User generated content in the Metaverse
Image: Minas Tirith by Divici
The metaverse is an online that will allow people to explore and interact in ways never before possible. It has the potential to change how we live, work, and play.
The metaverse will need user-generated content (UGC) to function properly. This article provides insight into:
- what UGC can be used for in the metaverse
- why it’s important
- what game designers can do to encourage more user-generated content creation
What is a metaverse?
Before we delve into how user-generated content will work in the metaverse, we first need to define what that means.
We’ve already taken a deep dive into the subject of the metaverse and web 3.0 and how the metaverse will change the practice of game design. As a brief reminder: a metaverse is a virtual world that exists on top of the physical world. It’s a digital space where people can come together to socialize, work, and play in ways never before possible.
The metaverse is powered by three essential components: user-generated content, artificial intelligence, and blockchain technology. UGC gives the metaverse its lifeblood; it allows users to create their own experiences within it.
Artificial intelligence and blockchain technology are the technological underpinnings of how a metaverse would work, providing the foundations for constructing the secondary world. AI contributes to the existence of the metaverse by allowing for the creation of intelligent NPCs (non-player characters) and giving users the ability to create their own experiences. Blockchain technology enables data to be stored tamper-proof, preventing nefarious actors from manipulating or destroying metaverse content.
Together, these three technologies make it possible for users to come together and interact in ways never before possible. The metaverse represents the next step in human evolution, a place where we can come together and create our own digital worlds.
However, UGC makes the metaverse unique and different from experiences on any other platform—it’s a space where users can create their content within it. It serves as an incubator for creativity, ideas, and innovation while allowing newcomers to engage with others who share similar interests.
UGC isn’t just limited to text-based posts; it allows people to build virtual spaces like small towns or even galaxies using tools such as Minecraft or Roblox, which has over 30 million monthly players. While there aren’t many large UGC games available yet in the metaverse, it’s only a matter of time until more enter the market.
Without UGC, the metaverse would be little more than a static place where people could look at things but not interact with them. As it stands, the metaverse is little more than a concept at this point, with developers still working on creating the hardware to make it possible. However, the metaverse is poised to become one of this decade’s most important technological creations, much like how virtual reality was in the 1990s and smartphones were in the 2000s.
UGC will play an integral role in making sure that happens by providing people with content they can enjoy while exploring their metaverses. Companies like Meta (formally Facebook) and Riot games are already starting to experiment with UGC in their metaverses, and the results have been promising.
Meta is currently working on a project called “Spaces”, which will allow users to create their own virtual spaces, using both pre-made objects and tools for creating custom content. Players can then share these Spaces with other people, who can either explore them or even use them as the foundation for their own metaverse experiences.
Riot Games has taken a slightly different approach with its metaverse implementation, by allowing players to submit designs for new in-game items which will then be voted on by the community. The best submissions are added to the game, giving players a chance to contribute to its design directly.
Both of these examples show how UGC can be used to create a more immersive metaverse experience by giving people more control over their surroundings and allowing them to contribute directly to the games they play. This in turn helps to foster a sense of community and ownership, which can make the metaverse feel like home.
What is user-generated content?
User-generated content (UGC) is content created by users rather than by professionals. This can include anything from videos on YouTube to fanfiction on Wattpad to mods for games like Skyrim.
UGC is important because it allows users to create their own experiences. This can make users more engaged and invested in the metaverse, and lead to some truly innovative and unique content.
We’ve already mentioned Minecraft and Roblox. Another example for UGC in games is Second Life, which has been around for over a decade and became popular due to its strong UGC support. Today, metaverses are still growing in popularity and the metaverse industry is expected to take off very soon.
One final example comes from Sansar Studios, founded by former employees of Linden Lab (the company that created Second Life). They have been working on a new platform for VR called Project Sansar that’s meant to make it easier than ever before for developers and content creators to create their own experiences without having any previous coding or development experience.
All these examples show how metaverses can be supported with user-generated content and what those types of games look like today!
UGC is also an invaluable tool for game designers, who can use it to get feedback on new ideas or test out potential changes. By incorporating UGC into their designs, developers can see how players will react to different choices and make adjustments accordingly. This not only speeds up the design process but also makes it more responsive to player feedback, resulting in better games overall!
How does the metaverse benefit from user-generated content?
