What Is the Metaverse?

The Metaverse became one of the top technologies and trends in 2021 and continues to be as of date. The Metaverse is not here yet, but numerous big companies have already made large investments in the Metaverse development. Eventually, the Metaverse will be a 3D variation of the Internet and take the virtual reality experience to the next level. It will enable users to do almost everything—from work, leisure, socializing, education, shopping, and even purchasing land through digital avatars—in a purely virtual world.

The Brief History of Metaverse

“Metaverse” Term Created (June 1982)

The term Metaverse was initially coined by the American author Neal Stephenson in his science fiction novel Snow Crash in 1982. The story takes place in Los Angeles in the twenty-first century, numerous years after a global financial collapse. Snow Crash’s main character, a katana-wielding hacker called Hiro Protagonist, jumps back and forth between Los Angeles and the virtual world called the Metaverse (a combination of “Meta,” the Greek prefix for beyond, and “verse,” means the universe).

In the book, the Metaverse is a three-dimensional environment that is populated by user-controlled avatars. It can be accessed using a specialized shiny goggle, like today’s VR headsets. Dollars have no value within Stephenson’s virtual world. Instead, money is replaced by alternate encrypted digital payments, such as Kongbucks, similar to our cryptocurrencies today.

Second Life—Step Moved Forward Metaverse (June 2003)

In 2003, almost two decades after the publication of Snow Crash, the online virtual world game Second Life, which was directly inspired by the Metaverse in Snow Collision, was released. Users could develop avatars, create homes, and communicate with others.

Roblox—An Online Multiplayer Gaming Platform (January 2006)

Roblox is a multiplayer online video game that enables players to program games and play the games produced by other individuals. As of September 2022, Roblox has more than 230 million registered players with 30 million players daily.

Decentraland—First Ethereum Blockchain-Based Virtual Reality Platform (June 2015)

Decentraland is an Ethereum-based decentralized 3D virtual reality platform created by Esteban Ordano and Ariel Meilich in 2015. In 2017, the Decentraland team issued an Initial Coin Offering (ICO), raising 86,206 ether funds. In Decentraland, users can create virtual objects like casinos, art galleries, laboratories, labs, farms, and theme parks, then open them to the public and charge other players to visit them. Decentraland has two types of tokens. The first token is LAND—a governance NFT token and the second is MANA, a Decentraland’s native cryptocurrency token used to facilitate LAND purchases.

The LAND governs the procedures in Decentraland and represents the traversable virtual space and assets within Decentraland. Each nonfungible digital asset is divided into 16m x 16m parcels owned by the LAND token holder and contains the ownership of virtual goods and services in Decentraland.

Pokémon Go—First AR Mobile Game (September 2015)

Pokémon Go is the first augmented reality (AR) mobile game developed by Niantic Labs in partnership with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company. The Pokémon are pinpointed on a real-world phone map, and when players walk to the location, they use their camera to detect the Pokemon in the real and then capture them. The video game was launched in July 2016 and has taken the world by storm. Just seven days after launch, Pokemon Go had over 20 million active players in a single day.

Fortnite—The Multiple Player Game with Community (July 2017)

Fortnite is the first online multiplayer video game with game social networks. Fortnite is a survival battle game where up to 100 players battle against each other in the player vs. player (PvP) combat model until there is only one player standing. It enables players to connect with their partners, build a community, and extend their social network, which is among the strongest incentives for players to continue playing a game. Fortnite had over 10 million gamers only two weeks after its launch. In June 2022, there were still around 3 million players on Fortnite.

Movie—“Ready Player One” (March 2018)

Steven Spielberg’s “Ready Player One” is based on Ernest Cline’s book of the same name in 2011. The story is set in a dystopian future where the characters spend most of their lifetime in the OASIS Metaverse—including school, working, playing, and socializing in OASIS. OASIS uses digital currency for payment. The characters can teleport to multiple Metaverse worlds by simply entering portals. Most individuals are anonymous by hiding their real identities. “Ready Player One” is often an example of a future Metaverse.

Axie Infinity—NFT of Play-to-Earn Game Platform (March 2018)

Axie Infinity is an NFT-based online video game where players can buy NFTs of collectible electronic pets and match them against each other in battles. The Axie Infinity Metaverse enabled the video game with a “play-to-earn” design (likewise called the “pay-to-play-to-earn” version), where after players pay the starting expenses, they can earn Ethereum-based in-game tokens (SLP) by playing game. Players can cash out their tokens every fourteen days.

Microsoft Introduced Mesh (April 2021)

Microsoft Mesh is a fully virtual world. As a platform for Metaverse, customers can connect to Mesh on HoloLens 2, virtual reality headsets, mobile, tablets, or PCs—with any Mesh-enabled application.

