The social network giant emphasizes its efforts to community building and released a brand-new suite of developer tools for the creators.
Rebranding
Last week was a particularly busy one for Facebook. The company revealed its new name “Meta”, perhaps a not-so-subtle reference to the grand vision of the founder– the metaverse. In addition to the new identity, the social media giant has also announced a host of new ideas and features to be soon introduced to the existing ecosystem, with the aim to accelerate the change.
Enter the metaverse
It might seem that the company is doubling down on its vision of the metaverse, and there is justification to believe it. In order to keep up with the promises, Facebook (Meta) has also released a bunch of new games, tools, and experiences. Also, it is placing a reinvigorated focus on productivity, fitness, and social connections.
Amazing experiences
Although the vision of Metaverse is still a distant dream, Facebook is progressing in leaps and bounds to ensure that the platform is well-prepared to provide the community developers with an improved ecosystem. The goal is to create a positive environment by ensuring the quality of life so that the creators can keep on building amazing experiences, while the users get to enjoy them without having to worry about any trivial details.
Cloud Backup
To ensure that support, Facebook (Meta) revealed that the platform will launch Cloud Backup, a brand-new cloud computing system that will benefit both gamers and developers. This is a comparatively simpler system that will help you store all your in-game settings and progress, even if you replace your headset, command a factory reset, or reinstall a game after uninstalling it.
Oculus gaming
This feature is going to be really exciting, especially for the Oculus gaming experience. It will ensure a more seamless and hassle-free in-headset VR experience. As for the developers, all the apps in the headset will be opted-in by default. But you can change the setting if you want when you publish your app/ experience on the Oculus App Store.
Upgrading the multiplayer experience
In addition to Cloud Storage, Facebook has also revealed plans to upgrade the multiplayer experience and offer more support to developers for building better, more engaging multiplayer communities in virtual reality. This is going to be a crucial aspect of future improvements, for a big part of the proposed Metaverse is going to be all about expanding networks and building communities in VR.
Invite System
To help shape up the expanding Metaverse, Facebook also plans to open its Invite System. With this feature, users will be able to reach out to friends and invite them to play without having to leave the game. This can be done via texts in VR or even real-world messages. There will also be an “Ask to Join” tab in the future Quest interface that will allow players to find out whether it is the right time to join a friend’s game.
Introducing new tools
In addition to these proposed upgrades, Facebook will also be introducing a lot more interesting tools, experiences, and resources, such as a VR friends’ list, improved VR avatars, Avatar SDK support, Unreal Engine 4, and much more in the coming months.
You can check out Facebook’s Developer State of the Union session for more updates on the Metaverse.
