Dialogue Changjia: The Metaverse is an "infinite game" based on blockchain

Author: Wang Jiajian

After many years, Chang Jia is about to publish a new book titled "The Metaverse: The Path to Infinite Games."

The metaverse is very popular, but most people find it hard to understand. A senior game developer's words might resonate with many: isn't the metaverse just a large multiplayer online game, but a bit more immersive? A bit cooler?

Those who have experienced Horizon, the metaverse product launched after Facebook rebranded to META, may have this feeling. In Horizon Worlds, wearing a headset and controlling a half-body virtual avatar, users can wander around, chat with other users, and even play a VR version of a battle royale game together.

In fact, those who have played miHoYo's 2021 hit open-world mobile game "Genshin Impact" might deeply resonate with this. With its stunning visuals and sound effects, "Genshin Impact" provides an immersive and realistic experience, including real social interactions based on LBS (Location-Based Services), suggesting that this immersive experience is not much different from wearing a VR headset.

So, what is the metaverse? I asked Chang Jia the first question: "Many people don't feel the metaverse; what excites you about it?"

"At first, when people mentioned the metaverse, they were merely talking about NFTs, then some science fiction novels, and then discussing the metaverse based on a few sci-fi movies. I wasn't very interested in that level of discussion," Chang Jia said. He had received invitations from publishers to write a book about the metaverse, which he declined.

What caused Chang Jia to make a 180-degree turn from declining to write a book to publishing a new one? The metaverse he contemplates is completely different from the one often mentioned by the public.

Two Routes: Classical Metaverse and Crypto Metaverse

What is the metaverse? In the book "The Metaverse: The Path to Infinite Games," two chapters elaborate on the concepts of centralized classical metaverse and decentralized crypto metaverse.

To some extent, what internet companies are trying to create is the classical metaverse. This metaverse attempts to build a virtual world centered on a more immersive experience using technologies such as VR, 5G, chips, artificial intelligence, and digital twins.

This aligns with the portrayal in mainstream media; when the public talks about the metaverse, the first thing that comes to mind is the movie "Ready Player One." This metaverse, aided by VR technology, makes the experience more virtual, cooler, and more immersive.

Chang Jia believes that this metaverse will be the ultimate form of the internet. He doesn't feel much excitement about this metaverse; what excites him is the "crypto metaverse," which the public has limited understanding of.

"If the metaverse is merely a new term to tell another story, then that story is too cheap. What the metaverse needs is to break out of the traditional internet thinking framework and seek a more imaginative, transcendent definition."

Chang Jia is a proponent of Bitcoin and the founder of Babit. As an entrepreneur who has been navigating the blockchain field for nearly a decade, he has a very different logic when contemplating the metaverse compared to traditional internet companies.

"The most successful applications on the blockchain are those business models and product forms that do not exist in reality, such as flash loans and AMM (Automated Market Makers). The metaverse is likely to be the same; if we build the metaverse based on existing business models and product forms, we will only get a mimicked reality at best. But true innovation is not a simple imitation of reality. Throughout human history, attempts to create flapping-wing aircraft inspired by birds have failed; fixed-wing aircraft turned out to be more feasible," he said.

"The classical metaverse is 'metaphysical,' focusing on hardware and sensory experiences. Our understanding of the metaverse is more 'metaphysical.' We understand the metaverse in a more abstract way, focusing more on the essence behind it. The metaverse needs to break out of the traditional internet thinking framework to find a more imaginative and transcendent definition." He reiterated his hope for the crypto metaverse.

Distinguishing between the classical metaverse and the crypto metaverse, as well as between finite games and infinite games, may be a very important starting point for understanding today's concept of the metaverse. Clearly, internet and blockchain entrepreneurs are advancing in parallel. Although both are "metaverses," they actually follow completely different logics and routes.

Figure: The standard configuration of the classical metaverse—VR headset

The Metaverse: "Infinite Games" Based on Blockchain Technology

"We do not rule out that there are indeed many metaverse concepts and hype in the market today. However, if you explore the metaverse from a theoretical research perspective, understanding it as an infinite game elevates the definition, making the metaverse very interesting," he said.

The concept of infinite games comes from philosopher and religious scholar James P. Carse, which essentially states: in an infinite game, there is no time, no space, no end, no ultimate goal. There are only contributors, no winners or losers. Finite games aim to win, while infinite games aim to continue the game.

"If you understand the metaverse from the perspective of infinite games, you cannot use the finite game approach from the past to create the metaverse; this is the biggest difference between the classical metaverse and the crypto metaverse," Chang Jia said.

