Social-Media
OASIS-style Facebook playground Horizon reaches public beta
Did you forget that the OASIS was being built on Facebook? The company has been working on its multiplayer virtual reality social space, Horizon, for a while now, which is comparable in nature, if not scale, to the incredible VR world of Ready Player One. This week, the company revealed that it is widening its access and making Horizon a public beta invitation only.
Horizon has been kitted out with new features and worlds when it joins the public beta. Facebook is also adding new ways to tackle bullying on the site, including the option of moving away from the VR environment to a "Internal Safe Zone" where you can mute, block, and report people and posts around you.
The app (service?social network?gamespace?) is, in Facebook's own words, an ever-expanding universe of virtual interactions created and developed by the entire community." This means that you can hang out and talk with people in Horizon using custom VR avatars, or play games and activities developed using the app's internal resources. In that respect, Horizon is close to Roblox, which has gained immense popularity by encouraging users to create their own experiences.
First-hand accounts from sources like CNET and Engadget give some fascinating insight into what Horizon looks like right now. They discuss playing basic games like Balloon Smash (a water balloon shooter), taking part in a game show called Interdimensional (built around a series of timed escape rooms and puzzles), and experimenting with a modular development mode that allows you to create custom worlds using 3D shapes and models.
In many respects, it reminded me of the white vacuum of The Matrix — a space full of boundless energy and imagination, says Devindra Hardawar of Engadget in Horizon 's creative mode.
In a few minutes, my guide turned the empty space into a virtual beach, complete with sand , water and a golden sunset horizon. I wasted a couple of minutes trying to build a palm tree.
Horizon is important in and of itself as a significant step in the development of online socialization. But it's also likely that Facebook needs to become more of a platform at a time when socializing in-person is so much more difficult. The major annual VR conference of the company, Facebook Connect (previously Oculus Connect), is scheduled for September 16th, and it would be important to see whether or not Horizon is taking center stage.
