Live data from Hacker News

The metaverse is already here – it's Minecraft

clivethompson.medium.com

161–170 of 377 posts

Re: The metaverse is already here – it's Minecraft

#161
post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But the metaverse itself is not content. Instead it’s another medium to consume content. Therefore the metaverse isn’t a replacement for a video games or TV. You would simply watch TV or play a video game while in the metaverse. The metaverse in that regard isn’t a new concept, because VR spaces have existed for a long time now. I’ve watched movies in Minecraft more recently, for example. I’ve seen every idea in the…

A big reason the internet took off is one that I guess will be banned by default in the metaverse : 18+ content.

The metaverse that wins will allow 18+ content.

Not Zuckerberg.

Re: The metaverse is already here – it's Minecraft

#162

No, it is not. Neither is Roblox or Fortnite, or VRchat. A single game or world is NOT the metaverse, what is so hard to understand about that for journalists and companies? The metaverse is the immersive internet, as a successor to our current one that is more 2D oriented around photos/videos/text today. It's a paradigm shift in how we interact, but most importantly there will be many of these virtual worlds/spaces…

That's the metaverse we wish for, yet it's not the metaverse FB wants to build. It is the metaverse only in name, but it's just another proprietary sillowed plateform built to milk users.

A metaverse should have an HTTP-like protocol, with the goal to interconnect, to give power to the client, while allowing an ecosystem to build, because it would be defined as an open standard.

We need a 2021 Tim Berners Lee, not a Mark Zuckerberg.

Re: The metaverse is already here – it's Minecraft

#163
Last year they were trying to hype XR (eXtended Reality). I guess that didn't fly and now they're trying to see if Metaverse will interest the target market.

Kids will love it for sure. It is indeed Minecraft, but with different/better graphics.

Re: The metaverse is already here – it's Minecraft

#164
post #18

(Aware of the fact that I'm taking time out of my day to read HN) I really wonder how many adults > 25yrs and < 60yrs have the time to immerse themselves in any type of digital world / metaverse experience. If I was a teenager or in college, then yeah I can see it... but there are so many things to do in the 16hrs we have each day, and I already kick myself for not finishing that book, or getting an extra workout in,…

I also kick myself for not finishing things. Namely programming projects, my game backlog and lots of other things that are strictly digital. While you seem to want to get away from the computer I want to spend more time in front of it.

Re: The metaverse is already here – it's Minecraft

#165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This describes the current state of Minecraft, but Microsoft can tie new releases to new restrictions. The unknowing masses will adopt the new version without understanding the loss of freedom. Look at the success MS, Adobe, etc., have had getting people to pay rent each month for software like Office and Photoshop that they used to buy once and run forever.

Modded players already are decoupled from the current version. For a while everything interesting was stuck on 1.7 so while Microsoft may have shipped 1.8, and 1.9 nobody of consequence played those in the modded scene. Even today, the newer Minecraft versions are only used for very experimental packs. Something mainstream is on 1.12 while Microsoft have already begun shipping 1.19 Because of this, you have for many…

This freedom to use old versions sounds good. But of Minecraft's 100M+ users, what percentage know this? What percentage just automatically update to the newest version and don't explore the mod scene?

I just read that Mojang added no opt-out telemetry to version 21w38a.[1]

How many Minecrafters are savvy enough to understand that this happened, and the long-term implications?

I initially tried to follow guides and "mods" to disable Win 10 telemetry but eventually gave up because MS changes how telemetry is disabled with every single update.

[1] https://github.com/kb-1000/no-telemetry

Re: The metaverse is already here – it's Minecraft

#166
post #18

(Aware of the fact that I'm taking time out of my day to read HN) I really wonder how many adults > 25yrs and < 60yrs have the time to immerse themselves in any type of digital world / metaverse experience. If I was a teenager or in college, then yeah I can see it... but there are so many things to do in the 16hrs we have each day, and I already kick myself for not finishing that book, or getting an extra workout in,…

I'm 43, I don't play regularly because of work/kids/etc. but every now and then I log into one of my favourite servers and spend some time there.

Two years ago I have built a base on 2b2t[1], located millions of blocks away from spawn, it took many hours of travelling through nether highways to get there. Before starting the journey, I had to escape spawn (a very dangerous area since 2b2t is an anarchy server) and I had to find valuable items from scavenging abandoned bases. After I finished my base, I made friends on the server, I have also helped building one of the highways, using a hacked Minecraft client that includes tools to build tunnels automatically[2].

There is also another server that I have visited regularly, MinecraftOnline[3], I built a house there and I made some friends, this one has rules and moderators unlike 2b2t which is an anarchy server. On both servers there is a rich community, a subculture specific to the server, and even specific activities that stem from each server's subculture[4][5]

Based on my experience, I have to agree with the article, Minecraft is an amazing and diverse metaverse.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2b2t

[2] Highway Tools demonstration https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwkDk_Xn2Y4

[3] https://minecraftonline.com/

[4] https://minecraftonline.com/wiki/Pigchinko_(Game)

[5] Guide to Crystal PvP on 2b2t https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOImrm9ldTY

Re: The metaverse is already here – it's Minecraft

#168
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read a recent interview from mark zuck about the metaverse and someone asked him a similar question. He had an actually really insightful answer. 1) Most american adults watch several hours of TV per day. alternatively, many play a few hours of video games. (The actual per-person-per-day numbers are very high compared to the average 2hr/week i watch tv but whatever). Most of TV and Video Games are about ignoring re…

I'm frustrated that everywhere I look I keep seeing "metaverse" and "VR" used interchangeably. All of the things described above are VR, and none of them are the metaverse. Watching TV or playing a game in an immersive, distraction-free VR environment sounds great, and will happen, and it's not the metaverse, it's just VR. Working in a virtual home office has the potential to be extremely productive, ergonomic, and s…

I wouldn't be so sure. Bigscreen in VR is amazing. Hanging out inside a virtual cinema auditorium watching stuff together with other random people is way better than I could ever have imagined.

Re: The metaverse is already here – it's Minecraft

#169
post #145
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm frustrated that everywhere I look I keep seeing "metaverse" and "VR" used interchangeably. All of the things described above are VR, and none of them are the metaverse. Watching TV or playing a game in an immersive, distraction-free VR environment sounds great, and will happen, and it's not the metaverse, it's just VR. Working in a virtual home office has the potential to be extremely productive, ergonomic, and s…

I see a lot of assumptions about office worker productivity with zero real world evidence. A lot of home office workers never learned to touch type. How the heck are they supposed to do office work if they can't see their fingers on the keyboard? Voice recognition is no solution, it still sucks for text entry and is completely useless for anything like slide presentations or spreadsheets. There is legitimate potentia…

You’ll be able to see your fingers and arms and keyboard/mouse/trackpd/desk surface/chair all in vr. Even current gen oculus has a front facing camera.

Re: The metaverse is already here – it's Minecraft

#170
post #18

(Aware of the fact that I'm taking time out of my day to read HN) I really wonder how many adults > 25yrs and < 60yrs have the time to immerse themselves in any type of digital world / metaverse experience. If I was a teenager or in college, then yeah I can see it... but there are so many things to do in the 16hrs we have each day, and I already kick myself for not finishing that book, or getting an extra workout in,…

Working remotely? That's 8 hours of digital world / metaverse experience right there. Most people have at least another 2 hours of screen time on top of that. I know I have days that are just screen time essentially.
Post reply on HN