Emaverse

The aim of this project is to encourage people who have no previous experience with Ethereum or Metaverse to take the first step.

Both Ethereum and Metaverse have the problem that "beginners don't get involved easily". A common characteristic is the unusual nature. For many people, neither Ethereum nor Metaverse are rarely involved in their daily lives. In other words, a special trigger is needed to step out there.

On the flip side, unusual times and spaces can be the gateway to those worlds. For this project, I considered "shrines" as such a special place. Shrines are familiar spaces to Japanese people, but they are filled with a sacred and extraordinary nature.

However, creating a "Meta-shrine" and gathering people there, as many companies do, does not solve the above problem. The problem is that people do not come there.

Rather, the breakthrough lies on the side of real shrines. Instead of using Metaverse and Ethereum to get people to come to the shrine, we should put them in a place where they can spread out from the shrine.

Specifically, "Ema (wish tags)" used at the shrine is used as a point of contact to familiarize people with "their own personal Metaverse space. The image is that of a virtual souvenir. Think of a frame for a commemorative photo. Since Metaverse is made of digital data, it is actually easy to duplicate. Take full advantage of this characteristic. The gateway to Ethereum is also planted there.

In Metaverse space of this project, we will place links to sites where you can donate in Ethereum. It would be nice to have a form where users can choose where to donate. But why donation?

It has to do with another unique custom of Japanese culture, "INTOKU／陰徳：secret charity". Japanese people prefer charities that are done in secret to those that are overtly charitable. Overt charity makes the person who does it stand out, but only God knows about the charity that is done in secret. It is considered more dignified to be known only to God.

Also, both have a quid pro quo, but overt charity is characterized by an immediate and small payoff. On the other hand, charities that are done in secret are believed to have a large payoff much later. Sometimes the payback is not to oneself but to one's offspring. Because of this belief, Japanese people attribute their happiness to their ancestors.

The link to the donation site placed in Metaverse space is the entrance to "INTOKU／陰徳：secret charity". It is a device for circulating good deeds, just like a money box in a shrine. In other words, if you do good deeds, the wishes on Ema (wish tags) will be more likely to come true.

The above mechanism will also provide an opportunity for foreign tourists to experience Japanese culture in depth. When they return to their home countries, they will be able to talk to their family and friends with their own Metaverse space.

I hope that good deeds can be circulated using the Metaverse and Ethereum.

The most unique aspect of this project was not so much the "technology" itself, but the idea of utilizing the characteristics of the technology. In fact, I did not use a particularly large technology, but a combination of smaller technologies.

The platform I selected for Metaverse was Spatial. I was attracted to Spatial because of its ease of manipulation and scalability of spatial decoration, and because it is easy to duplicate an entire space.

Many Metaverse projects try to create the only luxurious space and bring lots of people there. However, since the Metaverse is digital data, its true potential lies in the ease of reproduction. It is closer to the invention of printing technology than to the creation of a masterpiece. It is more like Johannes Gutenberg than Leonardo da Vinci.

This project is based on that "familiarity with reproductions". Since the main goal of the project is to attract beginners, familiarity is a very important factor.

A magnificent work of art can overwhelm the viewer, but it can also be inaccessible. On the other hand, a souvenir that an individual can take home will bring smiles not only to the individual but also to those around them. Metaverse space of this project can be described as a "virtual souvenir".

The space itself was created using Blender, not a Spatial template. Tatami mats and torii gates are objects unique to Japan. They do not exist in the current template.

The background was created using AI (Blockade Labs). The scenery is linked to the cherry blossoms in the 3D object.

In terms of using Ai, I used BlueWillow to draft the logo. The resulting image was traced in Illustrator.

And as for translation, I utilized DeepL, and the reading was done by ondoku3. Without those services, the work on the explanatory materials would have been extremely difficult.

One by one, similar services exist for each technology. However, depending on how they are combined, they can be unique. Above all, I think it is important to have a conception that takes advantage of the characteristics of each technology. One of the most notable technical aspects of this project is that I focused on the "ease of replication" of Metaverse.

And in order to take advantage of this benefit, it is important to take advantage of the characteristics of each technology. I hope that many people will be exposed to Ethereum and Metaverse through this project.