Is the metaverse fun?
This depends on your definition of fun and what exactly you do in the metaverse, but many do find it fun.
Something about entering a virtual world with new people to meet, novel activities to engage in and fresh experiences to have creates opportunities for human connection, said Luca Arrigo, co-founder of Metaverse Architects, a 3D modeling and game development studio for metaverse worlds like Decentraland and The Sandbox.
“I believe there’s a difference between my personality in my hometown and my personality outside of my country and online. You drop any preconceived notion of who you are and where you come from. We all grow up with different insecurities. I do think that when I go online, I can be more myself,”
“I’m not really a luxury brand kind of person. I don’t feel like my identity is tied to real world objects. Yeah, well, ever since I started getting into the metaverse and experimenting with wearables, I’m going nuts for virtual fashion.”
But just because the metaverse exists online doesn’t mean it has to stay that way. Most proponents of the metaverse emphasize that virtual worlds are meant to be a supplement and enhancement of our life “IRL” (in real life).
“I’ve met people at a conference,” Arrigo said. “And then we started meeting up in Decentraland.”
In one instance, Arrigo and a new friend went to Metaverse Fashion Week together and shared NFT wearables for their avatars.
“I honestly don’t think everybody would appreciate an NFT wearable. But if you’re already in Web 3 and you have your MetaMask and you want another NFT and you receive it as a gift … it really feels like you’re giving someone something,” Arrigo said.
And for Arrigo, who normally wears plain white T-shirts and jeans, dressing up an avatar in the metaverse is a form of fun self-expression.
How do I find things to actually do in the metaverse?
As for finding things to do, you might have to rely on word of mouth — at least for now.
“A big problem with the metaverse is that if you go on Google, and that’s where we look for things to do online, right. And you search for metaverse, events, or you’re going to find in person summits, meetups, conferences. And those are events about the metaverse while staying in real life in real life,” said Arrigo.
In some ways, argues Arrigo, taking a trip to the metaverse is just like visiting another country or another city. And it does need all of the same things that tourist destinations have, such as TripAdvisor and tour guides.