Facebook Becomes Meta (Oct 2021)

On Oct 28, 2021, Facebook announced that it had changed its company name to Meta. The company has stepped into the new business, based on the sci-fi term Metaverse, and also attempted to embrace the Metaverse, a brand-new world built by virtual reality.

Figure 7-1 summarizes the brief history of Metaverse.

A schematic depicts the history of the metaverse from 1982 to 2021. Some label parts include the metaverse term created, Roblox-a online multiplayer gaming platform, Facebook becoming meta, and Microsoft introducing mesh.

Characteristics of the Metaverse

In the Metaverse, you can become who you want to be, create what you prefer, where you want, how you want as long as we can imagine it. This total freedom for the developer will bring some interesting special experiences, but also for the open Metaverse to work. There are several characteristics that creators should take into account when constructing the Metaverse, shown in Figure 7-2.

• Interoperability

• Decentralization

• Immersive

• Boundless

• Virtual Economies

• Persistent

• Social Experience

A circle diagram depicts the characteristics of the metaverse. The label parts are decentralization, immersive, virtual economies, social experience, persistent, boundless, and interoperability.

Let’s review them to understand how we can develop an open Metaverse offering distinct experiences .

Augmented Reality (AR)

In the summer of 2016, the release of Niantic’s Pokémon GO took the world by storm. Gamers of all ages tried to catch Pikachu in the grocery store and Eevee in the home through their phone camera. That’s AR, allowing virtual elements to be displayed in the physical environment. Since then, AR has become increasingly popular.

Types of AR

There are four types of AR: Markerless, Marker-based, Projection-based, and Superimposition-based AR, as shown in Figure 7-3.

A flow diagram depicts the types of augmented reality. The labeled types of A R are marker-based, and marker-less is further subdivided into projection-based, location-based, and superimposition-based.

Marker-based AR

This kind of AR, also known as recognition-based AR or image recognition, depends on the identification of markers/user-defined images to work. Maker-based AR typically needs users to install a software application. Then users can use it to scan markers, which have distinct patterns that cameras can easily recognize and process . Next, the app will activate an augmentation experience (whether an image, text, video, or animation) to appear on the device.

Example: Augmented reality QR code is one of the marker-based AR examples.

Marker-less AR

Marker-less AR refers to AR without markers and does not require any specific image to display its virtual content. Marker-less AR software—Simultaneous Localization and Mapping technology (SLAM) —relies upon the device’s hardware, including the video camera, GPS, and other sensing units like accelerometer and compass, to gather data and create proper virtual 3D objects.

Unlike marker-based AR, the augmented object stays in the same place even if the scanning device is turned away. Marker-less augmented reality is very popular in gaming, like Pokémon Go, live events, and virtual product placement.

Marker-less AR has three subtypes: location-based, projection-based, and superimposition-based AR.

Projection-Based AR

Projection-based AR projects generate graphics on a surface. Therefore, it does not require any smartphone or any screen. Instead, one or multiple projection devices projects light onto a surface to form a 3D model. The digital graphics can interact by touching the projected 3D object surface with a hand and creating inputs. After the projection-based AR receives the signal, it responds by updating the projected augmented object.

Example: Nike held a projection-based AR at its studio in London, allowing consumers interested to design their very own version of Nike shoes and project it in a full 3D spatial galley.

Location-Based AR

Location-based AR , also known as geo-based augmented reality, AR app reads the device’s GPS location to analyze the user’s location. When the site matches the predetermined location, it will trigger the generation of a virtual object to show at the spot.

Example: New York’s Museum of Modern Art featured a unique experience based on location-based AR.

Superimposition-Based AR

This AR changes a partial or full view of the original object with upgraded, augmented 3D objects for the human eye. Object recognition plays a vital role, which indicates if an application cannot identify an object, then it can’t enhance the item’s appearance.

Example: Dulux Visualizer app is an example of superimposition-based AR. It allows users to select any color from a paint color visualizer, then upload a photo and “repaint” their room or house virtually to see the result before actually painting the wall.

How Augmented Reality Works

We just discussed Simultaneous Localization and Mapping technology (SLAM) plays a critical role in Marker-less AR. SLAM keeps track of a device’s location by collecting data from the indoor or outdoor environment via the device’s hardware, such as the video camera, GPS, and other sensors, and then creating proper virtual 3D objects.

SLAM technology is widely used in various industries, mainly autonomous vehicles, robots, and augmented virtual reality.

The architecture of a SLAM system includes two types of components used to complete SLAM. The first component is sensor signal processing, including front-end processing, primarily relying on the sensors used.

