in direct links back to your website to make sales or share your Web 2.0 content. For example, Decentraland comes with some ready-made link buttons, including ones for social media.
4. Place Images
Besides using the platform’s native builder and default objects, look for metaverse worlds that allow you to use your own images in them.
5. Place Videos
The more media options are allowed, the better. Videos are another way to have your location be a hub of your featured content.
6. Can You Give Out Private Invites?
An exclusivity option is important if you are doing paid events, you have a community to whom you want to offer special privileges, or if you want a private hangout with your friends or family.
7. Sell NFTs
This is referring to NFTs for art, wearables, access passes to digital or real life events, games, content, or perks, NFTs as metaverse objects, and there are probably more types of NFTs that can be sold on a metaverse platform as well. The art NFTs tend to be clickable, leading you right to the marketplace. A popular NFT marketplace is Opensea.
Research to see which metaverse worlds include marketplaces on their websites which facilitate creating, buying, and selling NFTs or anything else, if that is what you’re interested in. If you have a brand you want to market, then virtual clothes, accessories, knickknacks, etc. can bring awareness. (Metaverse land NFTs are mentioned later in this list.)
8. Stream Background Music
Whether it’s to add a calming song for a meditative ambience, to cheer up your customer, or throw a party blasting dance music, this is a fantastic touch to a scene. It does not have to be a song; perhaps you want birds chirping or the busy sound of a city. Some platforms have a library of looping sounds or musical stations to choose from.
You can even hire a DJ to play music at a live event. For example, MetaDJ is someone I met who has DJ’d in Decentraland. Don’t forget to wave hi to MetaRuth, who is dancing behind the robot’s arm!
9. Graphics Quality – PC (Grade as 1 to 10)
How nice are the graphics in general? Don’t forget that there may be a discrepancy in quality based on the type of computer you’re using versus another.
Within the world, the graphics or structural quality can sometimes depend on the polygon limit, the designer’s skills or artistic preferences, and the engine being used. For instance, I roamed through a mesmerizing, meditative scene in AltSpaceVR that was much more realistic and complex than other cartoonish scenes and objects I saw in different locations on that same platform.
Keep in mind that judging the graphics is more subjective since different people like different styles. Various world styles:
🌎 Realistic
🌎 Surreal
🌎 Cartoon
🌎 Having Lego-like voxels
🌎 Pixelated
🌎 2D
🌎 Artsy, fantasy, or sci-fi
🌎 Industrial, suburban, or rural themed
🌎 More for:
🔹Gaming 🔹Exploring 🔹Role-playing 🔹Making friends 🔹Networking 🔹Business 🔹Mental health 🔹Selling or exhibiting art 🔹Shopping 🔹Music 🔹Immersive Entertainment
10. Graphics Quality – VR (Grade as 1 to 10)
In general, I feel that the metaverse scenes posted as images are not as good as viewing them live on the computer. I have not explored these metaverse worlds in VR as of now, but I’m leaving this guideline as an option to use for judging platforms within XR immersion.
11. Your Max Land Plot Size
How much space do you get for controlling one piece of land?
12. Total Metaverse Platform’s Land Size
Is this a small, medium, large, or infinite metaverse realm?
13. Can You Own Your Land?
Are you required to pay to own your land or is it free? Is it decentralized or centralized? Is it easy to buy and sell your digital real estate?
14. How Much Freedom Do You Have to Design Your Land?
How much freedom do you have in designing the scenery, objects, and structures on your plot of land? Is animation allowed? Portals? Gaming? NPC’s? Are there graphic limits or any other caps on anything you create?
15. Can You Rent Your Land?
Selling your land is one way to make extra cash, but renting your land is a way to make passive income. Ryan Guthrie from the NFT project Faded Feline Degen Club informed me that there are websites that facilitate the renting process for some metaverse platforms.
16. Can You Be Paid to Advertise?
As long as there are no rules against it and the platform allows the ability to place text, images, or links, I assume this could be arranged with or without a third-party.
