before the metaverse

This article is reproduced from Encrypted Art ArtGee

In "Prometheus", archaeologists investigated several relics tens of thousands of years ago, and all the clues they got point to the same location - a satellite of a star system tens of light-years away. In the name of Prometheus, the god of fire, human beings embarked on a space journey for two years, just to get an answer: where do we come from? What is our meaning?

From David in "Prometheus", to Walter in "Contract", and then to Ash in "Alien", human beings have made every effort to develop bioengineering and artificial intelligence, and try their best to touch the boundaries of "creation" - to create new life. Although biochemicals have many flaws and even directly betrayed human beings, in order to get the answer to the ultimate question, human beings are still on the way of creating life without stopping. When the "creator" meets human beings, he feels betrayed, just as the biochemical man betrayed human beings.

At the end of the film, the captain asked the cyborg David before he died, what is your belief, and David replied, creation.

Throughout the development history of human civilization, we are constantly seeking our own meaning and creating new things that conform to human intelligence. From classical tools, machinery, mechanisms, to modern automation equipment, in recent decades, human beings have moved towards Taking a path completely different from that in "Prometheus", in the virtual world, it is finally infinitely close to achieving the ultimate goal-creating new life. Although invisible and intangible, this is the closest attempt to the essence of life, because the characters in the virtual world also have consciousness.

History of virtual world development

The development of virtual world and online games has many overlapping parts. Since the birth of online games, people are no longer satisfied with playing games in reality, but dream of entering the gorgeous virtual world to kill the Quartet, save the world, and go to the romantic world. , happy enmity. Since the second half of the last century, dreams have gradually come into reality, the virtual world is within reach, and everything starts with a non-online game.

Origin: Dungeons and Dragons

From the 1970s to the 1980s, electronic arcade games flourished and were in the ascendant. During this period, a game that had a profound impact on the development of the virtual world of later generations was born, Dungeons & Dragons (D&D, DnD). This is the originator of modern tabletop role-playing games (TRPG), which gave birth to generations of RPG games. Although simple, it already has many important elements of the virtual world, such as chatting, characters, identities, world views, etc. Players are in In a virtual setting, you can choose your own faction and form a team to complete a series of tasks through interaction. It can also be considered as the prototype of the popular script killing nowadays.

Stories that cannot be realized in reality can be experienced in a virtual way. A few hours of games can satisfy everyone's dream of adventure. As long as dreams exist, the value of the virtual world exists.

Phase 1: Start with the text

After entering the 1970s, computer technology gradually developed. At the hardware level, the rapid development of integrated circuits made computers smaller and smaller. Computers are no longer giant monsters in laboratories. Ordinary people can also have their own computers. The popularity of the game has a foundation. At the software level, the birth of network technology has made it possible for players from different locations to compete together in the same world for the first time. The interaction between players has changed from face-to-face to virtual. These two points are the development of the virtual world. underlying technology foundation.

In 1978, Roy Trubshaw wrote a short program in the computer room and commemoratively named it MUD (Multi-User Dimension). Since then, we have officially opened the curtain of the virtual world.

You come to a clearing in the forest. To the east there is a big tree with a thick rope hanging from it.

Far to the north of you there is a smoke rising from the kitchen.

The obvious exits here are south and north.

What is your choice?

S/N?

This is a pure text world, relying on the setting and worldview of works such as "Dungeon and Dragon", players generate text by inputting commands, and complete real-time interaction with computers and other players. This is the first real-time multiplayer interactive online game in the true sense. Although the information brought by the text is limited, the imagination of the players is unlimited. With the efforts of many players, a rich and colorful virtual world has been created. prototype.

"I'm interested in creating worlds, not living in someone else's world. I hope that the game world will allow people to jump out of the confines of the real world and try out new identities...not to reinvent themselves, but to allow them to find themselves True belonging." Trubshaw planted a seed for the virtual world, which just had to wait to turn into a forest.

