Excerpt, Making a Metaverse That Matters:
Shanghai-born game designer Jenova Chen has devoted his career to proving that a game can be as artistically accomplished as Citizen Kane. Many (including myself) believe he's already succeeded, creating a series of acclaimed titles that expand the possibilities of immersive entertainment.
Chen succeeded most vividly in his best-selling game called Journey, in which the player must traverse wild lands and the remains of an ancient city to reach the summit of a strangely glowing mountain. It pairs favorably with the films of Hayao Miyazaki – achingly beautiful and melancholy, but hopeful for humanity. Chen made that last aspect possible by making Journey a kind of virtual world in miniature that two people could play together. In a brilliant innovation, the players are anonymous, and can only communicate through gestures. Many players describe the profound feeling of emotional bonding they have, wordlessly sharing an adventure with another person in the world they’ll likely never know.
Jenova Chen’s upcoming metaverse project may be the most ambitious in that regard, drawing from the design of his Sky: Children of the Light, his highly successful virtual world.
"So when we approached our metaverse design for the society of Sky, we wanted to simulate what reality is. In reality, we are social animals by nature, and there's social consequences."
Chen sees those consequences emerging from our evolution as a species, when ostracization from hunter gatherer tribes did not mean being banished to 4Chan, but being abandoned in the wild to defend oneself.
Next gifting and genderless avatars:
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Wagner James Au / New World Notes 