Metaverse Are We Ready Journey to the Other Universe

Metaverse Are We Ready to Journey to the Other Universe Metaverse? I Guess We Are Not! Curiosity about the new, and the effort to adapt to the new, create an incredible amount of information pollution. The concept of the METAVERSE is very misunderstood.

Unfortunately, this is how the Metaverse started. Everyone is rightly trying to keep the concept of the Metaverse in one way or another, but they forget that there is nothing to hold onto yet. We are still in the letter “M”. Why? Let me try to explain; I think it is necessary to start from scratch and explain what METAVERSE is, and what is intended, in its purest and simplest form. We can understand this by watching a single movie “Ready Player One”. Everyone who is interested in this subject should watch it, if you have watched it before, watch it again. After watching, let them question the works done under the concept of “Metaverse”. I can recommend movies such as The Matrix series, The Thirteenth Floor (1999), Surrogates, or Demolition Man to look at the event from different angles.

What is the Metaverse? Where did this concept come from?

Let’s remember; After the statements made by Mark Zuckerberg, the founder, and CEO of Facebook, one of the most popular social media platforms, on October 28, 2021, the concept of Metaverse entered our lives again. I say this again because this concept was introduced in sci-fi novels in the 90s.

* The concept of the metaverse was first revealed in Neal Stephenson’s science fiction Snow Crash, published in 1992. The metaverse has been described in a fictional way. (You can search)

But I guess no one fully understood the event;

• METAVERSE Dictionary Meaning = THE BEYOND UNIVERSE / Beyond the Universe
• Explanation of the Concept:
  • An online, 3D universe that combines multiple different virtual spaces and digital worlds.
  • Removing the Limits of the Physical World and the Digital World

First Element of Metaverse Concept; Online, a 3D universe that combines multiple different virtual spaces and digital worlds.

Today, there are hundreds of thousands of independent online worlds; games, shopping platforms, information, communication platforms, etc… The concept of the metaverse, on the other hand, claims to be a decentralized online universe that covers all of them as 3D Worlds in one place and encompasses and combines them.

What is decentralized? Let’s explain simply. What was the central system; A method in which the system at the top manages the internal systems below it, where the only condition for a piece of information to be valid is that the system at the top of the hierarchy validates it. The decentralized system is the system in which this cycle is broken; A horizontal decision-making mechanism without a top-down verification hierarchy and a central authority. You can find much more detailed and informative explanations on the internet, but for this article, it will be enough to explain the logic in simple language with a few sentences.

There is also the underlying Web 01, 02,03 technologies;

Web 01 – The technology in the early days of the Internet. During this period, users use the internet only for information purposes. He enters the site, reads the information, takes it, and leaves the environment. There is no interaction, the monologue, the static period, the period where we can only read.

Web 02 – The 2nd period of the Internet is a more human and information-oriented, more interactive period, including the systems created by the users jointly and by sharing, in which we can produce and share content on the Internet. Of course, at this point, this whole ecosystem; has led to monopoly as it is managed by big companies like Google, FB, and so on. In other words, a central structure was formed.

Web 03 – Although it is not a fully established definition; It is a system that is decentralized, that is, without the need of giant companies such as FB behind it, more individualized, where we can access the internet by transferring between ourselves. A smart internet with artificial intelligence even more.

Second Element of Metaverse Concept; Removing the Boundaries of the Physical World and the Digital World At the same time, it is another claim to remove the boundaries of the physical world and the digital world and to create an intertwined environment. So let’s think like this; Experiencing the feeling of being there with the glasses you wear to be included in an environment where you are not physically present. This is the logic of the sentence “Removal of Physical Limits”; experience as if you were in places you are not. But current Virtual Glasses are far from this technology…

Two different but complementary concepts are intertwined. Let’s not forget this part. This is the point that Metaverse basically wants to reach.

Are you confused?

This is where the confusion begins. Even the simplest digital work has begun to be called Metaverse. Especially the things that are tried to be done in the games. From Second Life to the present day, especially in our sector (it existed before), Minecraft, Roblox Fortnite, and many similar games and game companies have already created their own virtual worlds (even nested worlds) and their own virtual economies. Many brands/products have been and continue to take place in the game world in different ways for years. Some did very creative work, some used more standard advertising models. But these are not metaverse friends, these are in-game product placements or using in-game advertising models. (In-Game Advertisement – In-Game Product Placement) Topics we have been dealing with for years. It would be wrong to narrow the metaverse that much.

The first element of the Metaverse concept is the Online, 3D universe that combines multiple different virtual spaces and digital worlds, Combining all the online worlds in a single universe we mentioned above. Well; Let’s move on with the examples, you played game A, you go to the game B with your same avatar, you use a common currency in all these different universes, you go out and wander in a virtual store with the same avatar, you go to the virtual library, you meet your friends in the evening and go to an online concert, and then to your virtual home.

Let’s try to explain it with a small image;

The second element of the metaverse concept is Removing the Boundaries of the Physical World and the Digital World; Unfortunately, there is still time for that. There are virtual reality headsets that we can feel from the edge of the Metaverse world, which we are talking about and only imagine, yes, it is true. Thanks to these helmets, which allow you to feel in a virtual environment with 3D imaging technology, you can have an interactive experience in the virtual world of games with certain movements you do in real life, such as bending over, getting up, going back and forth, but it is very limited. Helmets are very heavy, very difficult to carry on our heads for a long time, have very low resolutions and most of them have to work connected to computers. Also, no feeling or experience is possible, you are just where you are.

