Collapse in the Metaverse

The virtual world inside a metaverse is a vulnerable thing. It depends on the continuation of interest in the the cyberspace which is created and maintained by the SysAdmin. Recently the Facebook Corporation made the move to forward the development of a Metaverse in which is billions of subscribers could interact as avatars walking around in a virtual world free of physical contact between biological bodies.

 

The idea that a single entity could own and control an entire existence runs afoul of the degrees of freedom people have come to expect in that realm. The real world is governed by powerful cadres of people who own everything even the water and air. They have monetized every aspect of the experience one can have. The same situation is developing in the metaverse. Actually, it is metaverses, plural, since the rush is on to create the next and best place for subscribers to come and play. Every video game is itself a micro metaverse, a bubble existence, where noting else outside the server exists.

In the same way a mining town in western states once grew up to be the place to be and get rich, the metaverses are on the same track. That track ends with the boom town becoming a ghost town where no one cares to be anymore. Company towns all across the nation are dilapidated remnants of their former selves. Few hangers-on remain to haunt the town but no one is maintaining them as they fall further into decay.

Every human settlement, i.e. town, villages and cities all need a reason to exist. Metaverses are no different. Styles change. Technologies improve and evolve. What was once state of the art is now yesterday's glory. The only way to assure continuation of human interest is the continual creation-destruction process. Hush Puppies were once THE SHOE to wear. No Longer. They did have a short lived revival, but they are once again passe. DOOM once was THE GAME to play on a computer. Pockets of enthusiasts strive to keep alive their favorite games just like their grand and great-grand-fathers keep alive their recollections of past wars and their part in them.

"Metaverses come and metaverses go, but the Megaverse abides."

The Megaverse is the universal set of all possible metaverses. No one person or corporation controls that space. A nation controls its currency by fiat, that is merely declaring its currency is a medium of exchange. In that manner, Bitcoin, Ethereum and a 1000 other cryptocurrencies are fiat if an authority says it is. One government can declare its currency Legal Tender but so can a hundred million (or more) holders of Zagnut candy bars. The utility of Zagnut bars may be limited to transactions sanctions by its holders, but they can be a medium of exchange nonetheless. The difference with cryptocurrencies is there is no central bank. Tens or hundreds of thousands (even millions) of computers all over the world process transactions and every owner of that currency agrees it has value by buying, selling and exchanging the currencies one for another and for assets either digital or physical.

One must keep in mind that ALL money is a medium of exchange for items a group of buyers and sellers which to exchange. Currencies collapse too. Only when they are stable and the holders keep faith in them, are they of any value.

Visiting and existing in a metaverse takes a leap of faith that being there will continue to satisfy the populace who reside there. If there is no reason to exist, it will cease to be of value and will eventually disappear into the dusty back roads of history. A metaverse has value if people say it does and go there to share their experiences with others who are there.

Metaverses need objects and developed spaces. Developers will create those digital assets when users demand them. Say you are a James Bond wannabee. You create an avatar who is handsome and svelte. Standing there in your BVDs won't make much of a positive impression. You'll want a tuxedo to impress the ladies. The easiest way to get a tux is to buy one from a clothing developer. Those people will digitize the articles of clothing and sell it to you as a non-fungible token (NFT) and you can wear it to the MetaCasino where you can sit at the Baccarat table and gamble your ETH and BTC. There you may see a beautiful woman avatar wearing the finest Halston NFT-Dress. She had to buy that one too. You want to impress her and send virtual drinks to her, shaken not stirred. Conversely, you might be the woman dressed to the Nines to meet a dashing man-about-town who has Double-O status. Maybe, just maybe you'll need a virtual room for additional activities.

For a limited time you are entertained by the notion you are suave and debonair or glamorous and dazzling, and it will cost you. Probably not as much as actually dressing up for the evening and going to a classy casino and meeting someone to pass the time with. This is the promise of a metaverse. Tomorrow when you try to go back to that MetaCasino it is nowhere to be found. Its developer has lost interest in it or was forced out by other developers. Like a dream, it is gone, collapsed into the reverie of your memory. The side benefit is with your gambling skills your crypto wallet may be fatter and the evening cost you nothing at all.