User:Shadowboxer2005/Metaverse selfie
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The metaverse selfie (also known as the Horizon Worlds selfie) is an image taken by Mark Zuckerberg in the virtual reality, online video game Horizon Worlds, developed by his company Meta Platforms for the Oculus Rift S and other platforms; the image depicts Zuckerberg's avatar in front of digital interpretations of the Eiffel Tower and Sagrada Família, and was posted to Facebook in celebration of Horizon Worlds' launch in France and Spain on August 16, 2022.
Upon its release, the image received widespread criticism and mockery from viewers and publications, with it often being cited for its poor quality of graphics in comparison to other contemporary and older video games, as well citing the large amount of money Meta had invested into the metaverse. It soon became an internet meme, leading to Zuckerberg responding to the mockery by stating that the image had been taken in a hurry, and that Horizon Worlds would be capable of much more.
Background
Horizon Worlds (originally Facebook Horizon[1]) is a free virtual reality, online video game developed and published by Meta Platforms for the Oculus Rift S and Oculus Quest 2 virtual reality headsets.[2] After a closed beta test,[3] the game was officially released for people in the United States and Canada on December 9, 2021.[4][5] The game, commonly referred to as a metaverse, has players create virtual avatars before heading to separate "worlds" created by other players while playing minigames.[1][3][6] By February 2022, Horizon Worlds had grown to an estimated 300,000 users, as well as 10,000 worlds.[7][8]
On August 16, 2022, Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the release of Horizon Worlds in France and Spain on Facebook (also owned by Meta), with the message "We're launching Horizon Worlds in France and Spain today! Looking forward to seeing people explore and build immersive worlds, and to bringing this to more countries soon." Included with the post was an image depicting his avatar in front of interpretations of the Eiffel Tower (France) and Sagrada Família (Spain).[9]
Reactions and legacy
The image quickly garnered mockery online, particularly on Twitter where it was criticized for its poor quality graphics in comparison to other video games;[10][11][12][13] among these included comparisons with Second Life (2003),[10][11] Twisted Metal 2 (1996),[10] Fortnite (2017),[14] and Miis,[13] as well as generally finding the avatar dead-eyed or soulless.[13][15] People also noted the amount of money Mark had invested into the metaverse; Wes Fenlon wrote for PC Gamer "Meta spent $10 billion on developing whatever the hell it's doing with the metaverse last year, and all it's got to show for it is a baby doll-faced Zuckerberg hovering in front of a miniature Eiffel Tower."[10]
On August 19, 2022, Mark Zuckerberg responded to the memes on Instagram writing "the photo I posted earlier this week was pretty basic — it was taken very quickly to celebrate at launch", but reassured players that the graphics of Horizon Worlds were capable of "so much more"; included with the post was a more modern render of his avatar, as well as a ancient Rome environment.[15][16][17][18] Commentators had mixed opinions on the new render with Polygon stating "doesn’t exactly look like a place that’s appealing to spend time in, but I suppose that’s all in the eye of the beholder,"[16] while Kotaku felt it still "doesn’t look nearly as good as what you can find in other VR offerings."[19]
Meta announced in October 2022 that legs would be among the first new updates to the graphics, as characters previously lacked any,[20][21][22] however their initial reveal was criticized once it was discovered the models in the reveal were motion capture rather than being in-game footage.[23][24][25]