Let’s start with one accepted fact. Metaverse is a three dimensional virtual environment. How we access it, is another question.
Advent of Metaverse as an alternative digital universe happened as an extension of Virtual reality with assimilation of other technologies and concepts. But for quicker and wider adoption amongst users, it may or may not be depended on it forever. Metaverse is inspired by our own existent, an attempt to create a digital reality parallel to that of our own. However these realities are not limited to a single one. Different businesses at this current stage are trying to develop their own metaverse (read software) and get therm popular amongst the users. There is an expectation that users will spend time within the metaverse, interact with other users as well as spend crypto money buying land, building property and doing activities. Sound interesting but still years away from being accepted by the masses.
So, should we consider metaverse another fad, a gaming environment like farmville or does this have the potential of being the future of web i.e. Web 3.0. As the industry visionaries predict, it does have the potential beyond a gimmick and can revolutionise the web. At this stage, we cannot know for sure. The technologies like augmented reality, virtual reality, blockchain, crypto currency which form the basis of an operational metaverse have not yet been fully accepted by the governments and the public at large. Hence acceptance of a metaverse is still a question.
Coming back to our original question and speaking hypothetically, a metaverse so developed, will it be dependent on virtual reality? It should ideally, if we are to honour the three dimensional component of it. However, it can still be viewed in two dimensional on a computer screen or a mobile phone. If interactions with the components of a metaverse were to be created using augmented reality, then it will have to be viewed with an interface like that of a mobile phone OR AR glasses or even the windscreen of a car or a chopper. This in true sense will be total assimilation of a virtual world into the real world.
Metaverse will be an immersive experience which will always require an interface to cross that line from real to digital, however, for it to be dependent on VR, it will require full fledged adoption of VR devices arose the globe to the level similar to that of smartphones in the present day. However, till then businesses will surely adopt other convenient and easily accessible hardware like a desktop and mobile phone in order to get mass feedback and development of metaverse softwares.