The second component is pose-graph optimization, including the sensor-agnostic back-end processing.

Two types of SLAMS can be used for front-end processing to collect data: SLAM Visual SLAM and LiDAR SLAM. Visual SLAM (vSLAM) uses cameras to capture or collect the surrounding imagery and track a set of points through successive camera frames, while LiDAR SLAM utilizes a laser sensor to read the data.

The front-end processing abstracts sensor data into models amenable for estimation, while the back end performs inference on the data produced by the front end. As a result, SLAM can estimate their 3D position to create the map. The SLAM process is shown in Figure 7-4.

A schematic depicts the visual S L A M system of front and back end. The labeled parts are the camera, laser sensor, sensor data, S L A M estimation, abstracts and process sensor data, and map estimation.

Virtual Reality (VR)

The term “virtual reality ” first appeared in the 1982 novel The Judas Mandala by Damien Broderick, a popular Australian science fiction author.

Widespread adaption of the term “virtual reality” as VR technology in the popular media is credited to VR developer Jaron Lanier, who designed the first business-grade virtual reality hardware, and the 1992 Lawnmower Man movie, which introduced the use of virtual reality systems to a wider audience.

Types of VR

VR systems are classified into three primary types: non-immersive VR, semi-immersive VR, and fully immersive VR, as shown in Figure 7-5.

A flow diagram depicts the types of virtual reality. The labeled types are non-immersive V R, semi-immersive V R, and fully immersive V R.

Non-immersive VR

Non-immersive virtual reality is a virtual reality that displays virtual content on screens via a computer or game console. It is the least immersive and least expensive of all VR types. Users interact with non-immersive VR using computer input devices like keyboards, mice, and controllers.

Example: A video game is a good example of a non-immersive VR experience.

Semi-immersive VR

Semi-immersive virtual experiences provide users with a partially virtual environment between non-immersive and fully immersive VR. Using a computer screen or VR device such as glasses tracking sensors and projector systems, the user can move around in a virtual environment but still see themself. The system is not considered a fully immersive simulator.

Example: A flight simulator for pilot trainees and a virtual tour are good examples of semi-immersive VR.

Fully Immersive VR

Immersive VR simulation is a technology that gives users the highest level of fully immersive virtual experience and is completely separated from the real world. It allows the participant to interact with stereoscopic 3D objects generated by VR devices like VR glasses, gloves, and body detectors and establish a realistic virtual experience.

Example: An example of fully immersive VR is Virtual Mountain Biking. Players ride an indoor bike with a VR headset. They can ride their bikes in places they have never been before with an exciting experience and interact with other players in the virtual environment.

How Virtual Reality Works

Truly immersive virtual reality can trick people’s minds into believing it exists and take them somewhere virtually other than where they are. However, generating these experiences involves many complex technologies behind the scenes.

Field of View (FOV)

The approximate field of view (FOV) of an individual human eye is about 135 degrees horizontally and slightly more than 180 degrees vertically. A human typically can see a 200–220-degree arc around their head. The overlap of the same scene from a human’s left and right eyes is around 114 degrees, which we can see in 3D. This FOV is necessary for a human brain to calculate depth perception. In the case of virtual reality, FOV means how much of the virtual world a participant can see around them simultaneously. The VR headsets camera simulates human eye positions and a defined FOV degree that people can expect. The headsets also have gyroscopic sensors to track how you’re moving, adjust your view, and enable you to explore 360-degree scenes. All of these will greatly improve the fully immerses experience. Most VR headsets today generally support 114-degree 3d vision space to deliver virtual content.

A diagram depicts the field of human virtual reality in different views left, up, right, and down.

Frame Rate (FPS)

Frame rate/FPS (frames per second) defines the speed at which the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) can process an image per second. Frame rate is related to resolution, which shows the amount of detail in the image over time. For example, with a frame rate of 50 FPS, you will see 50 samples in one second. In the next second, it will show another 50 samples. Suppose an object moves with your view. In that case, you will only see those 50 samples updated position per second. Other samples will be invisible to you between those snapshots. If you increase the frame rate to 500 FPS, you will get ten times more samples every second. The result will be much better imagery, smoother motion, and a more immersive experience. A lower frame rate will typically have worse effects. Studies have shown that anything less than 60 FPS causes feelings of disorientation, nausea, and other negative side effects in the user. VR developers typically aim for a minimum of 60 FPS–90 FPS.

Position and Head Tracking

In an immersive virtual environment , tracking the user’s real-time headset position to determine position and orientation is important. Users can move within a virtual environment that adjusts when they do. SLAM is widely used for Head and Eye Tracking in VR.