In other words, the described Metaverse does not actually exist yet, because the new digital world is to be created and the real world to be virtualized by removing the physical boundaries, the next level where everything is possible and everything is interconnected, is the next chapter, as our players call it. Many big companies, especially Facebook, are working on this right now. Technically, the hardware products we currently use and our internet infrastructure are definitely not enough for us to enter this “META” world. There is a long way to go from 5G infrastructure to xx generation computers/consoles. Everything that Facebook uses in its promotion or that we see in movies is just fiction right now. Time will tell if it will come true. Will it be? Why not. There was no internet once…

There’s an incredible amount of interest in the concept of Metaverse right now. A legitimate interest; Let me try to explain the reasons for this interest in my own way;

If we look at it with very pure feelings; This is actually a very human impulse; Wonder. Curiosity is the basis of human progress. Interest in the new is always high. Everyone is curious nowadays. If we look at the last years that we have already gone through, the Metaverse news that is in the preparation stage for this future has been a different excitement for everyone.

If you look a little more negatively; We are insatiable. Mankind has created a gluttonous world like itself over the centuries. In today’s world, we are in a period where mother earth disappears day by day, unhappiness increases, chaos increases, the purchasing power of money decreases, the economy becomes completely unbalanced, and people seek to escape from reality. At this point, they brought us a new world. In fact, they launched it to everyone as if it was new. Virtual or not, it doesn’t matter. If it was said that a colony is being established on the moon, there would be a similar race. A world where a race will be started from scratch, offering people a new starting point. Be sure, there will be a race to grab a corner with a meaningless appetite. It’s in our nature. Whatever is missing in this virtual world, we human beings will ignore these shortcomings with our greed. We will enter a fierce race to get a share of the cake until the next innovation. We even entered.

For young generations, it is the dream of realizing the worlds they grew up in, seen in games and movies, and a new source of income for professionals.

Those are the main reasons.

If we go back to the game industry, let’s take a look at the event from our side;

In fact, along with game companies, many technology companies are currently undertaking certain initiatives. Game companies combine their own worlds with other virtual worlds, and offer players very different content (independent of the game, inclusion of heroes in movies, concerts, etc.) Apart from this, giant game companies make astonishing investments and include other game companies and games in their own structure, because at the end of the business they have seen the light. Of course, we cannot know exactly what is in their minds, but perhaps one of the main reasons why they recruited the ongoing games and the teams that made them, with such a huge investment, maybe the preparation for the Metaverse world. Maybe they have the goal of gathering all the games, all the characters in the game, and the universes under one roof, which they have incorporated with their investments. Time will show that.

Apart from all these, there are also game systems with blockchain infrastructure. The Sandbox, Axie Infinity, Decentraland, OVR.AI, and so on… These kinds of games also offer the players the opportunity to play games with crypto infrastructure, as well as the opportunity to buy/sell/earn real money in a completely virtual universe.

Of course, these are not quite Metaverse to me yet. As I explained above, it may have basics, but let’s not forget that we are still in the letter “M”.

Again, although it is a personal opinion; The gaming industry is the only industry that will definitely dominate if the imagined Metaverse world can be created. In every sense, entertainment, competition, income… Games and gamified worlds are already the basis of the business. That’s why interest in our industry has increased tremendously globally.

Of course, with every new concept that comes out, its dangerous dimensions are talked about as always. I am not a doctor or a scientist, but I believe I am capable of interpreting.

We see topics such as changing the perception of reality of the players, not leaving the game for long hours, especially young people becoming asocial. But don’t we always see that anyway?

In my opinion, there is nothing dangerous about any concept. What is dangerous is human intelligence and ourselves. It’s all about what we use for what. Just as it is harmful to play games for 10 hours, to work for 10 hours, to do sports for 10 hours, to watch movies for 10 hours, if the concept called Metaverse is realized over the years, we will see similar problems there.

Is it possible to disconnect from life? We can say very clearly that it does not happen to conscious people like us. I always say the same for our industry. We have to be conscious consumers in all matters. We must be conscious of families in all matters. If we are prepared for these, we will not have a problem. Otherwise, we will exhaust ourselves both materially and spiritually.

Because every world created is for the purpose of generating income at the end of the day, this should not be forgotten.

As I said at the beginning, if this concept can really go beyond imagination (which I personally hope will pass), what awaits us; is READY PLAYER ONE! Be sure to watch.

Now, I would like to present to you some examples of the work that you say we have entered METAVERSE, and that we, the game industry, have done for years. And I hope these examples will guide you.

Zombirock – Manga – 2012! (See, I say 2012) It is still one of our works that I enjoyed the most; 🙂

Goley – Coca-Cola 2014! An example of in-game integration we did in 2014. Look, I’m not saying Metaverse.

Mstar – Fanta 2015! Another work we did in 2015 is for the Fanta brand.

Sanalika – Bosch 2017!Another very good example from Turkey, the year 2017

Sanalika – Turkcell 2017! Nice idea 🙂

Fortnite – Nike

Fortnite – Avengers Endgame Movie

Fortnite – Travis Scott Concert

Death Stranding – Monster Energy 

Lords Mobile – Coca-Cola

There are hundreds of examples that I can add, both in our country and globally. You can easily find it by searching.

At the end of the day; I’m not saying the things you do are right or wrong, good or bad, but the things you do are In-Game Advertisement Models for now. Do not forget this. Do not say that you entered the metaverse. 🙂

I didn’t put any brand names etc. It is not my intention to offend or offend anyone. But please do your research before starting a job, question, and try to understand what you are doing and why. Unfortunately, it is not possible to say that we did something that did not exist.

I hope this article will be of some use and reach the right people.

Best Regards
Ozan Aydemir
President  / Gaming in TURKEY | MENA | EU
Gaming Agency & Esports Agency
Official Gaming and Esports Agency of Coca-Cola in 25 Countries
Official Gaming and Esports Agency of Türk Telekom