In Chang Jia's view, the crypto metaverse based on blockchain and the concept of infinite games is the truly interesting new species. It has significant differences from the classical metaverse in terms of organizational forms, governance structures, business models, means of production, game rules design and evolution, logic, and language.

To understand the crypto metaverse, one must understand the role of blockchain within it.

"In the crypto metaverse, whether it is the technical infrastructure or popular culture like crypto punks, decentralization is seen as an indispensable link. Without this link, the metaverse is not fundamentally different from a large multiplayer online game. The decentralized capabilities of blockchain give the metaverse 'infinity'; blockchain provides the essential difference between the metaverse and traditional games; blockchain is the soul of the metaverse." He wrote in the book.

The "infinity" brought by blockchain technology manifests in several aspects, such as:

• The crypto metaverse cannot be forcibly shut down.
• The crypto metaverse is open and cross-platform.
• Users have real ownership of assets in the crypto metaverse.
• The crypto metaverse has a DAO-based economy and governance system.

For the crypto metaverse, Chang Jia also proposed a three-stage theory: digital twin, digital native, and digital immortality.

The so-called digital twin refers to mapping the physical world to the digital world, creating virtual entities of physical entities in a digital way. Whatever exists in reality is mimicked and created in the metaverse.

Digital native refers to creating art, assets, cultural IP, and business models that do not exist in reality using blockchain.

"The most successful protocols on the chain are products that do not exist in reality, such as AMM and flash loans. The metaverse may follow the same logic; being digital native is the key to the metaverse's success. The metaverse is not about replicating a universe that exists in reality, but about creating a universe that currently does not exist." Chang Jia said.

The third stage, "digital immortality," refers to the reality and digital worlds jointly forming a life space for humanity, and the two are inseparable. The art, assets, and culture of the digital world have the same value and influence as those in the real world.

In the past two years, various elements of the crypto metaverse, including DeFi, NFTs, blockchain games, and DAOs, have flourished, leading to increased attention from more capital and the public on blockchain and crypto assets in the global financial market.

However, even so, Chang Jia believes that if we examine the development of today's crypto metaverse, we are still in the very early stages of the second phase.

The Metaverse Aims to Create a "Non-Existent Universe"; It's Innovation, Not Involution

As Chang Jia said, the metaverse is not about replicating a universe that exists in reality, but about creating a universe that currently does not exist. In Chang Jia's thinking, the metaverse is more like a new world with its own rules and logic. Building the metaverse is essentially about creating a completely new world.

In the book "The Metaverse: The Path to Infinite Games," based on the concept of infinite games, Chang Jia elaborates on the design of metaverse protocols and philosophical foundations. He also summarizes the differences between infinite games and finite games in terms of organizational forms, governance structures, business models, means of production, game rules design and evolution, logic, and language, and even proposes three laws of the metaverse, as well as three protocols for metaverse property, transactions, and reproduction based on blockchain smart contracts.

Although concepts like infinite games have existed for a long time, designing metaverse protocols based on the idea of infinite games is a path not previously taken. Will these forward-looking, theoretical ideas become reality? He admits that we are still in the very early stages, but that does not mean no one is trying. Recently, Bytom launched the Three Kingdoms Heroes NFT, which is very different from the popular NFTs on the market; it designed a property protocol that does not exist in reality: stimulated state assets, which is a very interesting attempt based on radical market theory and partial public ownership.

Chang Jia said that blockchain is still very, very, very early in terms of technological development, but he feels excited about it.

Today, when discussing the metaverse, the public likes to use a term: involution. However, Chang Jia believes that what is called involution is when everyone does the same thing, moving real-world tasks into the virtual world to do them again; that is involution. The crypto metaverse is different from real-world tasks; it will create many brand new business models and product logics. Creating the crypto metaverse based on the idea of infinite games is not involution, but true innovation.

"In the past, when I wrote articles and books about Bitcoin and blockchain, although I proposed theories like the impossible triangle, I was basically a knowledge transporter. But this book on the metaverse is completely different because it discusses many unexplored issues and unveils the prologue of the metaverse as an infinite game, hoping to attract more insightful individuals to participate in theoretical discussions and practices. This is also my original intention for writing this book." He said.

In this article, many contents attempt to add "crypto" to describe a metaverse with blockchain thinking, but Chang Jia believes that a metaverse with the idea of infinite games will become mainstream, and the term "crypto" is undoubtedly redundant. The crypto metaverse is the metaverse.