Metaverse Architecture: My first hand account as the founder of an Architecture firm for the metaverse
Luca Arrigo
Founder at Metaverse Architects
In the real world, we’re often told ‘Get a degree’ nobody can ever take that away from you.
Well, dear friends. Invest in the metaverse because nobody can ever take that away from you.
The internet is a funny place, full of funny people and incredible minds.
I come from a small island in the mediterranean and not many people understand me here. Let's try to change that.
My most intimate connections were done in the metaverse in 2021.
I met digital nomads who are driving the train on remote work and convincing the bureaucratic establishment to change their ways and embrace the digital nomad movement with open arms.
I met metaverse architects with similar ideas to me and similar dreams of a free and unencumbered digital realm.
It’s funny when you break free from societal norms, you can turn any negative into a positive.
The truth is that in my home country construction and architecture is one the least inspiring industries to work in.
You study very hard for 5 years to then intern for another 2-3 years. By this time you either conform to the big firm life and spend the next 20 years designing concrete boxes or you go freelance and build a business from scratch. Chasing unappreciative clients and getting disappointed when the planning authority drops your creative idea because it’s out of the ordinary.
That’s why metaverse architecture is exciting.
NFT artists went mad over the digital trend.
Coders & developers are in love when working with DAOs
Gamers around the world are losing their shit over play-to-earn
I somehow stumbled onto this architecting the metaverse idea and my advocacy has inspired and changed the lives of people around the world. When I started only a handful of people even considered this as a career. The rest called me crazy.
I’m just a born entrepreneur and my brain is built to solve problems and create opportunities. I’ve studied for this and I’ve practiced professionally for nearly 10 years. So yeah overnight success is no such thing.
Someone so special to me was also a big inspiration for my work. She helped me close my first client and she supported me for a long time. However I think my obsession with this space has made me lose touch with my real life relationships and for this I am sorry. This also serves as a warning to many. The digital world is full of boundless opportunities but if you forget to nurture your real life circle you’ll lose them.
So you’ve got to either ensure you make time for the people you love or ensure that they’re 100% onboard for the ride.
Maybe my next love will be in the meta and maybe then I can do what I believe in without having to think twice about my dedication to building the future. Although no matter where the world goes, I’m not sure anything can replace sweaty palms whilst talking to a pretty girl and blushing with excitement.
Some other Lessons along the way
The first mistake I see a lot of people make when they first start building in the meta, is that they start by trying to apply the real world to the meta. This is so wrong.
When we build your mansion in real life, you’ll get a bed and a kitchen. We don’t eat or sleep in the Meta so why build these? It’s wrong!
Who do I need to help me?
Well, the team consists of 3 skill-sets
The architect is that person who has a creative mind and can come up with sketches about the vision. We use these sketches to sell the idea to our clients. Once an idea is sold the same architect or a 3D modeller is tasked with creating a low poly or voxel render for the project.
The model created here is simply an artistic rendition. It is usually expected that the architect has the skills to add colliders and ensure that the model is compatible with metaverse where it is to be uploaded.
The game developer is that person who has knowledge of programs like typescript, unity and other suites used for animation and game development. The game developer / coder would greatly benefit from knowledge of smart contracts and NFTs since we often have to integrate this sort of functionality into our builds. In general the game developer needs to have a hacker mindset who can problem solve and get around barriers and limitations set by metaverse worlds. This barriers are usually things like polygon limits, optimisation and compatibility.
The Sales & Marketing Wizards
What does a developer & Artist love the most? They love to create. Their time is best spent honing their skills and creating crazy ideas. This is why I am successful at starting an architecture firm for the metaverse. I have no skills in 3D design or Development so I just focused on building a web presence, network, pipeline & funnel. This gives me leverage to recruit the most talented builders in the metaverse. We need people who love closing deals, selling on zoom and managing projects from start to finish by following up and ensuring the client and builders are communicating effectively.
Where in the Metaverse does our architecture company work?
At the start of the year i began my journey in arguably the most sentimental metaverse ever created. Decentraland was the first blockchain enabled virtual world to reach the masses and inspire a whole generation of builders and innovators.