UGC has already proven itself to be an invaluable tool for online communities. platforms like YouTube and Twitch have been built on the backs of UGC, and the metaverse is no different. One of the key benefits of UGC is that it allows people to create things they wouldn’t have otherwise had the opportunity to do. This can range from building a small town in Minecraft to creating an entire world inside VR. The options for creating UGC are theoretically endless.
The metaverse will benefit from UGC because it allows people to interact with the metaverse in ways they otherwise couldn’t. If I create a VR game, for example, and someone watches me play that game on Twitch or YouTube then there’s no reason why they can’t join my world and play the game with me. The metaverse will need to evolve to accommodate UGC, which is already happening with platforms like VRChat and Sansar.
User-generated content is a great way to keep players engaged and coming back for more, and it can add a whole new level of excitement to the experience by allowing players to share their creations with others. It’s also a great way to learn new things and explore the metaverse in ways that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.
User-generated content is a massive part of modern gaming, and it’s only going to become more important as we move into the metaverse era. It needs to be considered when designing new games and experiences for VR and AR.
The metaverse is all about bringing people together, and user-generated content is a crucial part of that. It allows people to share their creativity with the world, and it gives them a way to connect with other users in ways they otherwise couldn’t.
How will user-generated content need to evolve to fit into the metaverse?
UGC needs to start becoming more interactive if we want it to really take off within the metaverse. Most of this is done through live streams and recorded videos, which work fine as far as watching goes but aren’t very useful when it comes time for interaction between users.
New tools for metaversing are starting to pop up that give people the ability to create avatars and build their own worlds within the metaverse, allowing them to have a virtual presence similar to what they have in real life but with more flexibility.
As technology advances, so will user-generated content, which could lead us into an exciting future where our actions online directly influence how we experience reality through the metaverse.
Instead of just streaming games or watching someone else play, imagine being able to join forces with your favourite streamer on his quest or having friends from all over come together inside one shared world while still keeping some privacy between you all at home behind closed doors!
By allowing users to create their own content, metaverse games will be able to offer a much more personalised experience for gamers by including their content.
Now that we know how important using UGC is within the metaverse space let’s take a look at some examples.
Metaverses must allow players control over the content they are creating and provide the necessary tools so that casual and hardcore gamers alike can contribute in meaningful ways.
Another benefit of user-generated content is it gives developers an opportunity to see what works well or poorly inside the metaverse without having to spend loads of money on development costs first-hand!
Allowing users to create their own content also adds a lot of longevity to metaverses, giving them more value for money in the long run!
As virtual reality becomes more popular, we’re going to see an increase in games that allow players to generate their own content. However, some challenges need to be overcome before this becomes a reality.
What can game designers do to encourage the next generation of players to create content?
One thing that’s often overlooked when it comes to user-generated content is its role in game design. Many people think of it as being primarily used for social interactions or creative expression, but it can also be used to improve gameplay.
Once users get a taste for creating their own content in virtual spaces, they’ll want to do the same in the metaverse. This is where game designers come into play; they need to create games that encourage and reward user-generated content. One way to do this is by giving players the tools to develop their content.
Another way to encourage user-generated content is by letting players share in the rewards for creating it. This could include things like experience points, credits, or even exclusive in-game items. The more incentive there is to create content, the more likely people are to do it.
It’s also important that game designers make sure that user-generated content fits into the metaverse properly. This means taking into account things like physics and scale. Content that looks out of place will only pull people out of the experience.
UGC can also help players feel more invested in the metaverse, and give them a sense of ownership over their experience. When players are able to create content that others will see, it encourages them to explore the metaverse in new ways and makes them more likely to return. This helps metaverse developers keep people engaged with the world.
UGC can be a useful tool for metaverse developers to get players involved in the design process and create an engaging experience, but it’s not without its challenges. It takes time and effort from both designers and players to make UGC work well in metaverses.
Finally, it’s important for game designers to foster a sense of community around user-generated content. This can be done by promoting shared goals, and by providing forums and other tools for people to communicate with one another.
Driving the metaverse with user-generated content
User-generated content is an essential part of the metaverse. By giving people incentives to create it, game designers can help make the metaverse a more vibrant and interesting place.
The concept metaverse is still in its early days, but it’s quickly becoming one of the most popular talking points on the internet.
The first challenge is making sure that users can easily create and share content with other players. This means designing tools and interfaces that are easy for anyone to use, regardless of their experience with computer-based creative projects.
UGC is already changing how we interact with virtual worlds, and it will continue to do so as the metaverse evolves. We’re seeing new ways of playing games, sharing experiences, and building communities online.
