I’m running full speed ahead as I dive behind the wall below the window in front of me. Not a second later, gunfire shatters the window above me as I hear bullets whizzing above my head. I call out to my friend who’s across the street and realize he's also pinned down by gunfire from another assailant. I’m crouching as low as I can to avoid being hit as bullets continue to fly above my head. As I remain low, I reach my hand above the window and fire the fully-automatic submachine gun I keep in my backpack. I have no idea where the bullets are going but I hope it’s enough to keep the attackers at bay while my friend finds cover. As I reach down to reload I see a hand grenade land at my feet. My stomach drops and with no time to think I start to run as my mind counts down 3, 2, 1.......... with a flash of light my world suddenly goes black. My name is Finn Wolff and this is just one of the encounters I had during my month-long combat tour in the metaverse.
My first experience in the metaverse came at a friends house at the end of 2021. Prior to this experience I studied Computer Science at UC Berkeley. At Berkeley I’d heard a lot about Oculus and been a big believer in Virtual Reality but had never tried one myself. It’s difficult to describe what it’s like when you first enter a fully-immersed VR world. My surroundings disappeared and instead of being in a dimly lit kitchen after midnight, I was instead transported into a desert oasis home on a cliff. I could see the wind blowing the curtains, birds flying in the sky, and as I chose a game from a menu in my virtual home I was then transported to a futuristic world floating high in the sky where people were flying around and firing an assortment of weapons at each other. I couldn't tell you how long I was in there, but when I took my goggles off and returned to the real world I knew two things:
1) I was hooked
2) this is the future
It’s been a month now since I purchased an Oculus of my own. No, I didn’t spend a month straight in VR. However, after having the Oculus for a month and spending time exploring different worlds and games, I’m sold that this is going to be a big part of our future. What future exactly? I’m not entirely sure, I definitely believe that fully immersive, VR-based gaming is the future of video games. After playing the immersive games in the Oculus it feels archaic to go back to playing a video game while staring at a TV screen. I also know that top universities such as Berkeley in California are definitely working on building experiences and integrating VR into research as well. I can only imagine what the future holds for games across all different spectrums, and I'm excited to see what the experience will be like as they continue to get more advanced.
While gaming is one obvious category that the metaverse will highly impact, there are more practical applications that I believe will have equally if not greater use cases. Gaming itself is probably not the best thing for younger children much less in a fully immersive world, however I see there being a huge opportunity to improve the education space for children. If a family couldn't afford daycare or are in a location where schools aren’t optimal, children could access an educational and social experience through Oculus that could potentially be a better, more cost effective alternative to what currently exists. It's difficult to replicate a top-tier educational experience, however it may be more beneficial for the children's social growth to access these opportunities in the metaverse versus not having that opportunity at all.
After spending a month exploring and educating myself on the metaverse I’m fascinated by the experiences that already exist in Oculus and I can only see them continuing to become more immersive as time goes on. While my name is Finn Wolff to those who know me in the physical world, my identity can be anything I want it to be in the virtual world. Some people are frightened by this “metaverse” based future, however I believe that with the right people building with the right intentions, it’ll provide more opportunities for growth rather than harm. While nobody knows for certain what the future holds, I’m looking forward to seeing the new advancements and experiences that come over the next 10 years. Until then, get yourself an Oculus and I’ll see you in the metaverse.