We have done some of the most exciting Decentraland builds and we strongly believe that this metaverse will go down in history as being the industry standard. Whilst many metaverse worlds are cropping up with arguably better tech. We cant ignore the historical significance of Decentraland and it is for this reason that we have placed it at the heart of our initial focus and it will forever have a special place in our heart.
What are the best metaverse architecture worlds in 2022?
In 2022 we will be discovering the Sandbox & make bets on some up & coming projects. Full list to be announced in January 2022.
What is Metaverse Marketing?
Metaverse is a shift away from traditional advertising and toward the creation of brand engagements that are more experiential and thrilling while also being less intrusive than what we are now seeing with digital advertising.
Even before Facebook announced its decision to change its official corporate name to, and thereby increasing focus on the Metaverse, it was a contender for the top trending term in 2021. After the global announcement, however, searches for Metaverse (and all related terms) increased to a level that was completely unimaginable. Among those terms, Metaverse marketing also rose to the top tanks pretty quickly.
In addition to Facebook’s rebranding, it serves as yet another reminder that brands must act quickly in order to capitalize on the potential within the Metaverse, as technological developments throughout hardware, software, and connectivity are making human interactions and immersive experiences more believable than was thought possible. This, together with the behavioural shifts and our rapidly increased reliance on digital devices and forms in our everyday lives brought about by the pandemic, has opened the door to a plethora of opportunities to get involved.
On a metaphysical level, the metaverse can be considered the next digital evolutionary step of today’s internet – just as the internet and mobile technology were in the past three decades.
In the digital age, old online and offline marketing strategies, such as flagship stores, enormous billboards, and other conventional norms, are very quickly becoming obsolete. Everything from contextually focused commercials to Instagram influencers to platforms, such as Fortnite, Twitch, Roblox and TikTok, are gaining traction with people of all ages, doesn’t matter if they are very old or very, very young.
The phrase “in real life” has taken on a whole new relevance for those trying to establish a connection with the next generation of consumers today. Current digital marketing is simply not enough anymore. Marketing strategies must be fascinating, meaningful, and immersive in order to be considered successful. And this is exactly why metaverse is all but guaranteed to accomplish this for businesses of all sorts in the not-too-distant future.
Opportunities in Metaverse Marketing
Even though metaverse has been around for a while, (and some brands have even experimented with metaverse marketing), rules for mainstream marketing for most brands still remain to be set. With new technologies being introduced almost every day, making the most of metaverse marketing by creating the perfect marketing plans is still a bit unclear. Setting these rules and coming up with the right strategies might just be the key to taking a brand to the next level in the metaverse. Here are some strategies that are already underway by some brands.
Making Virtual Venues Available and Accessible
Brands can also collaborate with established virtual worlds to hold events within them, such as Gucci and Coca-Cola in Roblox and Decentraland, respectively. Fortnite also often adds new regions to the map in collaboration with brands such as Marvel and Disney. Although already a work in progress, the pandemic massively boosted the creation of virtual spaces and venues to accommodate events that had to be cancelled and the expected visitor count. The mass gathering of users was able to view fresh 3D content and experience events unlike they’ve ever attended before.
Simplifying Virtual Ownership
Limited NFT editions have been released by some businesses (along with their other collections. Some of these businesses include top names such as Microsoft, Nike, Taco Bell, Coca-Cola, Pringles and McDonald. NBA Top Shot managed to earn over $700 million after they released limited edition NFTs. Despite the benefits and obvious financial gains, a lot of brands haven’t been able to achieve the same level of success because most don’t know how to go about the process. The good news is that open source solutions will make it easier for brands to start building their NFTs in a matter of days, but also to launch them as soon as possible.
Taking Advantage of Current and Future Demands
People are willing to pay a lot of money for virtual possessions, including everything accessories for in-game play, virtual property and even fashion. Most users are willing to pay just about any amount to make their avatars look unique and give them special abilities in games and social apps, just as they would in the real world, as more creativity and design variation is supported in games and social apps.
Redefining Real World and Virtual Entertainment
Increasingly, the distinction between real and virtual interactions is becoming blurred, resulting in new types of entertainment and immersive virtual reality experiences. These new experiences are frequently participatory and shared by a group of people nowadays. The result of all this is the transfer of real-life behaviour to all sorts of digital platforms and creating absolutely new reality.
More and more companies are experimenting with live events in this space. For the premiere of the film Without Remorse, Amazon Prime created a real-life gaming experience (which was the world’s first). The event was streamed live on Twitch. The event was set up like a stage production, with game-like interactivity, was given the effect of a commercial, and streamed much like a sports event would’ve been.
Currently, the most frequent way to have these experiences is through mobile AR, but Snapchat’s new glasses are a major step ahead. Unlike prior attempts, these lenses superimpose AR directly on the surface of the scene through the lenses, rather than retroactively supplementing film. Snapchat also announced connected lenses, which allow you to share your AR experience with someone else who is using a similar device bringing a sense of reality to the digital world.
Creating Brand Presence Everywhere
The best and the most important lessons brands and retailers all around the world realized during the pandemic was that creating your digital presence can no longer be ignored. After the pandemic cause the whole world to shut down, merchants rushed to create digital versions of their businesses since real-life versions were no longer accessible. If customers cannot physically visit you, you must bring your brand’s 3D experience to them.
Fashion giants created a whole new way to engage with customers and buyers. The immersive experience itself included everything a customer would need to know, including textures, the fit and style of each and every item to help them make their shopping experience a lot easier.
Taking Advantage of the Scope of the Metaverse
Be it through future technologies or with your current devices, the Metaverse will be everywhere and could be accessed from anywhere. At this point, even a small brand has the ability to make a name for itself in the Metaverse but more importantly spread its presence everywhere. More and more brands are realizing that and taking steps to take advantage of all the Metaverse has to offer. We are:
Pro-metaverse development that enhances our remote social connections.
– YES lets make communicating at a distance more real & more fun.
– I want to see a person’s body language when we’re chatting.
Let’s also stay conscious of the mistakes made in social media apps where social tech is incentivized to spread false information & toxic opinions because of higher engagement.
Let’s also stay conscious of the growing wealth gap / digital divide and ensure that the metaverse is decentralized and we increase the chance for people to climb the social ladder.
At the end of the day, like all our tech developments. Code is an expression of human thought.
We must open the metaverse conversation beyond the leaders & innovators and consult with the social experts to design a metaverse that is equitable.
We are the number 1 people to speak to about the metaverse. By consuming & building experiences our perspective is unique & grass roots. We bootstrapped our way to top and aim to stay ahead of the curve by digesting as much knowledge & meeting as many people in the space as possible. So feel free to reach out for a consultation.
Today the landscape is only for the savvy. The early adopters & innovators are being rewarded by creating their own economies. They are equivalent to what we know as the ‘Federal Reserve System’ or the ‘Bank of London’.
Will they remain in silo & function separately from the up & coming Microsoft metaverse?
Will the Facebook Meta be another tool to collect data about who we are?
We can expect the new wave of metaverse tech to be web 2.0 software that has been available for some time but is now being accepted as useful to improve conversation. (gamers have known & we practice cooperation online for years, I have never gamed in VR but I can imagine the bonds it will create for humans who embrace it around the world)
As VR & AR tech gets adopted by the push from centralized companies to ‘claim the metaverse’ happens.
We wont hear about the development being done by my people in the gaming sector who have jumped on the NFT play-to-earn band wagon.
We are seeing the development of games that involve people so tightly that it is likely a life’s career can be made within game.
This is where metaverse diplomacy comes in to play.
i.e
Provide legal safety (such as in a technology sandbox) to entrepreneurs around the world to legally run their meteverse.
A metaverse is equivalent to a small country.
The authority that is able to regulate this new cooperation structure between NFT assets, people & the decentralized structures that comes with them.
Will see a sticky establishment of the metaverse economies workforce.
I have combined my work at nomadvisamalta.com with the metaverse where I have been a key stakeholder for Malta that supports applications & promotion of the nomad residency program.
Through my active participation in the world wide digital community. I am proposing that we launch metaembassy.world that will campaign for:
- diversity, equity & inclusion
- How will policy securitize the metaverse?
- How do you take a UN model for the Metaverse? in a council of governance
- Meta Embassy to campaign for interoperability between DAOs & governments
- The metaverse won’t be 1 layer.
This should be a decentralized organization that campaigns for interoperability, security and the values of diversity, equity & inclusion.