Spatial Audio and Sound Effects

Spatial Audio provides multidimensional and immersive audio that follows the movement of the user’s device. The device intensively processes user movement data, generates the different frequencies of a sound, and shifts differently for every direction the sound could be coming from. The result creates a three-dimensional sound effect that gives the user an experience that mimics how they hear sound in real life.

Mixed Reality (MR)

Mixed reality (MR) is an emergent technology that combines virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) . MR merges the physical and virtual worlds to create new environments where physical and digital objects can interact in real-time.

Example: MR workstations will no longer be a single or dual physical monitor. The workstations will consist of multiple screens as desired in a 3D virtual space.

The user can define and create an infinite number of customized workstations and delete these virtual screens as needed. Such working environments will improve efficiency and create a more enjoyable, comfortable, and healthier workplace.

Extended Reality (XR)

Extended reality (XR) is an umbrella term that covers the full spectrum of real and virtual immersive technologies, including VR, AR, and MR.

Experience

Experience is the layer on which most Metaverse businesses, companies, and developers are now focused at the moment. A large feature of this layer will be community-driven events, social interactions, virtual services, and digital assets, such as games, NFTs, social, e-sports, meetings, theater, shopping, and events. Users can interact in virtual environments through its digital content. In this layer, the Metaverse will eventually create a brand-new dimension of virtual worlds by dematerializing physical space. As a result, the Metaverse will offer everyone a wide variety of experiences they have never seen before.

Gaming is perhaps the most commonly known platform to demonstrate many features of the Metaverse experience layer: virtual immersion experience, avatar identities, digital NFT marketplaces, 3D product presentations, and real-time social interactions. This layer also includes many other everyday experiences where the physical and digital worlds merge and blend: Zoom office VR meetings, HOLOFIT VR Fitness, or Netflix VR movie, TvoriVR UX and UI prototyping.

Here are several popular Metaverse platforms in this layer.

Examples: Decentraland, Fortnite, Roblox, Sandbox, Spatial, Rove, Activision Blizzard, Nintendo, and Xbox.

Discovery

The discovery layer is about the continuous pull and pulls of information that introduces people to learn about different new experiences. The pull represents an inbound system where the users actively seek information about a new experience. On the other hand, push means an outbound system where the Metaverse experiences await users and notify them.

Here are some examples in which inbound and outbound discoveries can take place.

Community-driven content can help spread knowledge about its concepts, supporting technologies, and experiences. NFTs are an example that has been one of the hottest topics since 2021. Many companies use NFT digital assets to brand their products or service as a marketing tool , such as Nike, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, and Louis Vuitton. It is a great way to grow community engagement and rise much more discovery in the Metaverse.

The real-time presence will also play a critical role in improving interactive user experiences. For example, video game services such as PlayStation and Xbox allow gamers to see what their friends do in real time. The most common approaches in outbound discovery are display advertising, notifications, emails, and social media.

Examples: Unity, Google store, Apple store, Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox.

Creator Economy

At the early stage of the Metaverse, producing digital resources, generating immersive experiences , and adding decentralized payment required a lot of professional skill and effort. This stage is similar to earlier versions of the Internet. It requires a lot of programming knowledge for creators to design and build apps. Nowadays, a tool like WordPress can allow content creators to easily build a website with payment options without code, with just a few clicks and drag-and-drop capabilities to achieve the creation process. With the growing Metaverse market, more and more commerce software tools will appear. As a result, the number of designers and creators on the Metaverse is increasing exponentially. For example, tokens like NFTs, build on a decentralized blockchain and have provable ownership for the digital asset with independent centralized platforms. This new model will give creators more influence than the traditional creator platform. Creators can build their Metaverse economies, sell more virtual NFT items to fans, and have opportunities to get more income.

Examples: Roblox, Unity, Adobe, Polystream, Shopify, Decentraland, and Microsoft.

Spatial Computing

The UI will completely differ from spatial computing and can be built on physical space. The machines no longer need to be tied to a fixed location, and the hardware will be invisible. Cathay Pacific worked with ER ad platform OmniVirt to provide a visual tour for customers. The products enable marketers to give their target travelers, especially those who haven’t yet experienced the airline, a “try before you buy” experience.

It allows consumers to virtually tour every aspect of the traveler’s journey, from selecting a seat and check-in desk to the cabin—similar to how Google Street View works. By enabling 360° video units of airport lounges and flight experiences, consumers can click on certain hotspots in the view to get more information. They can also click to reserve their seat in immerses virtual environment. The result increased customer brand favorability by 25%.

Examples: Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta, Deere, Matterport, Unity, Unreal, Epic Games, and Nvidia .

