What is Cryptovoxels? - A Collector's (Virtual) World
True Ownership meets Art in the Virtual….
You don’t need Virtual Reality to try Cryptovoxels; you can load it directly in your browser, and witness its clean and block-populated areas appearing swiftly out of virtual nothingness. It’s very accessible, but not flashy or over-hyped. What will you find there? Well... it’s a creative’s dream, a game-player’s one, and a speculator’s one too. Perhaps you’ve always wanted to host your own artwork for sale in a gallery you’ve designed yourself? And not just this: one where collectors can instantly buy and store your work, without even a handshake or removals van? Jump in here….
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‘Voxels’ is the name for the blocks, which can be purchased and traded, with colored ones available for a higher price. With strong growth in trading volume of its assets, the platform looks set to harness a heady mix of potent and alluring new tech, and move forwards.
What to explore?
- Collections...
Maybe you'll find something to purchase. A little knowledge of cryptocurrency will help you here, since the Ethereum blockchain handles all its transactions, making Ether (or ETH) cryptocurrency is the name of the game at this time. To log in, you need MetaMask, the web3 browser extension you should have installed; it will pop up from time to time prompting actions for your Ether wallet. The world is built on this public blockchain, and all ownership is (provably) signed to it.
Like another project, Decentraland, ‘Cryptovoxels’ is a virtual, social world ‘owned by its users’. It works in most VR headsets, making it a sort of ‘crypto ownership meets virtual world’. Going back in multi-user, virtual world history, its forbear Second Life proved that ownership is a key aspect to the success and creativity inside a virtual world. The ‘Linden Dollar’ was the way users could buy and sell land and items. However, this was a currency controlled by the creators of Second Life, and wasn’t a full-scale, globally traded cryptocurrency.
Much of the content or locations in Cryptovoxels relate to ‘crypto-collectibles’, viewable more directly on Opensea (an token marketplace) but more interactively - potentially more interestingly - inside Cryptovoxels. Parcels of land are in fact also collectibles, that are built upon, or bought and traded. Signs, posters and audio tracks can also be added to land parcels.
Permanent Ownership
A big attraction is that many creators, artists etc. need this kind of interactive, censorship-resistant place of their own to hammer in their personal flag, without interference. They can mark their VR territory as it were, and probably put up a sign selling something to random cyber wanderers breezing through, eternally....
And that last word is more relevant these days of web3. With Second Life, users could only guess at how long their world, currency and creations might stay in existence (under the control of Linden Labs), before some new project or company came along, or the servers were switched off due to lack of interest (this hasn’t quite happened yet, but it could have).
What’s happening with these new VR worlds, is the fact there is a reduced chance of interference in your Cryptovoxels or Decentraland property, thanks to... the blockchain. Users actually do own their land, their creations, their art or NFTs, or products. They can trade them on just like real world real-estate.
Over time, the community involved with these platforms may have to get more involved in the details of running such a multi-user, online environment as it grows and gets more complex.
For now, it’s still a great time to check out Cryptovoxels, in your browser or VR headset, and start exploring, building and contributing to its potential.
Perhaps you’ll become a virtual property owner too, who can showcase personal art or collectibles you’ve created or been collecting on Opensea….
This is still the early frontier of digital ownership, but it's all too real... especially since there’s crypto to be made or won.
Other games you can play directly in your browser: our very own host of mini-games plus more engrossing, free-to-play games to suit all the family, at Gaming Impact.
