Category: Blockchain-Based Virtual Worlds

This category is for all the new cryptocurrency- and blockchain-based social VR spaces and virtual worlds (Decentraland, The Deep, Ethernia, Mark Space, Somnium Space, Staramba Spaces, Terra Virtua, VIBEHub, Virtual Universe, etc.)

Victoria VR: A Brief Introduction

Looking back over the past five years of writing this increasingly popular blog about social VR, virtual worlds, and the metaverse, one decision stands out as among the smartest I have ever made: creating the RyanSchultz.com Discord server.

My Discord now boasts over 650 people; they are fans representing every possible metaverse platform, who endlessly discuss, debate, and argue about all the virtual worlds out there, and the companies building them! Pound per pound, they form the best army of metaverse bullshit detectors on the planet.

And, let me tell you, my crowdsourced metaverse bullshit detectors are having an absolute field day picking apart a new NFT metaverse platform, called Victoria VR, by a Czech company of the same name, located in Prague.

Victoria VR describes itself as “a world of entertainment, discovery, and learning”, which will be based on the Unreal game engine, and expects to first launch on the Meta Quest 2 headset (although they say they have plans to support other headsets in the future). According to their white paper:

Welcome to Victoria VR, the World’s first realistic Metaverse in VR built on the Blockchain, welcome to a world without limitations. Free for everyone to visit and explore, Victoria VR will replace our current experiences of TV, cinema, business communications, education, entertainment, shopping, commerce services, even search and much more.

Most of the white paper speaks in very general, glowing terms about the profitable potential of a blockchain-based metaverse platform, and what an opportunity Victoria VR is, which is, of course. their prerogative, but the white paper is suspiciously skimpy on the actual technical details of the Victoria VR platform itself. This is a red flag.

The “avatars” for Victoria VR pictured appear to be taken from the Unreal MetaHuman system, which is a very clear red flag to me; there is absolutely no way that such data-heavy, ultra-realistic avatars ever would work to scale in any currently-available social VR platform! Using MetaHuman avatars in promotional images and videos is one thing; using them on an actual metaverse platform is quite another. Even a small crowd of them at a virtual concert (for example) would quickly bog down any platform that attempted to implement its avatars using this technology. In the mid-to-distant future, once the tech improves? Sure. Now, or in the near future? No way. As I said, this is another red flag.

(taken from the Victoria VR white paper)

The Victoria VR website and white paper also feature what has got to be one of the sloppiest-put-together comparison charts of social VR platforms which I have ever encountered:

Among the specious categories listed along the left-hand side of this comparison chart is “Algorithmization”, which is defined as the process of converting an informal description of a process or a procedure into a computer algorithm. I’m sorry, but this is hardly a unique feature of Victoria VR! Every metaverse platform (and frankly, every computer program) has algorithmization of processes! It’s just one example of how poor a job whoever was tasked with slapping this table together did.

It’s also riddled with factual errors. For example, VRChat has a blockchain? News to me. When one of the members of the RyanSchultz.com Discord, Enverex, asked about this glaringly obvious mistake on the official Victoria VR Discord server, he was told that he was wrong, and referred to the following Wikipedia article about VRChat:

Enverex points out that, while it looks like VRChat supports blockchain, this is a case where, if you actually open and read the page the Google snippet is referring to, it is very clearly is talking about the old High Fidelity social VR platform in the See Also section of the Wikipedia article, which appears at the very bottom of the entry:

High Fidelity—virtual reality platform featuring low latency, spatialized 3D audio, high-end environments, realistic avatars, and a working economy on the blockchain.

Frankly, this is inexcusably sloppy research by whoever threw this table together, obviously without even bothering to read his source materials!

Enverex also points out:

On other words, Victoria VR just lazily slapped their logo all over a stolen image (I doubt they even bothered to purchase this asset kit!). Here’s a close-up look at both pictures, so you can see the evidence for yourself:

Image used to illustrate the Victoria VR platform (taken from their website)
Art used to illustrate the Neo Shanghai world kit the Kitbash website

The Victoria VR website, white paper, and the Discord server are focused heavily on (pre)selling NFTs for virtual land, etc., and on something which they refer to as Virtual Revolution Staking:

According to the VR Staking FAQ:

Virtual Revolution Staking is our way to generously reward our committed Victoria VR Supporters who want to be part of the Virtual Revolution!

VR Stakers will be rewarded in multiple ways:

• Monthly Rewards
• Dynamic APY
• VR Land whitelisting (VR Lands Tickets)
• Mystery Airdrops
• DAO participation
• Virtual Revolution Staking will fairly redistribute rewards to those users who trust and support our project.

So you’re staking your hard-earned crypto up front, to win an opportunity to be whitelisted for some NFT-based virtual land. Hmmm….nope, sorry, this is insane.

