At what point in our lives did interest in the Metaverse skyrocket? Exactly: during the Great Confinement of 2020. With everyone confined at home, living parallel lives in a virtual and immersive space wasn’t a bad plan. In connection with this, Mark Zuckerberg changed the name of his company in 2021: Facebook would now be Meta because his big bet would be the Metaverse. Now that we’re living without restrictions and not even having to wear a mask on the bus, there are increasing signs that virtual reality won’t be the huge business it seemed. Even Zuckerberg, who suffered a setback in the stock market, who has tightened his employees’ belts and made it clear that virtual reality isn’t his only bet, knows this. But metaverse existed before Facebook wanted to take over this business: Video game makers have long transported their customers to fantastical environments where they can interact with other avatars.
The movie We Met in Virtual Reality on HBO Max is set in one of those metaverses called VRChat and looks like a cartoon fantasy. But it’s not that, it’s something much more disturbing: it’s a documentary shot in this virtual world at the end of 2020, which caused a stir at the Sundance festival a year ago and was signed by a director in his 20s: the British Joe Hunting . VRChat is a game created in 2014 to allow users to travel by putting on a helmet with goggles like Oculus and travel to a universe with manga aesthetics. There’s also a less immersive desktop version that doesn’t require a headset. At the worst of the pandemic, Joe Hunting immersed himself in this world with his own avatar and virtual camera to portray his people. And it’s hard to believe that they aren’t acting, that they are all ordinary citizens escaping harsh reality in this way. It’s easy to get carried away by prejudice, believing that geeks, bored teenagers or social misfits inhabit this place, that this is the only way out for very lonely people. The hunt wants to refute all that. To show that this virtual reality is reality, that exciting things are happening, that people manage to overcome loneliness, make good friends and even find their significant other.
There are many communities in the VRChat rooms that the film goes through, but they are not closed. There is a group that studies the language of the deaf, there is a belly dance school, there are gyms, there are discos and bars that serve huge beers that don’t make you drunk or fat. There are birthday celebrations and the New Year’s countdown is performed several times as the stroke of midnight in every area of the world at the end of the unfortunate year 2020. There are friendships and romances in which the young hunter fixes his virtual camera. Quite a few of the female avatars are sexy and wear short skirts; not a few of the males are athletic and muscular; There are also people of indeterminate gender. Others choose shocking or childish aspects: a teddy bear, Kermit the Frog, or characters from Mario Bros.
escape from yourself
Even the most open-minded viewer will often be confused, but the players’ motivations are gradually understood if we call this a game. One, of course, is escaping a depressing reality, that of the 2020 lockdown. But there is much more: escaping yourself, your life, your context, your position in society, your insecurities, maybe limitations physically. Several people openly say they don’t like being the way they are out there.
By the way, this metaverse shows its technical flaws. Those who hug seem to fold their arms, the kisses are not very natural, there are those who have difficulty making simple movements. But that doesn’t matter: all that counts is the feeling of belonging to a community, almost to a big family. We have heard very insightful testimonials about it. A woman tells that she suffered a family tragedy and all her acquaintances saw death in her. To make matters worse, she was an alcoholic and she got rid of that addiction by committing to virtual reality, which is certainly less harmful. He claims that his virtual friends saved his life. Another woman fiercely defends love between those who cannot be touched: it is a purer feeling because you fall in love with the personality.
The question is inevitable: is your avatar you? We tend to think no, but there are arguments for it. One of the participants explains it like this: “You can be what you always wanted to be. And start over somehow. Nobody knows who you are or who you were. Only now do they know who you are. You’re free to be yourself.” They feel liberated from their bodies and how others see them. That’s more attractive, that’s clear, to people with self-esteem issues, with disabilities, or with alternative sexual identities. That’s where they find acceptance. A Participant wonders in the world of physical interactions, do you really care that much about others: your cashier, your office cleaner, that neighbor you share an elevator with?
The wedding with the missing ending
Among the romantic stories that unite people thousands of miles apart, the closure of borders and restrictions, two stand out. In one, the couple dreams of meeting in real life: they take a plane, they are both very nervous at the airport, they end up hugging… but this also happens in virtual reality. That is, they pretend this isn’t a simulation (is the rest?). In another we witness the preparations and ceremony of a stylish wedding. It’s very emotional. But we miss the end. The documentary ends and since there isn’t a single shot in the real world, you don’t know what happened to the people who felt such bonds embedded in their avatars when the Covid restrictions were lifted. Did they actually meet at an airport months later? And if so, did they like each other when they saw each other in their mortal flesh? Did VRChat’s newlyweds consider themselves married when they left the game? Did you really think about getting married? In other words, is the love of the Metaverse love? Is love possible, detached from our bodies, our contexts and our lives, without physical or even visual contact? Is this an artificial, fictional love? Or is it, as they say, a purer and freer love, almost spiritual? The point of the movie is that you don’t answer that quickly. do not judge
One element that should be questioned is that so much tenderness is hard to believe. This is a respectful, supportive and inclusive universe, a bit naive. empathetic. The question is if everyone in VRChat is so nice or if they don’t show us the whole truth. Yes, like in every corner of the internet, there are trolls, stalkers, lynchers, thugs and fanatics.
Those who have visited Meta’s metaverse (in tests) tell things we don’t see in this documentary. That there are decorations where nobody is and nothing happens, that you greet others and they don’t answer you, that many children are alone and dark people flutter around them, that the avatars don’t have legs yet. The latter is designed to prevent sexual harassment: Many women have denounced episodes in which they were hurt, which is not surprising given Facebook’s history of toxic attitudes. We know that Zuckerberg intends (and investors don’t believe him) to bring the activities of the professional community there into his metaverse. And that’s not tempting. Now we understand some of the charm of VRChat where love is so much sought after. At least you can escape. You didn’t come to the metaverse to continue your routines. Much less to continue to put up with your boss.
You can follow EL PAÍS TELEVISIÓN on Twitter or sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter
Receive the TV newsletter
All the news from channels and platforms, with interviews, news and analysis, as well as recommendations and criticism from our journalists
REGISTRATION