Be in the internet
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, ARCHIVES THE PRESS
The immersive Oculus headset
We can describe the metaverse with an image. Instead of seeing the internet on a computer screen, tablet or on your laptop, with the metaverse, you are in the internet thanks to a virtual imaging headset, which allows you to move around in this digital world and interact by creating a character that represents us, an avatar. You can play, but also work, have a drink with friends, attend shows, shop online and a host of other things.
An invented word
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, ARCHIVES THE PRESS
The immersive Oculus headset
The term, taken from the English metaverse, is a contraction of “meta” (from the Greek: beyond) and “universe”. The word was coined by writer Neal Stephenson in his novel Snow crash published in 1992. In French, it gives “métavers”. And even if this idea of a writer is now concrete, to understand what it can give, the best way is to rely on science fiction movies or TV shows.
A dream life
The novel Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, adapted for theaters in 2018 by Steven Spielberg, gives a great insight into the metaverse. The action takes place in 2045 in a world on the verge of chaos. To escape it, humans take refuge in a virtual universe, the OASIS, created by an eccentric and very rich being. With a virtual reality headset on their head, sitting in their insanitary housing, people forget their condition by living the life of their dreams.
Several observers, including Zuckerberg, believe that one day everyone will have a second life in a digital universe.
Immersive experiences
PHOTO EMMANUEL LUBEZKI, PROVIDED BY THE PHI CENTER
The immersive experience Carne y arena was presented by the Phi Center, at the Arsenal.
We can also get an idea of what immersion in an imaginary world gives with virtual reality experiences where the spectator, wearing a helmet, is at the heart of the image and can sometimes move around in the environment. In Montreal, for example, we were able to experience the space shuttle and space with Infinity, or that of migrants attempting to enter the United States with Carne y arena, by filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu.
Vision
After announcing the name change of his company to Meta – an operation also seen as a diversionary maneuver to make people forget recent revelations about the company’s reprehensible practices – the founder and CEO of Facebook described his vision:
It was fun imagining the types of experiences the Metaverse will unlock, like giving everyone the chance to do fencing with Olympic gold medalist Lee Kiefer. Whistleblower alert: she will win every time.
Mark Zuckerberg
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The world of games
In the meantime, it’s video games and platforms like Second life, Minecraft, Roblox and Fortnite, in which players can build their own worlds, which come closest to the idea of the metaverse.
The video game industry is growing year by year. Facebook certainly wants to surf this. But the idea behind it is that we are moving towards dematerialization. Instead of being in front of the screen, having a drink, after eight hours of work, we will put on our headphones and go find immersive, fun mechanisms, so that people have other experiences, where we feel closer. the other.
Maude Bonenfant, video game specialist and professor at UQAM
Already millions of followers
PHOTO PHIL NOBLE, REUTERS
Alice Wilkinson adds a mask to her character in a game on the Roblox platform.
Roblox, which is a gaming platform and tool for designing and delivering games online, attracts over 43 million players every day.
Fortnite, for its part, has 350 million followers worldwide. The game offers different modes, including Battle Royale, which pits 100 players against each other until only one remains. At the end of April, rapper Travis Scott gave five virtual concerts on this platform, through his avatar. In early August, singer Ariana Grande also performed on Fortnite.
IMAGE FROM FORTNITE
The show Rift Tour by Ariana Grande on Fortnite
Roblox and Minecraft sometimes also organize 100% virtual concerts.
A real market
This year, there has been roughly $ 80 billion worth of virtual goods purchased in all kinds of metaverse. Part of this sum was spent to dress avatars, another part, for articles, equipment, access to worlds. Companies like Balenciaga and Ferrari are now creating environments for the metaverse.
Alexandre Teodoresco, Director of Strategic Development and Innovation at Les 7 Doigts
In May, a digital Gucci bag sold for over $ 4,000 on the Roblox platform, beating the price of the actual item.
Emotional ties
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Maude Bonenfant, video game specialist and professor at UQAM
Video game specialist Maude Bonenfant, professor at UQAM, explains that the player develops an attachment for his avatar.
“It’s our identity online. So we don’t want to look like 18 avatars who are in the same room, she said. We will personalize it with what characterizes us. We are ready to spend money on costume elements that are often just aesthetic, which do not necessarily have power. It is a question of individual identity, but within a group to which one belongs. ”
An opportunity for Quebec
PHOTO BERNARD BRAULT, PRESS ARCHIVES
The Quebec company Les 7 Doigts has a team dedicated to the metaverse.
Here too, companies are working on the construction of the metaverse. This is particularly the case with the contemporary circus company Les 7 Doigts, a team of which is already devoting time and money to the vast project of designing the virtual world of tomorrow.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE 7 FINGERS
The Quebec company Les 7 Doigts has a team dedicated to the metaverse.
We can create, here, the first experiences that will define the metaverse. We are among those who have the best video game studios, the best creators of virtual reality, the best creators of living art in the world. We must not miss the boat.
Alexandre Teodoresco, director of strategic development and innovation at Les 7 Doigts studio