The second stage: the interaction of the graphical interface

Many writers believe that the information brought by words is meaningful and profound, which can stimulate readers' imagination and thinking, while images and videos are too direct, which will give viewers a solidified visual impression and affect a deeper experience. , will eventually become superficial.

Perhaps this statement has its own truth, but it is clear that players who pursue direct sensory stimulation do not pay the bill.

With the further development of computer technology, the needs of players have promoted the process of graphics games replacing text games, and MUD games have gradually withdrawn from the historical stage and become recreational toys for small groups. The earliest graphical attempt was Habitat.

In 1984, William Gibson's "Neuromancer" ("Neuromancer") was published, which pioneered the concept of Cyberpunk, and conducted in-depth discussions on artificial intelligence, virtual worlds, and genetic engineering. How will the virtual world develop? Inspired by "Neuromancer", Lucasfilm gave its own answer - "Habitat", an MMORPG game, was also the first commercial virtual world to successfully run, and it was able to run on the Commodore 64 home console through the Quantum contract.

"Habitat" achieved two firsts.

The first large-scale virtual world based on a graphical interface. The client software provides a graphical user interface, which displays what is happening in the virtual world to the player in the form of real-time animation, and at the same time converts the player's input into the background demand, and Return the corresponding graphics changes, and constantly update the players with information about changes in the world; the background is responsible for maintaining the virtual world model, and implementing a series of rules to ensure the interaction between players and the system, and between players and players.

For the first time, the concept of Avatar was introduced epoch-makingly. Players can customize a graphical avatar according to gender, occupation, etc. in the game. This rule has long been used to by modern players, but it was really new at the time. Players can interact with other people from a third perspective. It greatly enhances the player's sense of immersion and shortens the distance between the real world and the virtual world.

But Habitat is more than that.

The producer believes that the main purpose of the game is the interaction and social interaction between players. Although the content of the game developed by the game designer, such as tasks, levels, etc., will be reduced, the gameplay will be reduced, but the player is given the greatest freedom. Theoretically, players can engage in any real-life activities in the virtual world, including marriage, adventure, entrepreneurship, duel, war, and even autonomy, and when the player logs out of the game and logs in again, the previous game state is retained and the player's behavior continues , which makes everyone feel that after spending a lot of time, they have indeed gained something.

The producer does not restrict the player's behavior, but provides various possible choices. Based on this setting that is born out of reality but is more free, the development of the world depends more on the player's imagination and creativity.

Compared with games, "Habitat" is more like a virtual community driven by players spontaneously. There is no ruler, no complicated rules and programs, only a real world view and independent world citizens, which also determines the later virtual community. The development direction of the world, from then on, the virtual world and the game have gradually become different.

The third stage: open the 3D world

In the mid-1990s, with the advancement of computer graphics and computing power, the virtual world gradually developed, which is mainly reflected in the following aspects:

3D graphics. Compared with plane games, 3D games introduce three-dimensional coordinates, which are the same as the real world, so they are more realistic. At the same time, the complexity of operations has increased a lot, increasing the gameplay and bringing more challenges to players.

User Created Content. The producer is only responsible for establishing the world view and setting some basic rules. Everything in the game should be created by the players. In order to enrich the content, the game also provides various tools for creating content. Driven by the player's imagination, these tools can make the virtual world more complete and gorgeous. To this day, player-generated content is still the most important part of the virtual world.

Open-Ended socialization. Different from the linear plot of traditional RPG games, the open world view will provide countless side plots. Through the huge amount of information and the interaction between different players, players are encouraged to explore the virtual world, discover and even create new content. Players are not only the promoters of the plot, but also the participants of the plot.

Integrated sound card (Integrated Audio). Not all early PC users had independent sound cards. With the popularity of integrated sound cards, the virtual world has become a sound world, and the interactivity and immersion have also been greatly enhanced.

In 1994, Ron Britvich created Web World, the first 2.5D open world that allowed tens of thousands of people to chat, build, and travel.

