The Metaverse Festival 2022 gathered more than 200 tech enthusiasts in a venue where guests met the Metaverse through unique experiences delivered with comprehensive reality technologies. The event was held on June 2nd and 3rd at VR PLAY PARK, located directly at Wenceslas Square, where multiple industry experts shared their insights on the latest trends and future outlook for the worlds of NFTs, Web3, and extended reality technologies, which together connect users with the Metaverse.
Web3 and the NFTs
The speakers covered many topics, starting from the tech basics of the Metaverse and Web3. Chen Songke introduced Web 3 from Tencent, one of the highest-grossing multimedia companies in China. He cleverly described Web3 as the internet of value because it empowers anyone to exchange digital assets. He also stressed the significant connection between the NFTs and the Metaverse. NFTs are one of the building blocks of the Metaverse, as they allow people to own virtual goods, such as real estate, cars, boats, and even articles of clothing. Chen stated that the trust in the Metaverse would collapse without NFTs and thus made a perfect introduction for the next speaker, Wubo Zhou, the co-founder of Micia Micha, the first NFT marketplace in China, branded as “the bridge between China and the rest of the world”.
In his speech, he talked about the future prospects of the NFTs, emphasizing what everyone’s been talking about lately, the fact that there is a bubble in the post-COVID NFT market, and asked a valid question about how to face that bubble and how the market will look after it pops. His main objective is to create real value in the NFTs. That objective was explained through four separate cases, the first being to develop real-life values behind the NFTs to make them more profound than just images. Other possibilities would be to create more creative solutions and to attract more serious industries, not just entertainment. The last case for strengthening the value of NFTs is to transfer them into the Metaverse in a way that benefits both parties.
NFTs were a hot topic on the second day of the festival, but it was more about the art and the NFTs in the metaverse, starting with speaker Sam Gittis from Cryptoportal, who shared some interesting thoughts on how deep the metaverse is. He put the key to social interaction, mentioning that it’s all about connecting with people. NFTs are more than just images; they can serve as social tokens, enabling many unique projects. He also stated that NFTs and Web 3.0 are key to decentralization, enabling us to cut the middleman and give artists greater freedom to profit from their art and build supportive communities. Sam claims that the metaverse is the next digital revolution and that NFTs are blockchain tools to get there.
The Metaverse – what is it, how could you enter it, and how to build your own?
The Metaverse, the main topic of this event, was presented to the audience by Somnium Space’s CEO, Artur Sychov. And not only did he show this topic on stage, but he also streamed his whole presentation in the Metaverse in parallel, so users could join Somnium Space from anywhere. The speaker explained the Metaverse’s appeal by highlighting its highly immersive nature. Virtual reality tricks our brains into thinking we are there. This enables a special connection between us and the Metaverse environment and surroundings, unlike the regular online experiences we are used to. That’s why Artur stated that the future of the Metaverse is a virtual reality since there are no limits to what we could do. The presentation amused the audience, since the speaker was in the Metaverse and randomly met his friend from Columbia, who was casually walking alongside him. It was an excellent preface to how everyday conversation will look in the Metaverse, and it’s safe to say the audience appreciated it.
After explaining the Metaverse, Adam Rajnoha, the CEO of MOYA, introduced another great topic. This first digital retailer connects brands and consumers as they transition to digital ownership and experience. Adam gave an excellent presentation for brand owners, giving them tips on entering the Metaverse. He claims the most important thing is staying relevant and surviving in your market since the Metaverse market is expected to reach 8-13 trillion dollars by 2030! As an example of successful Metaverse implementation, Adam mentioned celebrity collaborations like Snoop Dog and Sandbox or influencer endorsements. Several big brands, like Nike and Wendy’s, have already collaborated. The main point would be that the Metaverse is the new battleground for commerce. The lack of scalability and interoperability with digital assets suggests there’s no standardized commerce channel to reach customers across Metaverses. This is precisely where they saw the need for Moya. Moya is the first cross-metaverse, multi-category retailer that connects brands and consumers through digital asset ownership and experiences across multiple AR & VR metaverses. For now, Moya offers three ways for users to immediately combine assets: photo fitting, AR merch, and the ability to enter Metaverses.
The next keynote speaker was David Marak, the CTO and co-founder of YORD, a global creative VR, AR, XR, and Metaverse studio specializing in complex interactive projects and building high-end immersive experiences. David outlined some objectives for developing your Metaverse, noting that it is layered, requiring more and more software to experience it more immersively. A significant factor in the Metaverse is its decentralization, meaning the internet will be a more democratic place where you will own all your data. The speaker tried to give a clear answer for brands and individuals on the best way to reach the Metaverse. Since there are many brands onboarding and so many possibilities to explore, the key should be to find your target audience and work toward them. It’s all about the different integration layers, meaning anybody can join another solution and add extra space. It might not be very easy for a newcomer, so the safest choice is a professional Metaverse company that will lead your first steps towards the Metaverse.
The architecture and music in the metaverse
Patrik and Dan gave the last keynote of the day from Modest Artificials. They design Metaverse buildings, such as NFT galleries, Metaverse shops, Company Showrooms, and Music Clubs, across the Metaverses, including Somnium Space, Decentraland, Cryptovoxels, Mona, Victoria VR, and others. Their goal was to give us a short description of how the architecture will look in the Metaverse. What the Metaverse provides architects is the chance to express themselves in ways real-world architecture can’t due to physics. There is no gravity, no limits for design, which puts it all on the designer’s imagination. Apart from that, it’s an entirely new way for companies to monetize their assets, and it’s interesting to notice that some of them already have their offices in the Metaverse.
How the music will look in the Metaverse was presented by Patrik Gudev, the CEO of Museverse, the music platform for playing and performing in the Metaverse. He offered a fascinating insight into how virtual reality is a game-changer for music. There are already the first interactive musical instruments as NFTs playable in virtual reality. What VR does for music is the possibility to perform from anywhere in the world, and it could be in front of thousands or millions of people! It creates endless possibilities. Imagine starting your virtual band and jamming with people from all over the world! But it’s not just about the fun; it also gives a great chance for young and struggling musicians to earn rewards for their performances, which will surely bring some fresh names to the scene. The best guarantee for this is the concerts of big musical names already held in the metaverse, like Travis Scott’s Fortnite concert, which drew 46 million people! Patrik also announced the opening of Museverse club, a metaverse club that you can enjoy from anywhere in the world.
The best intro to this club was the Metaverse Festival party happening after the speakers made their points. The DJs were playing inside the VR PLAY PARK, but their performances were also available in the Somnium Space. ILAEY, Badfocus, Fatty M, and Cyper Sound entertained the virtual and live audience. This party was something else, and it’s undoubtedly something you can’t see everywhere (at least for now).
This event proved that the Metaverse has people both puzzled and interested at the same time. When it was time for the audience to express their thoughts and concerns about the Metaverse, some exciting things were mentioned, like the psychological effect of the Metaverse, more precisely, are people going to have a life outside of the Metaverse? The event raised many interesting topics yet to be uncovered and made the audience invested in the idea of a new immersive reality. The organizers claim this is just one of many exciting future events they have in mind. So we might soon be experiencing another great trip beyond reality!
