The Fully-Realized Metaverse Doesn’t Exist Yet. But Metaverse-like Worlds Do.

Scale, Transparency and Simplicity in Engaging in Virtual Worlds is Found in Gaming

The idea of the metaverse has been described as a virtual-reality space in which users can interact with a computer-generated environment and other users. The metaverse promises to evolve us from interacting in a web-browser or app-based, flat content world to an immersive, virtual, interactive experience. The experience will have interoperability between digital and IRL environments, will have co-created and consumer generated content, digital first currencies and new forms of communication and even government. 

The fully-realized metaverse as it is described by the media doesn’t exist. It won’t for a long time.  

The compute power that is required to support the total vision isn’t here. Systems aren’t in place. Rules of engagement aren’t agreed upon. Consumer behavior to adopt new ways of interacting, everyday trust and usage of alternative currencies, and trust in DAO’s (decentralized autonomous organizations) takes a while (reference every digital channel’s growth curve up until now). It’s going to be messy for a long time. 

There are pockets of metaverse-like experiences that do exist. Examples of this include The Sandbox, Decentraland, and many others. These experiences have elements of what the vision of the metaverse will be in the areas of co-created content and new digital currencies where people can purchase services, experiences, and digital goods. These metaverse-like experiences are built upon creative engines, design principles, and techniques. We are far from the idea that these metaverse-like experiences will be interoperable as not all of these experiences are built upon the same technology or have the intention of interoperability with continuity.  

We often get asked what Frameplay is doing to participate in the metaverse.   

Frameplay is the leader in enabling intrinsic in-game advertising without disrupting the performance or the experience of the game. This is possible because our SDK uniquely connects with the game engines, enabling intrinsic in-game ads to be served. Intrinsic in-game advertising is the only way to advertise to gamers when they’re actively playing within virtual game environments without disruption. 

Early predictions of the metaverse suggest it will be mutually exclusive from gaming; however, we anticipate they will complement each other. Frameplay encourages advertisers that are interested in exploring metaverse options to develop a gaming strategy. Intrinsic in-game advertising provides the foundation for future metaverse advertising opportunities. Additionally, intrinsic in-game advertising through Frameplay is scalable, measurable, and brand-safe.

Frameplay is actively a part of metaverse conversations with industry leaders and organizations. We are proactively establishing advertising standards and taxonomy for virtual environments and virtual worlds with organizations like the IAB and MRC, which will be translatable to the future metaverse. Additionally, because our technology is already interoperable between virtual worlds through gaming, we have the foundation to build a successful advertising ecosystem within the metaverse.

As the metaverse evolves, Frameplay will continue to provide leadership–that is already well established within the gaming community–to the future, interoperable metaverse.

Frameplay works within video games which are powered by creative engines.  ‍

Video games are virtual, cinematic, multi-dimensional experiences focused on play or challenge where users can either play along or interact with others. The play or a challenge is imagined by a video game developer. The video game developer uses creative engines, design principles, and techniques bespoke to video game development.

The industry believes the virtual worlds designed for the metaverse will be built from creation tools like Unity and Unreal game engines. The idea of the metaverse has been described as a virtual space in which users can interact with a computer-generated environment and other users. Frameplay anticipates that creative engines will be the software for companies to create and control their own virtual worlds to facilitate user-generated content (UGC).

Current metaverse-like experiences like Sandbox or Decentraland don’t just focus on game play or game challenges but do leverage the game engines, design principles and techniques used to develop video games to enable the experience.    ‍

Video games focus on game play and challenges.  ‍

Virtual experiences with elements of play or challenges are called video games (yes, obvious, but worth stating again). There are all types of video games. Simulation video games are a great example of the gamer’s ability to do things similar to the real world but often with differences. The games aren’t bounded by physical dimensions.  ‍

Frameplay enables brands to seamlessly integrate into video games without disrupting the performance or experience of the game. 

An example of a fun simulation game Frameplay already works with is called House Flip.  People who love the idea of home design and flipping houses can simulate both in this fun game. This game can be played alone or with friends in team events to win free rewards.  Brands can seamlessly and authentically participate in this game with advertising placements that make the environment more realistic. 

Not everyone can play soccer in real life, but everyone can play it in video game environments with Miniclip Mini Football, a great Frameplay partner game. People who play this soccer game learn how to pass the ball up the field, tackle the other components, and hopefully realize the win. While playing their games, immersed in this virtual world of competition, they want to see advertising that makes the game more realistic and not disruptive. ‍

Current, stand alone video games can be something that exists in the metaverse.

Metaverse-like experiences are like video game environments with other non-game virtual experiences, expectations of different ways to contribute, pay, and govern.  

The Sandbox, a metaverse-like experience, has Sandbox Game Maker, which is their own “game maker software” basically for developing video games. According to their website, “The Sandbox Game Maker allows anyone to build 3D games for free. No coding is required thanks to accessible visual scripting tools to create amazing games in minutes. Creators like you contribute to a vast multiverse, filled with amazing creations and experiences.”

Metaverse-like experiences like Sandbox or Decentraland are not fully controlled by the developers as development itself is by its nature, decentralized. And, each metaverse-like virtual experience has its own rules. 

Video games are designed and controlled by game developers.  Since there are over 3 billion gamers in the world and growing, Frameplay has created a scalable, transparent, and interoperable way for brands to authentically participate in video games. ‍

Frameplay’s position is that virtual worlds, whether they be video games, or metaverse-like experiences, require a higher expectation to engage authentically, to enhance, not distract or disrupt, the experience.   ‍

Existing web- or app-based disruptive advertising is not welcomed when gamers are actively playing their games. Thinking about the experience and what the gamer wants is at the heart of enhancing the experience. Frameplay makes this complicated task very easy.   ‍

Frameplay has the leading vision, technology and capability to:

• Serve brand advertising into video games seamlessly without disrupting the performance of the game.
  
• Provide scale by connecting video game advertising opportunities: there are over 3 billion gamers in the world.  Gaming is already at scale. 

• Expect and inspect the creative is the right quality and delivery depending on the environment and device in which the game is played.
  
• Enable transparency and interoperability with current-day web 2.0 (browser- and app-based) measurement and targeting systems that help brands translate value.

Frameplay has shown consistent leadership in doing what’s right for the industry.   

From the beginning, Frameplay has worked with game developers, advertisers, the ad tech industry, and the gaming industry to get the technology, data, and measurement approaches and standards right. Frameplay strives to do the right thing for developers, advertisers, and most importantly, gamers. We will continue to do so for all virtual environments where the consumer is actively in control of their own experience.