Will Temporary, Room-Based VR Spaces Work Better Than a Persistent Metaverse?

A virtual reality startup called AltspaceVR just raised a new $10 million round of funding "to build social spaces for virtual reality", and the CEO has an interesting way of distinguishing what they're creating from Linden Lab's Project Sansar:

Altspace isn’t alone with this approach: Linden Lab, maker of the popular virtual world Second Life, is currently developing a new platform optimized for virtual reality code-named Project Sansar. But whileProject Sansar is building upon many of Second Life’s core ideas, Altspace is trying to become a more transient social layer. “We are not looking to build a persistent world,” explained [Bruce] Wooden.

 I actually haven't seen any report that Project Sansar is going to be a persistent world -- have you? Then again, it's possible Wooden knows something we don't. In any case, it occurs to me that temporary, room-based spaces are the way to go, with VR -- they're easier to deploy, and most people seem to prefer using virtual reality in shorter bursts. (Indeed, AltSpace tells Variety that the average session lasts between 25 and 30 minutes.)

Another interesting tidbit from the Variety story:

One of AltSpace's lead investors is TenCent, which suggests the Chinese Internet giant is hoping to have its own virtual reality product for the China market. Which as I wrote from Beijing, could really use some VR to distract from the hellscape that's often outside.

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Comments

[Jacki]

AltSpace VR is one of the more interesting VR offerings out there but has a long way to go before it provides some of the affordances of Virtual Worlds like SL and OpenSim. I can't wait to see real personalized avatars in VR!

[Estelle Pienaar]

I have understood frim the article at variety.com that project sansar will ne fundamentally different from SL, exactly by not being a brandid persisting metaverse. It seems like the guys from altspace are simply not well informed or they insist on a unique selling point that simply isn't there: http://variety.com/2015/digital/news/second-life-maker-linden-lab-wants-to-build-the-wordpress-of-virtual-reality-1201546110/

[Amanda Dallin]

I can see a market for both a persistent world and temporary room based VR. Until now the most successful VR has been SLs persistent world. I think the biggest coming market will be to virtually attend RL events such as concerts and sporting events.

[Cyberserenity]

How many room based worlds have been out there and how many died? The worlds are still here.

[RoblemVR]

Are temporary, room-based spaces are the way to go? Anyone remember Google Lively? Of course there are going to be a mix of Virtual World types with the influx of new VR people over the next few years. The success of one over the other is going to be as much about building a successful business model to keep these things afloat as much as anything else.

[irihapeti]

Amanda wrote: "I think the biggest coming market will be to virtually attend RL events such as concerts and sporting events"

^^ that

is passive engagement this. Watching other people doing interesting things is more interesting than trying to it it yourself in not very interesting ways. basically being nosey about what others are doing is way more interesting

the only thing really interesting that will motivate people to do something themselves is to get dressed up to go to the concert or event

is the passivity (unlike playing games and building stuff from nothing) that is the answer to the zillion dollars / members / signups questions

address the passivity and will get zillions of signups. Same way that TV, radio, blogs, etc. do. RL concerts and sports events audiences even as well

+

Ebbe said that the creators are the customers. Is kinda true this, but only for LL. Is the passive people who are the customers. Them who will buy the stuff to decorate themselves and their dressing rooms/houses/islands/homes

[irihapeti]

ps

lurkers yes. Is way more people lurk than dont