Here’s a video which was recently shown by the company at the Virtuality Paris VR event. which clearly uses pre-rendered footage:

This was confirmed on Twitter and in the official Discord server:

Victoria VR confirms the video is pre-rendered footage (link to the tweet)
(taken from the official Victoria VR Discord server; link)

Enverex: Do you have a video of actual gameplay at all?

oxezoVR [Victoria VR]: I don’t.

Not too long ago, on this blog, I wrote about the battle of the various MetaWorld projects, talking about what appears to be the standard five-step process for so many of these NFT metaverse projects lately:

At this point, based on all three MetaWorlds, plus innumerable other NFT/crypto metaverse projects to which I’ve been giving some serious side-eye, the modus operandi for these sorts of projects seems to be:

Step 1: Buy a bunch of pre-made Unity (or Unreal) assets, the more realistic-looking the better.

Step 2: Create a slick promo video using those assets (or even better, reuse existing video and images used to promote these assets!).

Step 3: Mint a cryptocurrency and some NFTs for assets like virtual land, virtual vehicles, avatar wearables, etc.—whatever you think you can sell to people who don’t know much about the metaverse. (Sneakers, even though you don’t have avatars or even a platform yet where you can wear them? No problem!)

Step 4: Create a slick website with a lot of jargon, and lots of images and videos of the assets you bought in Step 1, to promote your new platform and sell your associated cryptocurrency and NFTs. Appeal to users’ FOMO and use lots of buzzwords like “blockchain” and as many “meta” terms as you can coin!

Step 5: PROFIT! (It doesn’t matter if you can actually deliver a product; you already collected your money in Step 4.)

And based on what I have seen—and what my army of metaverse bullshit detectors has told me—this is exactly the strategy the company building Victoria VR is following.

I’m going to give Enverex the last word here, as he’s the one who has spent the most time looking at this project:

The project seems to be powered entirely by FOMO at this point, as, unlike Decentraland and Somnium, they have no actual product that users can try out. If anyone asked them for any form of demo, they’d point users to an old product they released on the Oculus store which was just a prefab of a tiny gallery room as proof of concept, but it wasn’t proof of anything they claimed. The oddest part though is how no-one really seems to question any of this, users (mostly non-native English speakers oddly enough) are just throwing huge amounts of money at their very long winded whitelisting and lottery system for purchasing land. Land for a platform that literally doesn’t exist yet…

It’s entirely possible that it’s not a rug pull and will actually turn out to be a real project, but the majority of their claims cannot be true so even if they do eventually make something, it can’t be what their site has claimed. It’s funny because if you bring up that it can’t visually be what they keep claiming, their random users keep saying that “they’ll upgrade to UE5” as though that will make their hardware target (the Quest 2) suddenly able to run more detailed VR environments than even a current top-end PC, which obviously makes no sense. But again they appear to be selling to the ignorant masses that aren’t technically literate, so none of them question it. You can’t even take part in their land “presale” if you’re in the US as what they’re trying to do is illegal, so they don’t allow US users to take part.

If, after reading all of this, you are still somehow interested in this NFT metaverse project, you can peruse their website, join their Discord server or Telegram community, or follow them on Twitter. I have duly added Victoria VR to my ever-expanding list of social VR, virtual worlds, and metaverse platforms.

I leave you with my standard warning: do EVERY. SINGLE. SCRAP. of your own research before investing a penny in any blockchain, crypto, or NFT project! Caveat emptor!

A big thank you to Enverex and the other members of the RyanSchultz.com Discord!

Metaverse Fashion Week in Decentraland, March 23rd to 27th, 2022

I’ve already written about the Metaverse Fashion Week virtual catwalk shows previously held in Second Life here, but I also wanted to mention that the blockchain-based virtual world Decentraland is hosting several days of virtual fashion events as part of its own Metaverse Fashion Week.

The Fashion Bible Vogue reports:

MVFW, which starts this Thursday 24 March on virtual real estate platform Decentraland, is the largest digital fashion event to date. It is open to anyone, and a full schedule will appear online. Ongoing events throughout a four-day period include a handful of shows, alongside showrooms, stores, panels, virtual parties and NFT drops. It’s also become a major crossover event for mainstream fashion, with brands including Paco Rabanne, Dolce & Gabbana, Etro, Tommy Hilfiger, Dundas and Cavalli set to join digital firms such as Auroboros and DressX.

Here’s the full schedule of events, plus my step-by-step instructions on how to set up a Decentraland account if you need them. See you there!

Hanai World: A Brief Introduction

A little over a year ago, on March 2nd, 2021, Microsoft held its annual Ignite event on the social VR platform of AltspaceVR (which, of course, is owned by Microsoft).