In 1995, Worlds Inc opened the first full 3D virtual world, and their ambitions are even wider. The open world provided by Worlds Inc is not based on games. As mentioned above, every player or citizen in Worlds Inc is a participant in this world. There is no protagonist, and they are real one after another. People, together to promote the development of this world. Players' social and interactive behaviors in the virtual world are as complex as human behavior in the real world. This is more like another network form that develops in parallel with the Internet, but text information has become three-dimensional graphics, and due to technical limitations, information The density will also be much lower.

In the same year, AlphaWorld renamed its 3D web browser, Active Worlds was born, and quickly became the most important 3D social virtual world, attracting thousands of users and growing exponentially.

In 1996, Onlive! Traveler was launched and became the first virtual world to support voice chat and voice recognition, and the gap with the real world is getting smaller and smaller.

At this stage, the virtual world is finally infinitely close to the real world from the physical level, infrastructure, social behavior, content creation... The world framework has been perfected, but there is still a long way to go.

Stage 4: Towards a Real Society - Economic System

Even in the virtual world, players' energy and time are limited, and they must make trade-offs among many tasks such as collecting resources, learning skills, and entertainment activities, and resources are scarce and necessary, so just like in real society, trading behavior produced. The early transactions were mainly to meet the rigid needs of players. With the increase of transactions, arbitrage behavior became the norm, and the economic system came into being.

At the beginning, transactions are driven by the needs of players, such as food, equipment, resources, etc. The value of items is often determined by their practicality and rarity, and the time or money invested in reality will also increase items The value of this simple supply and demand relationship is very similar to the real world.

"Second life," released in 2002, changed the previous simple act of trading. Like the previous virtual world, "Second life" also allows users to create items in the virtual world, but the difference is that these items can be bought and sold through Linden Dollar, the virtual currency circulating in the game. More importantly, you can buy and sell items in the virtual world. A specialized market composed of residents, Linden Labs or some brick-and-mortar company that converts it into dollars.

Players can not only gain happiness in the game, but also earn income in the real world by selling their own creations, buildings and even games in the virtual world. Some people even achieve financial freedom, so players have a stronger motivation to go Creation, which further promotes the development of UGC (User Generated Content).

On the other hand, Blue Mars, another virtual world born in the same period, represents technological progress. By using the most advanced CryEngine 2 engine at that time, higher-quality images are integrated into the virtual world, and the authenticity and immersion will always be The focus of the underlying construction of the virtual world. In addition, the platform also includes motion capture animation and 3D content editor, etc. At the same time, digital content can also be created on a third-party 3D image compiler, as long as it conforms to the specified format.

The fifth stage: the world of open source and decentralization

Since 2007, the virtual world has gradually developed towards decentralization.

Taking Solipsis as an example, different from the traditional central server, Solipsis is based on the point-to-point distributed server model, trying to create an open source virtual world that is not affected by the server owner, Open Cobalt, Open Wonderland, Open Simulator and other open source projects also followed follow up.

Many users and server nodes that can work together form the underlying foundation of the decentralized virtual world. The data sharing and intercommunication of different nodes ensures the stable operation of the virtual world, and the open source system allows the world to gradually improve. So far, the virtual world has come In the stage of spontaneous development, all users jointly become the owners of the world.

The above briefly introduces the development history of the virtual world. From MUD to today’s Metaverse, although the shape has changed a lot with the advancement of technology, it can also roughly summarize the basic elements of the virtual world. This is also dozens of It has been passed down through the years.

Citizens: Citizens refer to the users of players in the virtual world. Real players appear as Avatars in the virtual world, and can perfect this virtual avatar through various custom methods. Citizens are the basic units in the virtual world, they can have various identities and produce various behaviors, and the same player can have one or more virtual avatars.

Communication: Communicate with the system and other players via text or voice.

Transportation: According to the geographical settings of different worldviews, players can choose different transportation methods, from the movement instructions of the arrow keys to the simulated walking of 3D images, including various transportation tools, and even instant movement, to complete the journey between different locations in the world. movement between.

