Neal Stephenson proposed the concept of a ‘Metaverse’ in 1992. In his science fiction work 'Snow Crash,' he imagined an online realm where individuals might explore and escape the actual world via digital avatars. While the term was created in 1992, several innovations in hardware, software and communications have paved the way to develop this vision of a 'Metaverse' even before the term was coined.
The development of ‘The Metaverse’ has gone through a number of waves, which we will explore.
Virtual Reality 1.0 (1968 - 1996)
From the late 1960s until the mid-1990s, a slew of innovators explored different forms of technology that would completely immerse us in our information. Starting with Ivan Sutherland's ‘Sword of Damocles System’ also known as “ultimate displays”. These "ultimate displays" became known as ‘Virtual Reality’, a term created by Jaron Lanier.
A man testing out a VPL system in 1991
Lanier launched VPL (Virtual Programming Languages) with the goal of commercialising virtual reality. However, these head-mounted display (HMD) devices were technically primitive and costly at the time. They were nowhere near ready for widespread consumer adoption; that would have to wait more than two decades after the failure of VPL and other companies of the time. They did, however, inspire many of those who worked in the next wave.