Important Points:
- Metaverse is the future of Web3 gaming that is rapidly in development this year
- The education and marketing strategy will decide the success of a blockchain-based company or project
- Metaverse is the killer app of Web3, says Edward Mason.
NFTStudio24 sat down for an interview with BGA members Barn Cleave, the CEO of canVERSE, and Edward Mason, a UN Speaker of Web3 and Founder of Frogland, to discuss the AR, VR, metaverse, gaming industry, and the future of Web3.
As the gaming industry grows, many challenges and achievements exist. This interview with Barn and Edward is an interesting dive into understanding the metaverse builders, investor market, target customers, core issues, and solutions to existing problems in the space.
What is CANverse: Leverage 3D gaming experiences
Source: Twitter
Barn introduces us to canVERSE as a development studio deeply interested in the field of AR, VR, and 3D experiences.
The firm was founded in 2001 when he and his team were actively exploring different aspects of how people react to 3D spaces. Barn has always worked on a “mobile-first approach” and to see how XR technology rolls out.
He gives the analogy of Iron Man movies where the superhero moves things around in a holographic 3D space. Barn sees the future of the metaverse to achieve this amount of advancement.
Fast forward, his company managed to design an interactive metaverse where people can play games such as chess, checkers, etc., and enjoy the features of Web3 in a live setting.
In 2022, canVERSE rolled out interoperability with NFTs, enabling users to convert their 2D pictures into three-dimensional avatars.
“We’re looking at metaverse to make sure it’s interoperable,” Barn explained.
Frogland.io: The Metaverse of content creation
Edward introduces Frogland as an inclusive platform for content creation. The firm began by launching a 10,000-piece NFT collection called The Notorious Frogs in June 2021. His team saw an exciting opportunity that could fund content creation through NFTs.
Edward has a background in developing next-generation gaming consoles to bring AR and VR technologies to the masses in a more successful way. When Web3 came out, many content creators were joining the space to explore new technologies.
However, Edward saw the metaverse as quite lacking. It was solely dependent on users to provide the content and if no one was online, the space would be empty and dull.
Forgland emerges as an interactive metaverse that powers artwork and other creations. Seeing the growing Web3 communities of different NFT collections, the company aims to shift everything in the virtual world by providing a high-quality environment.
Source: frogland.gitbook.io
Edward and his team built a co-creative space where creators have the opportunity to showcase their work and The Notorious Frog holders can participate in the development of the ecosystem.
“Metaverse is just like the internet. It’s a transition from 2-dimensional to 3-dimensional of the internet. This is a platform that needs to be accessible on a multitude of different devices and platforms,” he said.
Frogland Metaverse is not only developing a site but also something users can install as mobile and website-based applications. To give every individual a chance to be part of and pay back to the infrastructure that is seamless and interoperable.
The idea of Frogland is to see what’s out there and build something better with the community.
How can Metaverse and NFTs achieve mass adoption?
NFTStudio24 mentioned that users are still hesitating about joining the space and investors are wary of what they invest in, and how this is going to affect the overall popularity of the metaverse in 2023.
Source: canverse.io
Barn shares that this year is going to be more about the utility and value of the platforms.
He agrees with Edward that currently, the metaverse is quite empty. “You need some form of a game, activity, or community around what people wanna do, so you do need some form of utility, make it accessible for everyone.”
The key to achieving mass adoption for the metaverse is to focus on its use; how people can utilize this technology in their daily lives.
He also advises the same approach to NFTs. A lot of people are unwilling to pay money to play a game that requires them to have an NFT. Barn believes the platforms should first focus on onboarding the users for free and then slowly bringing them to non-fungible tokens.
Investment opportunities in Metaverse
For the past few months, investors have shifted their focus regarding the metaverse. Edward believes the hype over virtual platforms has died down and swiped away the bad actors from the industry.
Now, the community is filled with builders and creators that are genuinely working to develop this technology.