I wrote at the time:

The Ignite event finale was a showstopper, promoting a still-in-development joint venture with Canada’s Cirque du Soleil called Hanai World, which featured not one, but FOUR people captured in volumetric video gathered around a magical campfire, 360-degree video of dancers and jugglers and other Cirque du Soleil performers, and AltspaceVR spectators (like me!) who were able to wander around and experience the space in 3D:

Well, a year later, and I have some more news to share about Hanai World! They now have a website set up and. much like this video, it is a rather trippy experience, talking about various kinds of eggs:

My heart sank when I scrolled down to page to realize that these eggs are apparently NFTs for sale:

The Genesis NFT of Hanai World provides native and ongoing utility and will grant the NFT holders unique accesses:

1. Be one of the first Hanai World nomads
2. Participate in future phytigal events and creations
3. Participate in NFT educaiton, and AR/VR and phygital experiences
4. Access to unique privileges and experiences

First, whoever coined the term phytigal needs to have some sense slapped into them (this “word” ranks right up there with abominations like metafluencers and metawave). It’s unnecessary, it’s ridiculous, and it’s irritating. STOP IT.

There’s not a whole hell of a lot on the website yet, and the NFTs (whatever they are supposed to be) are not yet for sale. Guy Laliberté, the founder of acclaimed Quebec entertainment company Cirque du Soleil, is prominently quoted as saying:

When I founded Cirque du Soleil, I was creating theatrical experiences based on a traditional stage – the circus. In creating Hanai World, we are offering theatrical experiences based on a contemporary platform – the metaverse. Both these chapters of my life find common roots through my commitment to the values of love, trust and respect. These essential life principles characterize my desire to be a good ancestor as well as my purpose with Hanai World, a phygital adventure, to empower the young creative minds of this world and help them lead the journey of art with heart.

So it would appear to be that Hanai World is going to be some sort of virtual/physical hybrid theatrical venue with some sort of NFT component? Honestly, I cannot make heads nor tails out of the word salad here. How eggs and being a good ancestor come into it, I really have no idea.

And there is that goddamned word phytigal again….kill it with fire! 🔥

This press release from the time of the Microsoft Ignite event last year describes Hanai World as “a new social mixed reality platform built on Microsoft Mesh that aims to connect physical and digital worlds”. The release goes on to say:

Leveraging the power of human connections, Hanai World—the platform which will make the most of Microsoft’s powerful new mixed reality collaboration platform Microsoft Mesh—will create and host a wide range of physical and digital experiences in real venues, in the flesh, and virtually, through mixed reality headsets, thus allowing people from all over the world to participate simultaneously in a collective experience, wherever they are. The first events previews should be available end of 2021.

Well, so much for that deadline… 😉

Oh, and apparently, they’re hiring:

We the curious dreamers, passionate seekers, and outsiders are imagining Hanai World as a poetic metaverse where the playground has yet to be defined.

👥 Want to be part of this journey with us? View our job offers in bio.

🤝 Collaboration opportunities:
– Treasure Hunter/researcher
– Senior art director
– Illustrator/storyboard artist
– Concept artist
– 3D environment artist
– Copywriter/Translator
– Video Game Creative Director

I assume they’ll tell you more about this project if you apply for a job there? The lack of any sort of concrete information about this project is kind of bewildering to me. The fact that they are hiring a whole bunch of people signals to me that they haven’t yet worked out a lot of the details of this whatever-it-is yet, either. And either they already have assembled a team of computer programmers to build Hanai World, or they are nowhere near ready to hire programmers (hence the focus on artists, researchers, copywriters, and other creative/design types in this hiring ad).

Another point: it’s clear that at least some portion of the massive profits from the Cirque de Soleil franchise are going into this little venture! Hanai World appears to be a Canadian-based. bilingual (English/French) company, based on the ad. So if you’re interested, consider applying for a job! The worst that could happen is that they say no.

To learn more about Hanai World, you can visit their website, join their Discord sever, or follow them on social media: Facebook and Instagram (there’s also a Twitter account you can follow, which for some reason they left off their website).

Mapping Out the Territory: Metaversed’s Directory Is a New List (and Accompanying Metaverse Universe Infographic) of the Ever-Expanding and Evolving Metaverse

SEE ALSO: Welcome to the Metaverse: A Comprehensive List of Social VR/AR Platforms and Virtual Worlds

Sometimes you need a good map of the territory—and that also applies to the metaverse! (Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash)

There has been a deluge, an absolute torrent, of metaverse news stories lately, partly sparked by Facebook’s October 2021 rebranding as Meta and its pivot to become a metaverse company, and partly because of the recent feverish interest and speculation in what I call the NFT metaverse platforms (both those existing and those not yet launched). As a result, the word “metaverse” is on a lot more people’s lips than it was a year ago!

