The Horizon Worlds VR game doesn’t look particularly impressive here.
For this photo, Facebook was renamed Meta and invested 10 billion dollars? That’s probably what a lot of people thought when they came across Mark Zuckerberg’s virtual selfie on the internet. No wonder this rather disappointing glimpse into the metaverse was followed by a flurry of amusement and ridicule.
In our podcast, we explain why the plans of Meta and similar projects are not only cause for laughter, but also cause for concern:
more on the subject
The Metaverse is gonna be hell if we don’t argue about it
What is the selfie about?
Screenshot of Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook account was posted during the launch of Horizon Worlds
in France and Spain. The online VR game is part of the Metaverse project and was released in the US in 2021 but was not well received.
Gaming website Kotaku described the game as an empty shell that has more in common with an office than a playground, or any other kind of social space people would like to be in.
The Washington Post also criticized that the children of Horizon Worlds were not adequately protected.
In our development video, German game developers also discuss whether the Metaverse and games like Horizon Worlds actually represent a possible and desirable future for gamers:
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German developers on virtual reality: will we live in a metaverse in the future?
This is how the network reacts
Reactions to Metaverse’s not-so-pretty selfie were mostly humorous in nature. For example, comedian Andrew Nadreau writes on Twitter:
As far as I know, the Metaverse is only Animal Crossing, but you’re being hunted down by Mark Zuckerberg.
The author and Professor of Politics Brian Klaas In his tweet, however, he also voices political criticism of the meta-group in his reaction to the photo:
There must be a German word for it like Schadenfreude: But specifically to say how wonderful it is to see the company that helped undermine democracy waste $10 billion creating this ridiculous child of The Sims and the Nintendo Wii.
The really completely outdated aspect of the project also causes contempt and misunderstanding among others. Several tweets compare Horizon Worlds to other much older games. Here’s how even 2007’s Second Life, which takes a similar approach to Zuckerberg’s game, looks better:
related to Twitter content
Now it’s your turn: what do you think of Horizon Worlds and the Metaverse plans? Can you imagine that one day something interesting will come out of it? Or do you just have to laugh out loud at the unflattering selfie? Give your opinion in the comments!