[azinman2]

The more important test is not the technological one, but if the idea is useful at all. So far 3D worlds haven't proven themselves as necessary or something that leaps forward communication. It provides all kinds of constraints with few upsides. Just because the world is in 3d for my normal life doesn't mean that constraint is natural or useful by extension -- when I read I absorb language and abstract thoughts mixed with imagination without any "real world" basis. 3D avatars might look cool but they also visually become the hero when that might be exactly what we want to get away from in a community context -- the potential for new forms of representation that dont resemble the physical world. Second life was predicted by some to have already taken over all of business world, and thus far it had the most uptick and chance of all of these systems. Yet am I reading HN via some dragon emitting nerdy fireballs? No I have a simple web page with the ability to hyperlink me straight to interesting content that is more text typically. And it's working way better in this form than a 3D world could because the concept doesn't make sense to add that extra graphical dimension and navigational constraint.

[DennisP]

For a lot of purposes I agree. Hypertext is one.

But I think one reason 3D hasn't done much is that we're looking at it through a little 2D window. When VR really hits the market I think 3D worlds will be a lot more compelling.

[azinman2]

The question then becomes what new applications will that enable, rather than how can we do what we already do in 3D. That's the problem I see with secondlife and as they're defining the metaverse...

If it's about simulation/training for doctors/firefighters/etc then I can see the uses because you're wanting to simulate a complex situation in the real world. But what purely virtual tasks will be better accomplished with VR than without? Is it more simulation of reality or something totally new? My guess is for whatever is new it mostly will be about navigating something inherently 3D such as DNA. If that's true, then do we really need a decentralized metaverse to populate it, or can whatever random DNA VR software be enough?