Together with
Neal Stephenson’s Lamina1 metaverse platform is teaming up with Oscar-winning VFX house Wētā Workshop on the “participatory worldbuilding” project called Artefacts.
The Big Picture: Social gaming is more popular than ever, thanks to platforms like Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft. While those are more kid-centered for the time being, a similar project aimed at adults could be a game-changer.
Between The Lines: Artefacts is the first project from the Lamina1 and Wētā partnership, offering users the first multimedia experience on Lamina1’s blockchain.
- The project builds on the “themes and lore” from Stephenson’s work, urging users to find the meaning behind “a mysterious set of Artefacts.”
- Users will then use those “discoveries” to build a world set in the project’s universe — likely utilizing a lot of very cool assets designed by Wētā.
- The first set of creators will be invited to join the project this fall.
Closing Thoughts: The hype around the metaverse and the blockchain has cooled over the past couple of years, mostly thanks to projects that over-promised and under-delivered. But Stephenson (who coined the term “metaverse” in his novel Snow Crash) and Wētā (the brilliant minds behind Peter Jackson’s Middle Earth) have the influence and vision to get people excited about an open, social, digital world again.
Go Deeper: Artefacts isn’t the first user-participating metaverse project. Also, check out Runner and The Fringe.
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