Edward observes that before Web3 had a huge amount of money but fewer engineers. Now, the ratio has gone the opposite where there are many builders but not enough funds.
The investors are currently focusing on builders that develop products and tools that people are actually going to use for the long term. “It’s interesting to see the industry evolve.”
Web3 in Gaming World
Edward says gaming will be the leading industry to Web3 adoption but the gamers aren’t ready to accept it.
Since he is a gamer himself, he understands the sentiments of seeing the worsening quality of the incoming games over the past 10-15 years. Edward observes that most gaming companies are focused on introducing new tech that could bring them more money, instead of utility.
These problems caused misunderstandings of NFTs in the gaming space as well. Gamers are looking at it as a money-making business instead of the ownership aspect.
Edward sees Metaverse as the killer app for Web3 that can dismantle these misconceptions from gaming and other industries.
He is excited to see how new developments work out this year that could possibly change the mindset and highlight the importance of digital asset ownership to non-Web3 users.
Importance of Education and Web3 Marketing
Edward also points out that the content of Web3 education will determine the success of the metaverse and blockchain in the long run. Barn believes the true effort lies in the hands of marketing teams as to how they present a product or service to the audience.
Like Web2, Web3 marketing needs to evolve its strategies.
Barn says most traditional gamers are teenagers who won’t have money to buy these collectibles, so it’s important to first bring them on board before implementing NFTs.
He points out the difference between traditional gamers who have been paying dimes to buy skins or other assets while NFT DeGens are more focused on seeing the utility of their assets.
This year is all about advertising strategies that could bring people in. Companies or projects with good marketing teams will highly likely become the front runner of the metaverse.
How to build a career in the Metaverse?
A lot of students and young people are interested in pursuing their careers as builders in the metaverse. Edward believes since this industry is quite new, there’s a lack of standards.
No one can utilize one set of skills in all metaverses and this is one of the biggest issues currently in the space.
However, if someone wants to build a career in the metaverse, they can learn fundamental skills such as learning how to create 2D assets or environments. Edward predicts that in the coming years, the metaverse will be more about creating assets that are applicable to all platforms.
A few of the applications that people can learn from are: Blender.org, Unity, and Unreal Engine to build 3D or AR models in virtual environments.
Frogland is also working on developing tools that could bring products and games into their metaverse.
Edward invites people interested in metaverse building to join the Frogland Discord community. It consists of different members who can help and guide beginners into establishing their careers in the space.
Partnership with Blockchain Game Alliance
Both Barn and Edward are members of the Blockchain Game Alliance, a community dedicated to educating and promoting blockchain technology in the gaming industry.
Edward shares he’s quite happy to be part of an interactive community that doesn’t focus on competition. All the companies, experts, and veterans involved are actively helping each other by giving positive feedback, collaborating, and empowering small projects.
Barn says BGA is a great community for anyone who is just entering the space. He has met many individuals who share the same mindset as him, and he’s excited to see how other projects are adopting Web3 in their models.
Wrap-Up
The interview wrapped up with Barn and Edward sharing an inspiring message for the builders and creators who are currently working in the space or plan to join soon.
Barn: “If you wanna do something small, do everything, that’s probably a good starting point. An analogy is if you started a Unity project, you’ll actually go the way of releasing it on either Apple and Google Store or put it on Steam. That will give you experience end-to-end of what it’s like.
Because it’s a wide set of tools and you need a lot of people, you can actually pick one aspect and double down on that. You can narrow down to what you actually want to do.”
Edward: “Just get involved. The best thing about emerging tech is not many people know about it. A vast majority of people who are now in Web3 weren’t in this space 12 months ago. It doesn’t take a huge amount of time or energy to learn about what Web3 is and how it can be used.
So, if you’re technically inclined, then I would urge everyone to learn how the technology is being used and how it can be used. This is the time when the Empire will be forged.”
