The term metaverse has been blowing up the internet the past few months. The news about Facebook being renamed Meta was mixedly received with skepticism and excitement (mostly from the Matrix and Black Mirror fans). Experts define it as a new meaning to connect with people virtually that could potentially replace its equivalent in the physical world.
While the world debates over the use-case of an extravagant virtual reality, one should be looking at what Metaverse has to offer (other than holograms and pixelated street graffiti that move). The new version of the internet, Web 3.0, has given NFTs and blockchains a new hope. This article will help you understand how to build a metaverse and how much would building one potentially cost.
What is a Metaverse?
Metaverse is an ever-existing, online, three-dimensional world made of multiple virtual spaces. Day-to-day activities can be carried out online, making remote meetings, working, and entertainment more vivid. Metaverse is yet to be built in its full form, but some platforms have put out elements similar to it.
The main technologies that power the metaverse as its backbone are Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR). Other secondary technologies that can play a big role in the metaverse include Blockchain, DLT, and NFTs. These, along with the sensory output devices like VR goggles and headsets, give us the full metaverse experience.
Metaverse is an interconnection of many technologies primarily focusing on networking. The main players in a modern metaverse apart from its foundation are cryptocurrencies, an eXtended reality that includes VR and AR. NFTs are the flesh of the metaverse. The components of decoration and functionality in metaverse are predominantly tradable NFTs.
The Role of Crypto in the Metaverse?
The metaverse is popularly understood as many interconnected virtual spaces that a person can access through VR headsets. With time, we can expect many more organizations to set up their own metaverse spaces. Eventually, all these entities in a metaverse would need to do transactions with each other. And guess what the best tool for that is? Crypto it is!
The foundation of the metaverse is in the decentralization that encourages an individual user-owned economy. Metaverse is already playing with big money. People invest in virtual real estate in metaverse in exchange for real money, and the highest-selling virtual plot was sold for $1 million. For example, Decentraland is a virtual-reality marketplace created by ETHereum where one can create, explore, buy or sell virtual real estate using the token MANA. Decentraland has surpassed over 130,000 land sales at a total price of $92 million.
Axie Infinity, a trading and battling game in a metaverse built on a blockchain, allows players to collect, breed, and raise creatures called “axies.” Axies are digitized as NFTs. After 18 months of its launch, the company estimated that an average player had spent around $400 on the game.
The most popular among cryptocurrencies in the metaverse are NFTs. Digital assets can be traded, bought, and sold as NFTs. Any person can create digital identities and assets and put them for sale in a marketplace within the metaverse. Moreover, cryptocurrencies can be used as the commodity of exchange for digital goods. It is the key to ownership, value transfer, governance, and decision making and a key to accessibility within the metaverse.
How to Build a Metaverse?
Metaverse is complex, and the structures we build into it must support interoperability and be persistent, as synchronous as possible to the real world. It must also be secured enough for transactions, thus creating an economic base. And the cherry on top is that the virtual world must be filled with content and experiences staying true to its meaning. On a high level, the steps involved in building a metaverse app are;
- Step 1: Choose a metaverse platform
- Step 2: Design the metaspace
- Step 3: Build an interaction layer
- Step 4: Build an interoperability layer
Let’s dig deeper and understand what needs to be done in each step.
Step 1: Choose a metaverse platform
If you are planning to launch a metaverse space or an app, you first need to choose a metaverse platform. You can choose from the metaverse platforms already launched in the market, for example, Facebook Meta. Or, you can choose to build your metaverse platform from scratch. The second option is costlier but more apt for custom metaverse requirements, especially enterprises. The platforms available in the market today are mostly in their nascent stages, and for that reason, the features, functionalities, and developer communities are not that evolved.
Meta, formerly Facebook, is the biggest name in virtual world space today, and it is expected to be the largest metaverse platform. Given the fact that Meta owns some of the biggest social media networks in the world and has easier access to the world population to build up an early-mover consumer community. But Meta isn’t the only player there; Microsoft puts forth a strong competition. Microsoft Bets on ‘Metaverse’ with $69B acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Large and small, several players have introduced metaverses. You can choose the right platform based on your project idea or build a custom metaverse.
Step 2: Design the metaspace
Once you have figured out the metaverse platform, the next step is obviously to design the metaspace. A metaspace can be an app, a virtual meeting room, a virtual conference hall, or even a virtual home theater. Metaspace is a virtual space that a user can access via a VR headset. Inside a metaspace, people can interact with the environment and other people in it. So, if your idea is to build a virtual meeting room for your business, you have to design the virtual metaspace that can be added to the metaverse.
For designing the virtual 3D space, you’ll need the help of a multimedia development company that focuses on 3D designing and virtual reality development. If you need help with this piece, feel free to reach out to us. Below is a metaverse POC we developed for one of our clients in the hospitality industry.
Step 3: Build an interaction layer
The third step is to build an interaction layer so that your user can interact within the metaspace you have designed. For example, a 3D model of a meeting room is useless with the option for people to interact inside it. The interaction layer defines the user controls, access criteria, navigation controls, and communication protocols between the users. The interaction layer also defines the integrations with third-party tools and software needed to support the functioning of the metaspace.
For example, if you need a Zoom call feature within your virtual metaspace, you should have provisions to integrate Zoom APIs or SDKs into the metaspace you are building. It also takes care of the hardware components and external output devices like haptic gloves, smart glasses, virtual goggles, VR headsets, sensors, etc.
Step 4: Build an interoperability layer
Interoperability standards enable the operational processes to support the exchange and sharing of information between different systems. The goal of interoperability is to access and use data and digital objects autonomously by both humans and machines.
Interoperability standards are a common language set of common expectations that enable interoperability between two parties. Metaverse supports payment gateways that allow the transfer of virtual money/crypto. Choosing a blockchain to route the secure, transparent, and decentralized transactions is required to have a fully functioning virtual world.
How Much Does it Cost to Build a Metaverse?
Building a virtual world in a metaverse is a time-consuming and skill-intensive process that uses today’s finest technologies. Considering the fee that one must pay the tech experts and the time and energy spent on building and launching, a custom virtual world project should cost from $20,000 – $300,000.
Closing Thoughts
The final overview regarding creating your own virtual world in the metaverse ultimately rounds up a few steps now that you know how to build a metaverse. You can build a virtual world in the metaverse according to your planned objectives with the right choice of technologies. Most important of all, you need to start your journey of building the virtual world by understanding the core metaverse values.
The metaverse also needs many standards and prerequisites for offering the functionalities for which it has been gaining immense popularity. If you are planning on creating your own world in the metaverse, then you need to start from scratch. Start learning more about the metaverse and the best practices for participating in the metaverse right now.
