The #metaverse is dead...we’ve all heard this right.
Digital worlds are popping up left and right and hoping audiences will just show up... it does seem a bit backward.
Of course, empty worlds feel dead. Of course, people aren't tripping over themselves to buy expensive hardware and cumbersome headsets when they have convenient, curated, character-driven content delivered to them on their phones.
Social content is averaging 200+ billion views per day. For the first time in history, one form of content, short-form vertical video, is able to go viral across all major social platforms. Audiences engage because the content is built for their mobile device, is customized to them, and because it is character driven.
What if we could solve for customizable content that could go viral across all platforms AND usher users into emergent platforms?
What if you could meet users where their eyes are now AND be positioned perfectly for the move into more three-dimensional and immersive content?
This is why I believe the future of the metaverse is virtual character-driven storytelling, unbound by the constraints of traditional media and traditional talent.
And that’s why I'm betting on what may seem from the outside like an extremely niche form of content - 3D digital avatars.
Why 3D digital avatars?
- Natively digital. Can scale and integrate in a way people can't.
- Three-dimensional and dynamic in a way that 2D image generators are not (sorry #midjourney)
- Can connect with #AI in a way we can only begin to imagine.
- Equally well suited for #gaming , #digitalworlds, #AR,#VR, #web3 and #social
I'm not talking about background characters or stylized avatars created from a selfie on your phone. I'm talking about Virtual Superstars. This may be an off-putting concept to some, but I'll ask you to examine your relationship with any celebrities you currently follow and determine if there is any interaction happening there that doesn't take place via a screen. You are following a brand. A complex presentation put together by a much larger group than you imagine to communicate complex and compelling narratives.
The challenge is that high-end digital humans are immensely complex, historically requiring large, highly specialized teams and long development cycles. It's reported that Disney Spent over $78 Million dollars making just 3 episodes of She-Hulk.
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence and machine learning combined with the emergence of high-quality real-time graphics engines makes high-end avatar technology scalable like never before.
We can bring the metaverse to the user by enabling scalable virtual character-driven content that performs across all verticals and ushers audiences to emergent platforms.
Storytelling is about the most powerful force we have. We need the ability to tell human stories in an increasingly virtual world.