Initially, the concept of parallel worlds was introduced in our lives from sci-fi literature, then expanded by the entertainment industry. This gained traction with the gaming platforms, and now it is seen as an environment with opportunities for essentially all areas of society. The term metaverse embraces a complete ecosystem of solutions in a digital world that allows users to interact, play, shop, manage assets such as properties or digital goods, and perform many other actions only imaginable in real life until very recently.
Exploring Lootverse through the Earth-Lootverse Tunnel (ELT), professionals from different backgrounds have found a world with its own cultural, economic, and political aspects. However, this is only the first wormhole discovered; many other realities can be revealed, visited, and enjoyed. Worlds like Fortnite, Roblox, Minecraft, and Horizon, amongst others, have challenged technology barriers. The experiences can be accessed using a gaming console or PC but are enhanced with VR goggles, gradually raising their popularity and mass adoption. Several companies have also invested in developing the next generation of AR, MR, and haptic gloves and vests to add a hyper-realistic layer to this adventure.
Earlier this year, Rabindra Ratan, associate professor of Media and Information at Michigan State University, stated in an interview on the ABC News Live that “The metaverse is essentially a massive, interconnected network of virtual spaces.” Even though most of those popular parallel worlds are not fully connected yet, this possibility might happen faster than most of us can expect. That would create more opportunities for individuals, enterprises, and even the public sector worldwide. Serious games, those with a bigger purpose other than only to entertain, have already shown their potential. Fields like education, retail, marketing, research, fashion, human resources, and more are good examples of sectors that have benefited from these applications.
The metaverse can do more for society than offer a digital showroom to release a product or host an online event. It can serve as a beta space for new public policies, teaching methods, means of payments, management systems, and so many other key components of our physical world. In the human field, specialists are still discussing the effects of the metaverse lifestyle on the individuals’ behavior and self-esteem, but it is clear that it can offer a myriad of new formats for learning, self-improvement, exercising, and social interaction regardless of the age, style or personal preferences of the users. With the human and the institutional factors combined, the metaverse can even drive a future society where entire industries are born in the digital space and might or might not be reflected in what we call the “real life.”
