Thread by @seojoonkim

1/ How should we approach the concept of “Metaverse”?

2/ We are being swamped by the word “Metaverse” these days. Maybe this is because the gaming industry has been shunned too often from the mainstream that now many want to push anything with 3D avatars as something must for the future.

3/ But, if we think thoroughly about the terminology itself, we can say for sure that there is no clear consensus on the definition of the metaverse.

4/ By looking at many different versions of the definition of the metaverse, I could see there are three common keywords:

1) social, 2) creator economy, and 3) virtual (space).

5/ Let’s go back to the word origin of the metaverse:

meta + universe.

6/ This frees us from thinking that the virtual universe has to be 3-dimensional.

Indeed, humankind had long thought the universe was 3D until Einstein brought the theory of relativity to add another dimension. And, string theory brings even the possibility of 11 dimensions.

7/ So we don’t necessarily have to think that the virtual space is 3D.

If we could see vibrant social and economic activities taking place, the 1- or 2-D virtual spaces like YouTube, Instagram, or even Myspace could be considered to have metaverse components.

8/ How about Roblox and Minecraft? Many tend to assume that these games are pioneers of metaverse narrative.

However, the closed worldview within Roblox created due to productivity and accessibility makes it ‘microverse’ instead.
stratechery.com/2021/the-roblo…

9/ How do we differentiate between metaverse and microverse? I believe the following four characteristics could be used:

a) trustless; b) openness; c) interoperability; d) composability.

10/ These four characteristics are not necessarily MECE for a) trustless is more of a meta concept and d) composability is more of a result of others.

11/ a) Trustless: You don’t have to trust any third parties. Platform businesses cannot manipulate their systems and users do not have to worry about their data or asset sovereignty being damaged.

12/ b) Openness: How open are games that are categorized as metaverse? The universe is infinite and open to all. All service layers should be accessible by users and system devs.

13/ c) Interoperability: Can we bring Roblox items to Minecraft? On the other hand, we could bring items that exist on Earth to Mars.

14/ d) Composability: Could we combine distinct functions of different metaverses? Just like DeFi, we need composability so that we could combine pre-existing infrastructure or services to create a product that seamlessly operates.

15/ TL;DR: The “real” metaverse will only work with public blockchain.

Do you really want to live in the universe where the laws of the universe could be manipulated by a few or where all your assets are illiquid and impossible to migrate?