These past two years... these past two years have been insane. It's no joke when people say that crises are also catalysts for growth. In the span of almost two years, we have seen a virus decimate economies and tear at our social fabric... but as always we've seen humanity's incredible skill of adaptation, and growth. Zoom allowed us to continue to connect through work, to our friends and family we couldn't see, and to new connections all around the world.
Enter, virtual worlds.
Unless you don't have contact with the world whatsoever and this is the first thing you've opened on the internet in years, you've been seeing the madness that is crypto. A very lightly regulated, paradigm-shifting new technology-based around the blockchain that is creating new forms of decentralized record-keeping, for economic reasons, utility reasons, proof of digital ownership, gaming, and within all that, a new form of communication is taking place, in the form of Metaverses. Blockchain technology is accelerating the speed at which we adopt this new technology.
So exactly what is a Metaverse?
I will try to keep this simple. Imagine interconnected virtual worlds within the internet that try to simulate many aspects of cultural, and social interaction by designing characteristics we have deemed necessary to call something a 'world' - virtual land, a body to inhabit with the ability to interact in real-time with objects within this world, and most importantly, other people within this shared world where interaction and connection can occur.
(the Dragoon - that's me - interacting in a world within gather.town with other people from the Philippines, Korea, Brazil, Guatemala, having an open mic from the comfort of my home studio) This world was created by a law student in Korea.)
Aside from this room, the rest of the rooms are created for people to study, to take breaks and play games, to write on the world's message board, and sooo many things.
Most importantly, however, is the ability to connect with others within a psychologically satisfying way.
If you have ever played a Virtual Reality game where you put on a headset and see a virtual world then you know where I'm going next. Imagine with interconnected worlds being seen an interacted with beyond the scope of a game, where you meet friends from around the world within the same virtual world - where you host a watch party, where you have interviews within the comfort of your home, where you create memories with those far away in a more tangible way. Virtual shopping. libraries. so many things.
(Blockchain-based metaverse Decentraland, where famous art collection house Sotheby's replicated its auction house virtually so that their CryptoPunk NFT's (digitally verifiable one-of-a-kind digital art) could be auctioned.) This is where sound comes in. With only 3 of the 5 senses being accessible within these worlds, it's imperative that these senses become as immersive as possible to create the most fantastic experience. What does this mean? When we watch a movie in theatres, one of the most important things that help us connect to that world and its story is the sound and music. This is no different than the metaverse. Virtual worlds will need music and sound to create the ambiance, culture, shared feelings and experience that the world requires. The possibilities are endless. Clothing can be made to create sound as it interacts with the world, different types of shoes will give a different type of sound when walking. Music will be licensed within virtual worlds much like when you go into a clothing store or a mall so that great music can be heard as if you were hearing it behind you or in front of you when walking around, much like in VR games currently. . I think one of the most important advances that will resonate with this industry will be the ability to create unique music, soundscapes, and ambiances that will not exist anywhere else but within your world, if you choose to. The advent of technology and the internet has allowed individuals to wield the power that in the past only brands could, from marketing to creativity - and when individuals begin to create their own unique worlds, full of characters and immersion to bring and retain attention and value, that power and opportunity will only continue to grow. This is where we come in - Arcadian Sounds specializes in creating worlds and shaping story through sound, whether it is to create the sounds for the next virtual sports bar in decentraland all the way down to the bartender's voice responses, or help design the majestic sounds of your world in the Sandbox so people grow connected to that space, or Barnes and Noble's decides to create a virtual store in the next layer of the internet, and needs full immersive sound in any way possible, that is what we'll do. The only question is... are you ready to bring immersion to the next layer of the internet?