Decentralization

One of the key features of the Metaverse is that it will be decentralized. There is no single central authority in Metaverse. The real-time generated 3D virtual worlds make up various Metaverses. Each Metaverse is governed by its own decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) , a community-led organization with no central authority to govern them. Metaverse can operate autonomously, creating a new ecosystem built around blockchain. In a truly decentralized Metaverse environment, creators have ownership and full control of their creative work and digital products in any virtual world. NFTs-enabled crypto assets will certainly play a critical role in ensuring no asset ownership has tampered within the Metaverse. Users can easily trade the product using cryptocurrency and transfer NFT ownership. Decentralized finance (DeFi) is a way to provide financial products into the Metaverse via a decentralized blockchain network. With DeFi, users can do most of the things centralized financial institutions offer—borrow, lend, exchange, buy insurance, trade derivatives, invest, and more.

One of the most well-known examples of the decentralized Metaverse is Decentraland, a decentralized 3D virtual world that runs on the Ethereum blockchain. Users may buy virtual plots of land on the platform as NFTs via cryptocurrency, and the game protocol is governed by a DAO, which the token holder votes.

Other popular decentralized Metaverse products are Axie Infinity, Sandbox, Bloktopia, Star Atlas, Polka City, Illuvium, and Sorare.

Examples: Ethereum, polygon, Cardano, Polkadot, Dapper, Ava Labs, OpenSea, SuperRare, and Rally.

Human Interface

People interact with the world in a variety of various ways. In the Metaverse, it’s called a human interface . It consists of multiple approaches, such as gestures, vocal commands, and neural interfaces. Wearable devices like smart glasses, gloves, watch, and other garments are also included under the larger banner of human interfaces.

Those VR devices currently in use remain in a state of continuous development. At the same time, many new devices are also being invented and evaluated to access the Metaverse. These are cutting-edge solutions designed to make such improvements much easier to use. An example of such a tool is AR contact lenses, designed to allow the user to watch the digital world without putting on bulky glasses, earphones, or goggles. Clearly, this solution has yet to be widely publicly tested and approved, but it might indicate a breakthrough in this area in the short term.

Examples: Xbox, Samsung, Oculus, HoloLens, PlayStation, Alexa, Neural Link, and Magic leap.

Infrastructure

The seventh layer consists of technologies that make everything the other six layers mentioned become real.

Six technologies clusters the power of the Metaverse:

The computing power and network – It requires a 5G and 6G capable infrastructure to increase network bandwidth and decrease network congestion and latency. In addition, the devices also need components like GPU servers, semiconductors, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) , and tiny, long-lasting batteries

Artificial intelligence (AI) – AI has been widely applied in our daily lives over the last few years. Within the Metaverse, AI can be used to improve nonplayer characters (NPCs) in different situations. NPCs exist everywhere in virtually every game; they belong to the gaming setting created to react and react to gamers’ activities. With AI’s managing abilities, NPCs can be put across the 3D spaces to facilitate realistic conversations with users or perform other specific tasks.

Spatial computing, Digital Twin, and Internet of Things (IoT) – Spatial computing or 3D reconstruction is crucial to create realistic spaces in the Metaverse. It helps to maintain buildings, items, and physical locations in the Metaverse. Digital Twin is an essential building block of Metaverse. A Digital Twin is a computer program that uses real-world data to create a real-time virtual representation. It can simulate a real-world physical system or process (a physical twin) and predict how a product or process will perform. Digital Twin integrates AI, IoT, and data analytics tools to enhance the output. By deploying digital twins, Metaverse creators can build precise real-life spaces into the virtual mirror world.

IoT is a system that takes whatever is in our real world and connects them to the Internet via sensors and devices. One of the functions of IoT in the Metaverse is to collect and provide data from the physical world, improving the precision of digital objects. IoT devices can seamlessly connect the Metaverse to many real-life devices and enable the generation of real-time simulations in the Metaverse. To further optimize the Metaverse environment, IoT can integrate with AI to process the data it collects.

Video gaming technologies – This will include 3D game engines like Unreal Engine and Unity.

Display technologies – AR, VR, MR, and XR can give users an immersive and engaging 3D experience.

Blockchain technology – Blockchain innovation provides a decentralized and transparent feature for digital proof of ownership, NFT, DeFi, governance, DAO, anonymity, and interoperability. Furthermore, cryptocurrencies enable users to transfer value while they work and socialize in the 3D Metaverse.

Example: Azure, Aws, Google cloud, Qualcomm, Intel, Nvidia, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile.

While seven layers structure explanation helps a general understanding current Metaverse landscape, there is still a lot to learn. The Metaverse is still in a very early stage. Many new technologies will emerge in the future, and this layered structure will continue to evolve.