17A. Ease of Design Software
I’m not focusing on hardcore coding for this section, but the no-code software builders that come with platforms. If you start using one, give it a few days to get used to it, discover tricks, workarounds, and pass the steeper part of the learning curve instead of giving up after one attempt. Get help from others, YouTube videos, or hire a freelancer.
17B. Ease of Use for Users
Is the platform easy for people to use? Is customization for avatars smooth and simple? If applicable, is there a library of free or paid items they can use in the metaverse world, like wearables, homes, objects, etc.? If they have the ability to build or design themselves, is it quick or hard to learn?
18. Land Price Level
If it’s not free, find out the renting or sale price and see what’s in your budget. You may require more than one parcel of land for what you need to build, which are sometimes called estates.
19. Users Per Month Amount
Keep in mind the popularity, the in-platform organic traffic potential, and learn about the core community and how passionate people are about the specific world. Leading visitors to your virtual land location through your social media, website, or advertisements can be a fantastic traffic source since they can get a direct a link or (x,y) coordinates to your place.
20. Are the Demographics of Users the Right Audience?
Keep in mind the demographics of your audience, especially if you are niching down. Roblox appears to attract one of the youngest crowds. The more gamified platforms may attract male gamer audiences more. Keep in mind doing razor-sharp market research (aff.) and then see what matches best for you.
21. Make a Game on It?
What type of themed game could supplement your business, teachings, art, book, NFT project, or paid community in an intriguing way? But what if it’s too pricey to have developers build one for you from scratch? I’m happy to say that you have the option to avoid building your own metaverse if you have land within a platform that is already built. Plus, the traction from a more popular one could help increase traffic to your virtual venue.
A metaverse game can get people to return to your location more often, engage them with what you’re offering, or associate entertainment with your brand. You could also give away prizes, rewards, or coupons to people who play your game. Prizes are great incentives and fun to give to a community you enjoy. The games do not have to all be super complicated either.
22. Make an Event on It?
Take a social audio party to the next step – the third step – the Web 3.0 step. Hold metaverse events. Come up with fun ideas. You can host a dance party and hire a singer or DJ. It could be for networking, showcasing your art or products, holding a convention or a street festival with links to purchase items, a presentation, a demonstration, a game, or more.
23. Can Use With a PC?
This is critical since not everyone has a VR headset, and we want the least friction possible for your target audience to visit your worlds.
24. Can Use With VR?
It’s important to know how immersed one can be in the platform; it’s predicted that more and more people will have VR headsets in the future. Another thing to keep in mind is which platforms currently do not offer VR, but have the plans to make it VR enabled in the future.
25. Can You Word Chat?
Communication with others should be enabled and easy, for the social aspect is crucial for connecting, building a community, networking, and enjoyment. How advanced is the word chat? Does it allow both a main chat and private chats?
I’m even going so far as to check if the platform allows social media-like posts and profiles. Are there forums as well?
26. Can You Voice Chat?
Does it allow both a main audio chat and a private audio chat? Is there spatial audio, meaning that you only hear people nearby (except for someone with a microphone on a stage)? Does it allow the host the ability to mute people if needed?
27A. Fun Level
This is more subjective, because it’s judging the overall fun in the metaverse world people feel and people’s preferences differ. Remember, if it’s a gigantic world or metaverse universe, then you may not have been there long enough to see everything it has to offer.
Some things that can increase people’s enjoyment:
- Games
- Prizes to win or freebies
- Chatting
- Videos
- Special experiences
- Exclusive parties
- Simulations
- Events in general
- Gambling
- Shopping
- Sneak peek presentations
- Amazing architecture and scenery
- Dating
- A fun and friendly community
- Concerts
- Building
- Exploring
- Discovering one’s favorite brands in a new way
- May become popular in the future: ordering something that then gets delivered to your home in real life, like pizza (Credit: Robert Scoble and Will Burns)
- More (feel free to comment on anything I missed!!)
27B. How Dynamic Is It?
