Watch: What VRChat Gets About the Metaverse That Meta Does Not

While VRChat does not actually describe itself as a metaverse platform (yet?), it is by far the leading contender in that space. I feel like I've been writing about that little appreciated theme for at least the last couple years, but this new video from Quintin Smith (Wired, Edge, Eurogamer) of People Make Games makes that case with copious interviews and examples (several of which I've also featured here, see below) and in a far more charming accent.

His video is a great and golden respite from the deluge of putative "metaverse" stories which generally turn out to be NFT-flavored cash grabs, or just as questionable, the latest bland announcement from Meta or another corporate giants. But as Quint tells me, they are missing something key about platforms like these:

"I think big tech is so keen to profit from creativity that they've managed to create an ecosystem that is abhorrent to the coolest, most enthusiastic creators, who are rarely doing it for the money. They're doing it because it's their passion! And if you aren't appealing to their passion first and foremost, you're going to create a very depressing scene."

I'd almost make that point axiomatic: If most people on your metaverse platform are mostly creating for money, it's probably not going to succeed.

By contrast, as he notes in the video, many VRChat users are in the virtual world because “they’re on the spectrum, or they felt unsafe socializing outside, or they felt the real world might be hostile to their gender expression”. Creating a virtual space where they also can shine is a Metaverse worth fighting for.

Here's some of the personalities and topics featured in this video previously featured in New World Notes:

• The Devouring: User-Made Game In VRChat Becomes So Popular It's Being Turned Into A Standalone Game For Oculus & Steam
• Created by Studio CyFi (interviewed by Quint): Pet The Dog In VR: Adorable, AI-Powered Pooches Arrive In VRChat, A Free Public Demo Of A Upcoming Research Project
• By "Strasz", another interview subject: Why Virtual Mirrors Are Popular In VRChat: A Philosophical Explanation

Hat tip: Ben Rainwolf.

Comments

[Martin K.]

It's an interesting video to complement the recent YouTube video about the dark side of VRChat ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tod1qMcWeMk ).

The "insight" that many people are attracted by the possibility to break all kinds of laws without repercussions (copyright laws, trademark laws, laws to protect minors, hate speech laws, etc.) is kind of trivial, isn't it? And frankly, the fear that this law-breaking might have to stop at some point is somewhat silly: of course it has to stop once a platform grows big enough (as Roblox had to learn last year: https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/roblox-national-music-publishers-association-nmpa-settle-copyright-lawsuit-1235075154/ .)

We often blame Meta and other social media companies for insufficient moderation of their platforms and forget that in the first place it's their users who break laws - very much similar to users breaking laws in VRChat. Maybe we should be a bit more reluctant to celebrate all this law-breaking in the name of creative self-expression.

[Martin K.]

I tend to agree. And I'm afraid that you also can't enforce a reasonable code of conduct without destroying a large part of the current appeal: it's not only trolls who enjoy being toxic, but also bystanders who enjoy watching the toxicity unfold and feeling that everything is possible.