Business Model in the Game Industry

A video game business model is a monetization strategy game creators use to gain revenue for their apps. Introducing new technologies, such as blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI) , and virtual reality (VR) , has become a major trend in evolving the game industry’s business models.

Play-to-Earn

The play-to-earn are decentralized games that allow players to farm or collect game and NFTs tokens. Then, the players can sell them on the market to earn rewards. By completing game tasks, combating other players, and playing the game regularly, players can earn more cryptocurrency to trade and transfer their assets in crypto exchange for fiat currency as income.

Play-to-earn games take advantage of the innovations in the blockchain, which brings cryptocurrencies and NFTs into the world of video games. In crypto games, there are three main ways to let players earn income through gameplay.

Earning or Trading In-game NFTs

In the game, NFTs represent a unique virtual collectible in-game asset. They can come in all sorts of different forms, such as weapons, characters, skins, pets, food, tools, and virtual land, to be used as part of the game. Once players have collected them, they can be exchanged for other assets within the game or sold for actual money on a real-world NFT marketplace. Players create value for the entire game system by participating in the in-game economy. For example, in one of the most popular blockchain games, Axie Infinity, there are creatures called Axis. Axis is a fictional, fierce creature that loves to battle, build, and hunt for treasure. The player can collect, trade, and raise Axis and use it to battle, other players and enemies. The Axie as a game asset is defined as ERC-721 NFT tokens. Players can buy and sell their Axie NFTs in the marketplace ( https://app.axieinfinity.com/marketplace/ ).

A screenshot depicts the axie infinity marketplace. The labeled process is an overview, marketplace, collections of axies, lands, items, bundles, runes, charms, recently listed, and recently sold with some illustration.

Earning In-game Cryptocurrency

1. 1.

   Native Cryptocurrency

   Most crypto games have native cryptocurrency in the form of game tokens created by smart contracts. For example, in Axie Infinity, there are two native cryptocurrencies—Smooth Love Potion (SLP) and Axie Infinity Shards (AXS) .

   SLP

   SLP is an ERC-20 token used to breed Axie. Players can earn SLP in-game currency through the Arena Mode in Axie Infinity when they complete daily quests or battle monsters and other players.

   AXS

   AXS is an ERC-20 governance token for the Axie Infinity ecosystem. AXS token is intended to reward players for participating in the Axie Infinity Metaverse. The top-ranking players will be awarded after each season. SLPs and AXS can be converted to real-life currency. One SLP is 0.000277 AXS, or $0.0034 and can be purchased and sold in many crypto exchanges (i.e., Uniswap). SLP has been well known as part of the play-to-earn trend, letting players earn relatively stable earnings just by playing Axie Infinity.

    
2. 2.

   Existing Cryptocurrency

   Some crypto games use existing cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc., as a reward to players. CryptoKitties is an example of using ether to buy and sell kitties in the CryptoKitties market.

    

Four crypokitties images depict the market N F T s. The labeled crypto is diamond, gilded, amethyst, and lapis.

It typically takes a while to accumulate a significant amount for existing cryptocurrencies like ether, but these others are real.

Staking

Many play-to-earn games allow players to lock up NFTs or cryptocurrency tokens in-game to earn rewards . For instance, Axie Infinity allows landowners to stake their land and earn the Axie token, AXS, as a reward. Players can stake 30 land plots in one transaction and get AXS rewards per day based on the rarity level of the staked land.

Figure 7-10 shows the game industry’s evolution in the business model.

A schematic depicts the game company's evolution by pay-to-play, free-to-play, and play-to-earn.

Example of Play-to-Earn NFT Games

The Sandbox

The Sandbox is a community-driven Metaverse platform where creators can build, own, and monetize voxel assets as NFT. The gaming experience uses SAND Token on the Ethereum blockchain. The Sandbox project was initially developed by Pixowl (later, TSB Gaming) in 2012 on mobile platforms, with 40 million downloads across iOS and Android. The Sandbox has more than two million registered users and comprises three products: VoxEdit, Marketplace, and Game Maker.

VoxEdit

VoxEdit is a cloud-based NFT creation software. It allows users to create rig and animate 3D voxel-based NFTs products in the Metaverse, such as people, animals, furniture, and tools, among other items. These NFTs’ digital assets use the ERC-1155 token standard, enabling the efficient transfer of fungible and nonfungible tokens in a single transaction. Furthermore, a player can sell these NFTs on the Sandbox’s marketplace and discover a new world .

Game Maker

Game Maker is the toolbox that allows users to design, test, and build 3D games for free, and no coding is required. With Game Maker, users just need their imagination for their creations.