Economic system: Citizens can buy and sell in the virtual world by harvesting resources, creating items, or providing services. They can exchange items or complete transactions through the currency circulating in the game.

UGC Assets: Citizens can use tools, use images, sounds, animations, etc. to create food, buildings, machines, etc., which can be used, exchanged, or sold. This is also the main source of economic activity. The system will guarantee the ownership of the item creator or owner.

World/Universe: The world view setting and basic rules need to be given by the producer.

From the text interaction scene of dozens of people to the huge world that can accommodate millions of people, the virtual world has gone through a long time. In addition to the basic elements, the virtual world also shows some characteristics:

• Graphical interface with 3D and integrated voice technology
• Support large-scale users for remote interaction
• permanent and sustainable
• Immersion, where users have a sense of being “in” the digital environment rather than being outside it
• Emphasize user creation and provide content creation tools for the personalization of virtual environments and experiences

Maybe humans will never know who created us, but after decades of development in the virtual world, we can finally create a virtual world that is infinitely close to reality.

Finally, the author presents his favorite series of game narrations, as a summary of the miniature of these decades, we never stop and create new civilizations all the time.

ancient time

From the first germs of life underwater...to the giant beasts of the Stone Age...to the first man to walk upright, you've been through a lot. Now, embark on your greatest quest yet: from the cradle of early civilizations to the vast universe.

classical era

From humble beginnings, you have shown remarkable growth. From bronze to steel, rule with horse and sword. The sky begins to reveal its secrets, the universe thrills us, and the stars guide us to exotic shores.

middle Ages

You built many cities out of stone and saw the rise and fall of early empires. Soon you'll be standing under the towering spire of your castle, flanked by your brave knight. From here the story of your people will be written. Like a young apprentice learning to hold a sword, you will gradually understand your place in the world.

renaissance era

From the barrel of a rifle to fireworks in the sky, new dynamics are constantly being created. Even the quiet words in the newly printed books contain great changes. The world, once big and mysterious, has grown smaller and more familiar. However, there are always problems to be solved, beliefs to be tested, and national identities to be formed.

Industrial Age

The humming of machines, the pungent smell of smoke, and ash and soot obscuring the view—a sign of changing times. The lure of scientific and cultural progress is what drives your kingdom forward. Now, your challenge is to maintain the delicate balance between Earth and humanity, peace and war.

modern

First of all, there are many legends about trapeze people. Now, you are at the tipping point where these legends become reality. Through flight and new forms of communication, you can create a small and intimate world. But at what cost? Different understandings of how to govern and how to survive have created global conflict. In this increasingly raucous debate of ideas, you must choose your own path.

atomic age

Newly discovered realms expand our knowledge, from the tiny atom to the vastness of outer space. We are closer to the truth than at any point in history, far beyond our comprehension. You need to choose how to use this knowledge to fight back against the unprecedented darkness.

Information age

The information world is in the palm of your hand, and the instant communication network spreads all over the world. However, there is no unified view of the future. We are constantly competing technologically, culturally and politically. We have deadly weapons that can destroy our entire planet. Lead us to move forward carefully and boldly, building a global community for the future.

future era

This world contains more miracles than the dreams of the Prophet of the Rao can conceive, and the horrors of disasters it possesses cannot be described by the apocalypse. The world not only has machines with self-awareness, but also new things that weave fantasy wonderlands. Choices made long ago will have major consequences in this age, and they require unwavering answers. Go forward and realize your beautiful vision of the future of civilization.

Source: Crypto Art ArtGee

Disclaimer: Cointelegraph Chinese is a blockchain news information platform, and the information provided only represents the author's personal opinion, which has nothing to do with the position of the Cointelegraph Chinese platform, and does not constitute any investment and financial advice. Readers are requested to establish correct currency concepts and investment concepts, and earnestly raise risk awareness. In view of the fact that China has not yet issued policies and regulations related to digital assets, users in mainland China are advised to be cautious in digital currency investment.