A Balkan Micronation in the Metaverse?

I continue to have my near-term doubts about all this.    But comes with 7000 residents!

 Inside Liberland, the Balkan Micronation Becoming First Country to Be Built in Metaverse

In EuroNews

By Lisa Gibbons, November 7, 2022

The self-declared Free Republic of Liberland aims to become the first country to build and inhabit the metaverse, even before the strip of uninhabited land it has claimed between Serbia and Croatia is populated in real life. Liberland currently has 7,000 approved residents, and an additional 700,000 citizenship applications are being processed. The virtual city will allow its citizens to meet without officially entering the micronation, which is not yet a formally recognized country. Said Patrik Schumacher of Zaha Hadid Architects, which is designing a virtual city for the new nation, "In the coming age of VR [virtual reality] empowered cyberspace, it will be architects and no longer graphic designers who will design the coming 3D [three-dimensional] immersive internet: the metaverse."

Some Sample Metaverses

Some proposed members of a universe of Metaverses

Meet the Teams Collaborating to Build an Infinite Universe of Metaverses  in Coindesk

For people waiting for the metaverse era to begin, these are exciting moments, with a range of projects across the world readying themselves for launch in the year ahead. It will be fascinating to see which of the many competing visions and concepts win the public’s hearts.

But for many Coindesk readers, just as fascinating are the cutting-edge technologies that metaverses will be built on. It’s clear that, if they’re going to deliver immersive, parallel-life experiences where people can do everything they do in the real world and then some, these ambitious projects will need to be built on collaboration between visionaries from a vast range of tech domains, including the Web3 and digital asset spaces.

So who are the partners that come together to take a metaverse from initial concept to vibrant virtual reality? Let’s take a look by considering the example of the joint venture Translucia, one of the most exciting metaverse pioneers.

The Translucia project

The founding partner behind Translucia is the Thai media company T&B Media Global, which has been responsible for multiple hit TV and movie projects across a range of genres. The firm’s innovation unit set the objective of building a platform where an infinite set of interconnected metaverses will co-exist. The unifying theme of these metaverses is that they will infuse virtual versions of real-world experiences with creativity, positivity, happiness and prosperity.

It’s about creating living and lifestyle experiences that until now have only existed in dreams, but it’s also about prioritizing well-being by making sure the more toxic habits that have become associated with social networks do not become a feature of Translucia’s metaverses.

Input from a real-word real-estate developer

T&B Media Global’s joint venture partner is the real estate developer MQDC. You might be surprised that a firm specializing in real-world property would be working on a metaverse project, but MQDC’s involvement makes perfect sense: If Translucia’s metaverses are to provide an authentic yet enhanced version of spaces where people live, work and play, who better to work with than a firm that has a track record of developing such projects in real life?

The first tech partners

Since the beginning, the joint venture partners have been proactive in seeking out partnerships with Web3 and crypto-native businesses that have the expertise to make the Translucia vision a reality.

Its first moves were to partner with two Australian tech firms, Pellar Technology and Two Bulls, which are using a $100 million investment from T&B to operate a Metaverse Research and Development Center (MRDC). Here, teams are finding answers to questions that lie at the heart of Translucia’s vision, for example, how to build a low energy consumption blockchain and what economic and game design principles will best ensure an atmosphere of positivity and well-being.

After the MRDC was launched, Translucia recruited four major partners to build out the visual and economic sides of the project.

Aesthetics and immersion specialists

The New Delhi-based Sunovatech has accepted the challenge of creating Translucia’s 3D environments and assets. It’s a perfect fit with Translucia’s vision because it brings to the table a team that has completed over 650 stunning 3D visualization and VR projects that offer impeccable, breath-taking renderings with a variety of aesthetics, from real-world cityscapes to richly imagined cinematic worlds. The firm is right at the top of its field in terms of its expertise in making the virtual lifelike using the Unreal Engine.

Translucia’s other main visual partner is China’s Black Flame. The firm has ample experience in creating convincing and visually stunning alternative realities, having worked on a range of blockbuster animations, among them the hits “Ne Zha” and “The Monkey King 2.” Black Flame will contribute its aesthetic skills to design Translucia’s landscapes, avatars, architecture, environments and assets.

Partners to build a metaverse economy

Crypto investors will be familiar with Sygnum. It was the world’s first-ever digital assets bank, and it pioneered a custodial infrastructure that has set a host of standards for digital asset management. Sygnum’s Singapore division will be responsible for masterminding Translucia’s financial architecture, and so we can anticipate the platform will be the most sophisticated and secure in terms of users’ ability to acquire and store the crypto and tokens that they will use to build prosperous virtual lives. ... ' 

Metaverse and Brands

Something we examined in 'Second Life' 

 Shaping your brand identity in the metaverse  in VentureBeat

How does a brand have identity in a “metaverse” that doesn’t yet exist?

As we forge ahead with shaping a collective concept of the metaverse, identity will become a main focus. In our physical world, identity is connected to everything — from fashion and fandom to sexuality and career. We have seen large fashion and beauty brands including Givenchy and Clinique making entries in the digital space and Walmart and Nike creating their own customized experiences. Several major brands like CAA now have a metaverse strategy and even a chief metaverse officer.

MetaBeat_How to maximize and experiment with technologies for your organization and customers as we move towards metaverse worlds_Trim

There is a strong push into this space — a place where no one has yet established their identities, let alone the stories they are looking to tell. And before we say Roblox and Fortnite are the metaverse, we should start with understanding definitions. Those are both virtual game worlds with a social layer, much like EVE Online and World of Warcraft. 

Plenty of virtual worlds have focused on character and story connecting to the player’s identity. Whether it’s the skill tree you’ve set for yourself, multi-classing your way to greatness, or the fashion style you’ve adopted, identity is a concept relatable to every human. We all have a certain vision of “self” constructed from our upbringing and surroundings and connecting to culture and environment, so this must carry into our digital representatives. 

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Identity is an amalgamation relating to both our physical and psychological being. It is our ontology, the stuff that makes up our character. And this “character” is projected through our physical as well as our digital identities. Most recently we have seen digital identities created by influencers showcasing their physical lives in a very specific way for financial gain. These portrayals are often unrealistic and unverifiable but serve the purpose for brands trying to sell their goods to that influencer’s followers.  

Brands as characters on your shelf  ... ' 

Restaurants and Metaverse Marketing

 Games and more envisioned.  

Virtual Stores Test Consumers’ Appetite for Metaverse Marketing

Wendy’s and Chipotle join a growing number of companies exploring the potential of virtual worlds

Restaurants' Virtual Stores Test Consumers' Appetite for Metaverse Marketing

The Wall Street Journal,  Ann-Marie Alcántara,  April 5, 2022

Fast-food chains are testing virtual stores to explore the metaverse's marketing potential. Wendy's opened a virtual restaurant in Meta's Horizon Worlds virtual reality game; visitors can engage in basketball-themed gameplay near the simulated establishment. Wendy's Carl Loredo said the chain will track engagement metrics, including how many people visit the virtual restaurant or post about it on social media, and how many interact with its food-ordering application. Chipotle Mexican Grill will unveil a virtual outlet simulating its original Denver restaurant on the Roblox gaming platform; players who successfully roll virtual burritos in the game will earn "Burrito Bucks" good for real-world items at Chipotle restaurants. Said Chipotle's Chris Brandt, "This promotion and this initiative that we have with Roblox really starts to separate itself from a lot of what other people are doing, and really blur that line between the real world and the metaverse."  .... '