Imagine: you can escape to a revolutionary digital world. In this digital world, you can spend time with friends, play games, and interact with social media in ways you’ve never seen before. This world serves as a second reality and works across the globe for cultures of all kinds.
Believe it or not, this world is closer to the horizon than you might think. It’s called the metaverse.
The metaverse is Meta’s pet project and may be the most innovative future we’ve ever imagined. With this second reality on its way, the big question is about metaverse design.
For metaverse builders who want to capitalize on this new reality, where do you even begin? Strap in, it’s going to be a wild ride. Join us as we discuss the design for the metaverse.
What Is the Metaverse?
The metaverse is a concept that goes back to the fiction of the 80s and 90s. Neal Stephenson coined the term in his cyberpunk Snow Crash novel.
In Snow Crash, the metaverse was an escape. A second reality where they could live a better life than in their dystopian reality. People could own real estate, spend time in social activities, and even work to earn digital currency.
The Metaverse in Stephenson’s book existed solely in VR. You had to wear a special type of goggles to access it, and it created a unique audio-visual experience unlike any other.
Now, that fiction may just become reality. Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, announced his plans for the metaverse way back in October of 2021.
When describing his version of the metaverse, Mark Zuckerberg described a lot of features of the fictional metaverse. Namely:
- Embodying an avatar that you can customize as you see fit
- Owning and living in a digital space that you can customize to your heart’s content
- Taking part in virtual social activities that allow friends to do anything in a virtual environment
- Play games and experience entertainment in a way never before seen
- Host meetings
- Create digital events
The list goes on. The point is, the metaverse is full to bursting with potential. People can be who they want and do what they want in ways they could never in the real world.
Tips for Metaverse Design
Metaverse builders and metaverse designers can’t wait to get their hands on this digital world. The same goes for big-name brands, advertisers, and celebrities. The metaverse provides endless business opportunities, and a means of engaging customers in ways that have never been done before.
As such, no one is yet truly prepared for the challenges that the metaverse will pose. To design the metaverse, engineers may have to throw everything they know out the window.
Since the metaverse is a fully virtual world, it provides opportunities and difficulties that didn’t exist previously.
For example, in our current day, users only see ads when they use digital devices. They might see an ad during a YouTube video. But once they put their phone down, those ads have no way to reach them.
In the metaverse, on the other hand, it will be more difficult for users to get around ads. They won’t be able to use content blockers or stop paying attention to ads like they used to.
So, let’s cover some of the key principles when it comes to design for the metaverse.
Metaverse Designs Create a Narrative Experience
In the digital world, everything is a narrative experience. From the moment users enter the metaverse to the moment they “jack out,” they’re experiencing narratives of all kinds.
The most successful metaverse builders will be those who build around the experiences. Rather than shoving an ad in the user’s face before they play a game, the ad perhaps appears naturally as they’re playing.
They Make the Most of Adaptive, Visceral 3D Worlds
The metaverse will use all the latest and greatest in virtual technology. Users will experience depth perception, spatial audio, and more. Their experience from beginning to end will be one that’s nearly as immersive as the real world.
Knowing how to use these visual and audio elements for immersive advertisements and experiences will change everything. Users won’t want to see a static image overlayed on their dynamic metaverse world. They’ll want to see one that melds with the digital world in unique ways never before seen.
Metaverse Designers Build Across Interconnected Virtual Realities
The metaverse is not one single reality, but many. It makes up a wide breadth of interconnected digital experiences. There are no borders in the metaverse, which means users move fluidly from one aspect of the metaverse to another.
With this in mind, metaverse designers need to build seamless experiences. They’ll need to learn how to carry their experience across different mediums. This may mean having to learn to use a lot more tools than they previously did.
Using Research to Comprehend the Complexities of the Metaverse
The metaverse will be undoubtedly more complex than any digital medium we’ve ever seen. Tracking user analytics in a web browser or mobile phone is already a complicated topic enough as it is. Add to that an avatar’s digital placement, and mannerisms, and you have a whole new beast entirely.
A lot of research will be needed in the early days. Researchers will have to consider a glut of factors on a scale they’ve never had to consider before. All of this will be necessary to maximize user experience.
Join the Metaverse
The metaverse is Meta’s exciting new virtual reality concept. It’s a digital world that offers untold potential for everyone from content creators to advertisers. When you perfect your metaverse design, keep these principles in mind.
Calling all metaverse builders! Are you ready to grow your brand in the digital world? We’re here to help.
Request a demo today and see how you can begin to build your empire in this digital world.