I also give credit to Will Burns for this one. He is known as defining the modern metaverse and is a synthetic environment subject matter expert with 20+ years of experience related to research, marketing, design, and implementing synthetic immersive environments. He sometimes hosts a Twitter Space called Fast Forward, which is about the future of the metaverse, technology, and people.
This category coincides with #14 on this list (How Much Freedom Do You Have to Design Your Land?). Here I’m putting extra emphasis on the ability of the user to manipulate the scene, as in moving something from one place to another, opening and closing something, and any other animation which sticks.
More advanced NPC’s can be included here, like if you program the NPC to answer non-canned questions and/or GPT-4 technology is in place.
An interesting point Will mentions is that the metaverse is about inclusivity. Instead of brands building “monuments to themselves” and failing for it, this Web 3.0 dimension is about allowing the user to shape the experience on it and having input, whether it be contributing ideas, sharing, building, literal ownership, or making a positive difference in the community, which then goes up and out into the real world.
28. Troll Control and Harassment Prevention
For this one, I give thanks to Zen (@ThisIsMeIn360VR from Twitter) for bringing this issue up. He hosts XR Tech Talks on Twitter, which include topics such as VR, AR, MR, 360 videos, Ai, the metaverse, and more. I do not recall experiencing any behavior that bothered me in the metaverse, but I’ve heard about people trolling there. Hence, look up what protective options there are for your users – can you mute or block people? Does it allow your VR users to have a force field or bubble around them to prevent people from getting too close? Holding a private event could help prevent troublemakers as well.
29. Can You Use a Mobile Device to Visit It?
I’ve mentioned before about the importance of people being able to access your metaverse location on their personal computer to avoid friction to those who don’t have a VR headset. Even better is the addition of mobile use.
People may want to attend your event while they’re not home, or they’re waiting for their pizza and have become very curious about the metaverse link posted next to your social media icons on your website. Perhaps they want to play a time-sensitive game on your plot and desire to sneak into the bathroom at work and hop right in.
30. Is There an Option to Enter Your Metaverse Location Without the User Creating an Account?
Another way to have a smoother transition into Web 3.0 is if a user can enter the metaverse as a guest, without creating a log-in username, password, or more steps. Decentraland and Spatial allow the option for people to jump right in without having to create an account. Though I’m not aware if this can be avoided when using an app on a mobile smartphone at this time.
Other
I took out the part of the rubric that had to do with crypto, but a having a DAO where people can vote on changes and improvement to the metaverse is an interesting aspect. Decentraland has a DAO, but I’m not sure if any of the other ones I visited do.
You can view the metrics and price action for metaverse cryptocurrency tokens and ask an expert to interpret what it means.
Concluding Thoughts
These specifications helped me gauge which metaverse platforms are best to use for different purposes. What is best for you may differ, depending on what you need.
For now, I plan on using Decentraland and Spatial as the main hubs for my blog, creative constructions, online events, and business ventures. I chose The Sandbox and Roblox for more advanced games related to my creative endeavors and fantasy novel.
I’m looking forward to see what the Otherside offers once they release their full galaxy. It’s a possible contender to use IMO because of: more realistic graphics (by Unreal Engine), being a potential higher trafficked platform, allowing advanced gaming mechanics, having a passionate community of users from the start, and some themes of the lore might fit in with what I’m working on.
Metahattan also piques my interest. It’s to be a digital twin of Manhattan, including both VR and AR layers, and it appears they are working on a more expansive version called Parallel Worlds to extend beyond New York City.
I like Brian Yurachek’s mission to promote greater prosperity by being people-focused. In fact, his other company, New York Culture Club, promotes the ownership of an individual’s artistry in the fashion and apparel industry. I’m also interested to see the magic that will be added to New York City, the cool new ways to promote one’s brand through AR, the ability to show off creations to friends, and it’s a plus that Will Burns was on the team since he comes up with unforeseen and intriguing ways of helping companies.
This is what I’ve decided for now (2023), but as more platforms and advancements evolve, plans could change. When I have published scenes and experiences, I hope to come back here and post links and locations. Exciting!!
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