Marketplace

The Sandbox’s NFT marketplace allows users to search and buy the creator’s NFT assets made with VoxEdit . The creator can first upload the digital assets into an IPFS (The InterPlanetary File System) network, which is decentralized storage. Then associated assets with a smart contract and deployed onto the blockchain to prove ownership. Once this is accomplished, this NFT asset for creation can be found in the Sandbox marketplace.

To build an enclosed economic system among players, all players will depend on four user-specific tokens—SAND, ASSET, LAND, and GAME. Users will use these tokens to interact with the platform: players, creators, curators, and landowners. The remaining two tokens are GEMs and CATALYSTs, saved for use with VoxEdit when creating assets. Figure 7-11 shows these six tokens in the sandbox games.

Six token images depict the N F T s gameplay-to-earn. The labeled 6 tokens are sand of E R C 20, land of E R C 721, an asset of E R C 1155, the game of E R C 1155, G E Ms of E R C 20, and catalyst of E R C 20.

SAND

SAND is an ERC-20 utility token built on the Ethereum blockchain and powers all of the Sandbox’s transactions and interactions. SAND Token is Sandbox’s native token.

Access the Sandbox platform – Players spend SAND in order to play games, buy equipment, or create their Avatar character.

Governance – SAND is a governance token that allows token holders to vote in Governance decisions on the platform using a DAO structure.

Staking – The Sandbox will allow landowners to stake SAND on their LANDs, and Staking will be returned to users along with yields paid out in SAND.

LAND

In the Sandbox Metaverse, a LAND token is the ERC-721 standard and is an NFTs token. A LAND represents a digital plot of land, and each LAND comprises 96 x 96 meters in the Sandbox Metaverse. There’s a total of 166,464 Lands with different dimensions. LAND token holders have ownership rights to a specific space on the platform and allow the landowner to rent, buy, sell, stake, host, and form districts. With a LAND token, the user can participate in the governance of the ecosystem via DAO.

ASSET

The ASSET token is the ERC-1155 token representing in-game items such as equipment for avatars and creations to populate LAND. The assets can be traded in The Sandbox’s marketplace. An asset has three different categories:

• Entity

These NFTs refer to an experience with nonplayable characters (NPCs) , which will bring a game or world to life, such as a farmer, tree, chicken, dragon, or treasure hunter.

• Equipment

Equipment is an NFT that can be attached to the player’s inventory and help the player to complete the game experience. For example, a sword, an epic Viking axe, a shield, a helmet, and so on.

• Block

In addition to the existing basic blocks, such as water, mud, and sand, players can create new blocks. These blocks can bring unique experiences, for example, colorful water and cute sparkly lava.

GAME

A GAME token is ERC-1155 token, combining assets and game programming to create an interactive experience. The GAME token must be paired with a LAND token.

CATALYSTs

Catalysts are ERC-20 tokens. Catalysts have four empty sockets, which can be filled with Gems to make a player more powerful.

GEMs

GEMS are the ERC-20 that defines player asset attributes. Depending on play’s need, every Gem has a different function that can be applied to an asset and increase the Sandbox’s game experiences throughout the Metaverse.

What Is Virtual Land?

Virtual lands are NFT-ownable digital spaces or land plots, similar to physical real estate. The virtual lands platform creates large maps of land that is divided into small parcels to sell on the market. Virtual plots of land are smart contract programmable spaces that allow people to buy, sell, rent, construct, and explore in a virtual world. Owning virtual land is similar to owning physical real estate, where the owner can either keep the NFT or sell it directly to a buyer at an agreed-upon price in marketplaces. Buyers can directly pay with cryptocurrency or use a mortgage to purchase land. The virtual landowner will keep the assets in their wallet and then either sell the property or design and build on the land. Popular NFT virtual land projects include Decentraland, the Sandbox, and Axie Infinity.

Decentraland (A Case Study)

Decentraland is a decentralized, virtual reality Metaverse platform powered by the Ethereum blockchain. The platform enables users to create, buy, and sell virtual content and digital real estate. Land parcels are NFTs based on digital assets. You can do whatever you like with your LAND once you’ve owned it. Each plot of land can only be 33 feet by 33 feet in size with unlimited height. This plot allows users to organize their LAND more efficiently by merging adjacent parcels.

Decentraland Architecture

The Decentraland protocol is comprised of three layers :

Consensus Layer

Each parcel of LAND is an NFT token, defined by LANDregistry smart contract. The EstateRegistry contracts define ESTATE tokens. Smart contracts power the consensus layer and track the ownership of land parcels and their content. Users can buy new parcels of LAND with the MANA token. And the LANDregistry contract burns MANA whenever it creates a new LAND.

Land Content Layer

Land content stores the reference of a hash of the file’s content. From this reference, the application can download digital content of parcel of digital land from BitTorrent or IPFS. The downloaded file contains a description of the image, textures, sounds, and other elements needed to render the scene.

A schematic depicts the layers of the decentral and protocol, processed in 3 layers real-time, land content, and consensus. It includes decentral and client, nearby clients, P 2 P servers, content, land, estate smart contract, and I P F S.

Real-time Layer

The real-time layer enables peer-to-peer connection, or the ability for users to communicate with each other. These connections are necessary to build community social interaction. Decentraland also has an avatar messaging voice chat.

Figure 7-12 summarizes Decentraland protocol layers.

Buy Land in the Metaverse

Anyone can buy, sell, or rent land on the official Decentraland Marketplace or through an NFT marketplace like OpenSea . Decentraland also provides the mortgage option of obtaining land. However, before starting with the land purchase, make sure you go through the following steps:

Step 1 – Select a Metaverse Platform and Sign In

In our case, we will select Decentraland platform ( https://market.decentraland.org/ ).

Directly use Metamask to connect or register an account at the Decentraland platform. Metamask is recommended to purchase and sell land:

A screenshot of the metaverse platform and sign-in. The labeled steps on the left side are metamask, formatic, wallet connect, and coin base wallet and the right side are signature requests for account 1.

Once signed in, select the “Land ” tab to be directed to the land parcels for sale (see the following image):

An illustration with headers as an overview, collectibles, land, and my asset. The land is highlighted by a line under it to illustrate maze structures.

Step 2 – Buy Cryptocurrency

Most Metaverse platforms . and NFT marketplaces require you to have a native crypto token beforehand. You can purchase these currencies on crypto exchanges such as Coinbase and Binance and send these tokens to your wallet address, for example, Metamask or Coinbase Wallets.

Step 3 – Choose a Plot of LAND

The marketplace allows you to view individual parcels at various options. Select on sale option . You can examine nearby locations. The main things to consider before buying land in the Metaverse are:

• Land price.

• Size of the virtual land area.

• Area: Close to popular attractions (hubs, shops, galleries, event spaces, etc.).

• Who is the seller of the land.

• Transaction history.

• Utility potential (gallery, events space, shop, etc.).

Click on a virtual property to learn more details until you find the land you want to purchase. The land prices are listed in MANA with the owner’s detail information:

An illustration depicts the plot of land into 3 processes cheapest fash at 4599, fashion street at 4640, and admiralbulldo at 3650.

Step 4 – Purchase the Property

Once you have found and selected the property that you want to buy, the “buy,” and “bid” buttons allow you to place an order and complete a purchasing transaction. You can use Ether or MANA to purchase .

Once you click the “buy” button, you will be asked to confirm your purchase. It will take a few seconds to a few minutes until the transaction is complete. Now you owned the virtual Metaverse land.

An illustration depicts the purchase of the property. The labeled process is admiral bulldog's land.

You can buy the land in Open Sea too. Click explore ➤ virtual land. You will see the Decentraland collections shows.

An illustration depicts the land in the open sea by clicking explore, virtual land, and see the decentral and collection of 6 virtual lands displayed.

Click in Decentraland . It will show you available land for sale. Pick one of these lands you want to buy to complete your purchase:

A screenshot depicts the available land for sale and picks any one of these displayed 14 lands you want to buy to complete your purchase in the open sea.

Metaverse Stages 1: Emerging (2021–2030)

In this stage, the Metaverse will continue to integrate various innovative technologies with existing systems to reconstruct its basis, from the experience layer to the infrastructure layer. With a relatively lower barrier for entry, the creator economy and discovery layer is likely to see the most activity. A virtual world consisting of a large-scale human society with a fully digital representation of the physical reality will appear. However, reality and virtuality stay as two parallel spaces.

Metaverse Stages 2: Advanced (2030–2050)

The physical and digital worlds gradually merge and blend. Many aspects of our real-life elements, such as work, study, shopping, social, finance, entertainment, and many other services in the real world, are connected or migrated to the virtual world. The population and activities of the virtual world continue to expand further, and the Metaverse has become an important part of human life.

Metaverse Stages 3: Mature (After 2050)

The Metaverse becomes a persistent and self-sustaining real-world reality, and achieves a virtual universe depicted at the “Oasis” level in the 2018 movie “Ready Player One.” The concept “Full dive VR” —a term coined by the Japanese light novel Sword Art Online in 2009—describes a virtual reality experience where a person fully “dives in” to the virtual world and becomes disconnected from the actual physical reality; in a sense, it would almost be like teleportation.

At that time, the virtual and real worlds will be indistinguishable, and the population and usage of the virtual world will be numerous.