Because of personal circumstances (e.g. the coronavirus pandemic, a 5-week strike by my union, etc.) I deeply regret that I have, thus far, been unable to find an opportunity to reorganize and recategorize my popular list of metaverse platforms, which, as you can clearly see from my WordPress stats below, has seen a truly remarkable surge of views in recent months:

When exploring the metaverse, it always helps to have a map of the territory (which is one of the reasons my list has become so popular lately). People want to know what is out there, and what their options are.

In the past, I have pointed readers to other people’s attempts at making sense of the ever-evolving metaverse and the many companies building it. One sterling example is the Directory of Collaborative XR Platforms, which aims to be a central repository of detailed information about XR collaboration products and platforms, primarily intended for the corporate and educational sector. I aspire to organize and categorize my own metaverse list to such an extent as the XR Collaboration website! I definitely recommend you check it out, if you have not already done so.

Well, guess what, people? Yesterday, I found another company who is working on creating a map of the territory! They are a consulting firm called Metaversed.

Metaversed bills itself as “the original metaverse consulting company”, saying:

We are passionate experts and thought-leaders in virtual worlds, MMOs, virtual reality, augmented reality, virtual goods and NFT’s. Since 2006 we’ve worked with global brands, game developers and publishers, agencies, start-ups, governments and investors providing de-facto analytics and strategic guidance coupled with high-impact, result-driven activation, consulting and advisory services. Oh, and we also do charts.

Metaversed claims a rather impressive list of previous and current clients:

But what I found most interesting (and especially dear to my librarian-cataloguer heart!) is that Metaversed has created a large, detailed alphabetical list, with an accompanying infographic, called the Metaverse Universe, which maps out as many social VR platforms and virtual worlds as they could find:

The Metaverse Universe and Radar charts show companies operating in the virtual worlds sector. The Universe chart shows virtual worlds segmented by how they are accessed (via browser or virtual reality headset) and whether they’re on or off a blockchain. The Radar Chart has a different perspective, grouping virtual worlds by major genre.

I especially like the way Metaversed has broken the metaverse market into sectors or segments, which is strikingly similar to my own personal thinking about how it should be organized and categorized. Here’s the breakdown of the Metaverse Universe infographic:

Category 1: Browser-Based (Flatscreen) Virtual Worlds

*Note that I do not endeavour to cover this particular segment of the metaverse on my blog, although I have written about it in passing. I also note that neither my list nor the Metaverse Universe attempts to cover the adult/sexual metaverse platforms, something in which I also have little interest in documenting (although the few times that I broke that rule, they rank among the most popular posts on my blog!).

†I would place IMVU firmly into the “Kids, Tweens and Teens” category myself, but part of the fun of analyzing other people’s maps of the territory is noticing these sorts of differences of opinion, which make you think about and question your own assumptions!

Category 2: Virtual worlds in VR (what I refer to as Social VR on my blog)

Now, on first glance, I am uncertain as to why Metaversed’s map makes this distinction, so I will have to do a little more digging to understand the difference between what Metaversed considers “rooms” and “worlds” social VR platforms. Again, great food for thought! Hopefully, I can speak with the creator(s) of this map, who are currently uncredited on the Metaversed website (in fact, I can find no mention of the team behind Metaversed at all, which I do find a bit odd for a consulting firm who is angling for your business).

Category 3: Blockchain-Based Virtual Worlds in VR (a.k.a Blockchain/Crypto/NFT-Based Social VR)

  • Those based on the Ethereum blockchain (e.g. Somnium Space, Spatial)
  • Those based on another (i.e. non-Ethereum) blockchain

Category 4: Blockchain-Based, Browser-Based (Flatscreen) Virtual Worlds

This is an extremely thorough attempt at mapping out the territory, which gladdens my little librarian heart! It also takes into account the vibrant quarter-century history of the metaverse by including venerable platforms such as Active Worlds! (Obligatory rant.)

I do notice a few platforms which have been skipped (notably NeosVR, VirBELA, Vircadia, and Raspberry Dream Land at first glance, but I should probably cross-check the Metaverse Universe map against my own list to find others).

Even better, the Metaverse Universe map and list includes several platforms which I had never heard of before! You know what that means; it’s time for me to go exploring and write up a few more blogposts! HOORAY!!!!

You can check out Metaversed’ Metaverse Directory list and accompanying Metaverse Universe infographic here (on their website the company states, “Contact us for high-res versions”, which I will certainly do! I will also be adding a link to this list to my own list (Welcome to the Metaverse: A Comprehensive List of Social VR/AR Platforms and Virtual Worlds), which, as I stated up top, is desperately in need of some reorganization and recategorization (my task over the next couple of months!).

I’m just so excited to discover that other people are interested in the taxonomy of the metaverse, and are working to create good maps of the territory! My wish and hope is that all of our individual efforts inspire each other’s work, and push each of us to make even better maps of the ever-evolving, ever-expanding metaverse.

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash