- 3D engine
- Sometimes “game engine,” the visualization software undergirding metaverse platforms. Unity and Unreal are by far the leading 3D engines. (See also Unity and Unreal.)
- augmented reality
- (or AR): The layering of virtual/digital input on top of the user's view of the real world, typically through a head-mounted display or smartphone. (See also mixed reality.)
- avatar
- From the Sanskrit for “godly incarnation,” the onscreen character that a virtual world user controls.
- blockchain
- A distributed online ledger (somewhat akin to Google Docs) that anyone can access to track payments in cryptocurrency or create “smart contracts” with others.
- concurrency
- A key industry standard metric of user engagement, counting the number of users logged into the same Internet service (that is, a metaverse platform) at the same time. Peak concurrency, typically reached during special events, is a helpful metric for measuring the overall health of a platform, both technically and as a virtual community. Peak daily concurrency is a good indicator of average user activity, especially on the weekend, when metaverse platforms tend to be busiest. (See also monthly active user and local concurrency.)
- core (or hardcore) gamers
- A subset of gamers who primarily enjoy 3D games with an emphasis on action and “twitch” (fast reflex) interaction, especially those played on video game consoles or high-end PCs. Traditionally and typically young men, though this is starting to change in places (see Chapter 5 on Fortnite).
- cryptocurrency
- A form of virtual currency that generates its value by complex computer processing (proof of work) or contributions to the system (proof of stake).
- Epic Games Store
- Leading game distribution platform. As of early 2023, it reportedly has over 62 million monthly active users. (See also Steam.)
- Discord
- An extremely popular community messaging and communication system among gaming and metaverse platform users. (Think Slack for game geeks.) As of early 2023, it reportedly has over 150 million monthly active users.
- framerate, frames per second, or FPS
- Very broadly speaking in this context, the metric for determining how visually immersive (see below) a metaverse platform will be. At this date 60 FPS is optimal for PCs, while for VR headsets, which demand higher graphics, FPS should be closer to 90.
- furries
- In the metaverse context, avatars customized to resemble adorably cartoonish anthropomorphic creatures (typically cats, dogs, squirrels, and other fur-forward animals) similar to those you'd encounter at a theme park. A subculture unable to thrive before the Internet, furries have always been on the vanguard of metaverse platforms, which have creation tools powerful and open enough to convert avatars (typically human by default) into users’ “fursonas” of choice. In interviews with furries over the years, they describe to me a feeling of discomfort with their real-life bodies, matched by a desire to be embodied in an avatar with animal cuteness. Typically friendly, tech savvy, and highly quirky.
- immersion
- The subjective “you are there” sense created by a VR headset or by navigating through a high-definition 3D graphics/audio virtual environment on any digital screen.
- interoperability
- In the context of metaverse technology, the ability to seamlessly move and use content (3D assets, user identity, and so on) from one virtual world/metaverse platform to another, or within them.
- local concurrency
- The number of users able to be online and represented as avatars in the same virtual space—for instance, in a concert hall, nightclub, or game space. (See also concurrency.)
- machinima
- Narrative videos created with action and imagery captured in a game/metaverse platform. Not to be confused with streaming. (See also streaming.)
- The Metaverse versus metaverse platform/startup/company/etc.
- How this book distinguishes between the core original concept and the many individual attempts to realize it. The Metaverse (capital M) is the original vision depicted in Snow Crash. It also refers to the industry as a whole that's attempting to develop it as a product; “metaverse platform/startup/etc.” (lowercase), by contrast, can refer to a startup like Core, a public company like Roblox, and so on.
- mesh
- In 3D game/virtual world graphics, the amalgam of vertices, edges, and faces that comprise an object. In the context of Second Life, an additional creation option introduced to the platform in 2010 that largely supplanted prims (see also prim) as the primary creative canvas.
- mixed reality
- In the context of metaverse platforms, the blending of virtual world data with external real-world devices/data, or vice versa. (See also augmented reality.)
- MMO
- Massively multiplayer (or multiuser) online world—typically with a role-playing game structure (it's often referred to as an MMORPG); for example, World of Warcraft, Elder Scrolls Online, and so on. To metaverse evangelists, MMOs are often considered training wheels for The Metaverse.
- monthly active users (or MAU)
- A key industry standard metric of user engagement on metaverse platforms and other online services. Not to be confused with “registered users,” a number that often includes discontinued accounts. (See also concurrency.)
- prim
- Short for “primitive,” the original creative canvas for Second Life—highly modifiable, connectible building blocks, similar to blocks in Minecraft. Supplanted to a great degree by mesh. (See also mesh.)
- Proteus effect
- First coined and researched by Nick Yee and Jeremy Bailenson at Stanford, the phenomenon where a user associates characteristics of their virtual world/metaverse platform avatar with aspects of their real-life identity. (See Chapters 9 and 10 for both positive and hazardous applications.)
- Raspberry Pi
- A small, affordable single-board computer often used by hobbyists for mixed reality projects. (See also mixed reality.)
- scripting language
- A programming language used to change, customize, and automate interactions on an existing system—in this case, a metaverse platform. For instance, Second Life's original scripting language is LSL (Linden Scripting Language), and VRChat's is Udon.
- single shard
- In the context of MMOs (see also MMO) and virtual world/metaverse platforms, refers to an online world where every user is online on the same server that hosts the world itself. Most MMOs have multiple shards—that is, copies of the world—that only a select number of players can share at the same time (typically several thousand). The original Metaverse conception implies a single shard virtual world, but very few worlds have been able to accomplish this successfully—the science fiction MMO Eve Online and the metaverse platform Second Life are rare exceptions.
- Steam
- An online game distributor and marketplace owned by Valve Software. As of 2021, it reportedly had over 120 million monthly active users. See also Epic Games Store.
- streaming
- Live footage recorded and broadcast directly from a game/metaverse platform broadcast on a video platform such as YouTube or Twitch.
- Unity
- A leading 3D engine used by Avakin Life, Garena Free Fire, Rec Room, VRChat, and other metaverse platforms. (See also Unreal.)
- UGC
- User-generated content. On a metaverse platform, UGC ranges from high-quality 3D assets and shaders to skilled socialization.
- Unreal
- The other leading 3D engine, used by Fortnite, Core, and other Metaverse platforms. Developed by Epic, publisher of metaverse platform Fortnite Creative. (See also Unity.)
- virtual world (versus the Metaverse)
- A self-consistent simulation of an alternate reality, accessible by one user or many people. The simulated reality itself can be anything—a medieval fantasy world, the most popular context for MMOs (see also MMO), or a completely blank immersive space (think the empty, all-white “Desert of the Real” in The Matrix) that can be adjusted and customized by the user or developer. Most popular virtual worlds do not have all the features of a metaverse platform—MMOs, for instance, typically do not allow users to cash out their virtual currency for real money. A virtual world is not necessarily a metaverse platform, but a metaverse platform must always be wrapped around a virtual world.