We Care A Lot (About Interoperability)

The term “interoperability” has emerged as a pivotal concept over the last few years, hasn’t it? Interoperability seems to hold the key to unlocking newfound autonomy and empowerment across diverse industries. I’ve been actively immersed in the core principles of interoperability since, well, ever in my career, at least. Notably, my insights will be shared in two engaging presentations—one in Scotland on November 3rd and another in Korea on November 17th , where I’ll be shedding light on the transformative potential of interoperability in shaping our digital future in my own skeptical, cynical and wry way.

I believe that interoperability matters so profoundly to the future of industry that I wrote a book about it: “From Pixels to Portals: Exploring the future of the metaverse through the evolution of video games”. I’m biased, I know, but this is an invaluable resource taken from the aspect of someone on the other side of use cases, someone who has been using game technology to actually open the door to interoperability rather than just talking about it as though it’s some magical far-off concept.

It's "complicated."

Understanding the core principles of interoperability has become a necessity for businesses worldwide. It paves the way for autonomy, granting individuals, organisations, and industries the power to take charge of their digital destinies. In my guide to this digital growth space, I’m aiming to make the intricate web of interoperability easy. I want to uncover its profound implications for autonomy, mastery and purpose; and its role in the digital landscape for you at a pace you can enjoy rather than fear.

Relationship Status

What’s in our digital ecosystem, really? We see technology divided into distinct sectors. Gamified applications posing as “future tech” or web3 are nothing more than web2 wrapped up in funky branding. Monetisation is fiat focused and the modes of distribution are traditional and let’s face it, really boring. I can’t remember the last time I downloaded an app from an app store and don’t get me started on Instagram: I don’t have one because I like my data to be controlled by me. These platforms host relationships among stakeholders that can be likened to walled gardens, constraining user access and data to the purview of developers or publishers.

The problem children...

Consoles are the problem children of technology and even more walled than the app gardens. Console (hardware device) development is limited by availability of hardware yet continues to create demand. In the west especially, no one feels it more. Traditional games, particularly AAA, establish their dominance, surrounded by high walls. Mobile games, while seemingly different, often follow the same patterns in their structure, delivery, and community building. Within these walled gardens, interoperability remains a distant dream regardless of the exact same workflows: it's ridiculous to the point of embarrassing. Additionally, the poverty and digital gaps are both ignored by console development and hardware; from the VR headset to the short shipping of the next gen platform, consoles and devices are extremely problematic for a open future. ?

The path to progress, however, has been set, with web3 platforms emerging as the future's vanguard. These forward-looking platforms revolve around cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), boasting transparency and decentralisation. Yet, they too grapple with the challenge of becoming truly interoperable. Their focus on selective communities brought about by exclusivity creates a shift in focus to a tranche of demography who are genuinely interested in it. The conversion tactics of other technology ecosystems are 20, 40 and maybe 5 years old respectively. Imagine being the new kids with bright ideas and cool new pipelines only to be told that you must deploy traditional methods for user acquisition? It’s “complicated”.

Rubbish Fractals

The fragmentation caused by these weird technology factions is not just a static image but a reflection of the broader technological landscape we currently navigate. It is a landscape marked by isolation, siloed platforms, and missed opportunities. As technologies have evolved, they have not seamlessly integrated but instead led to further division.

The challenges posed by rubbish fractals are multifaceted. Most importantly for me and if you are reading this in a different industry to mine; it restricts the flow of information and innovation, leaving vast untapped potential. Within these isolated pockets of tech, users are confined to really niche ecosystems, unable to carry their digital experiences seamlessly from one platform to another. The consequence? A disjointed and inefficient digital landscape.

Niche.

Interoperability, I believe, can emerge as the beacon of hope in this landscape of fragmentation. It is the antidote to the isolation of walled gardens, offering the promise of harmonising diverse technologies and platforms. Web3 platforms are already making strides toward embracing interoperability but are hampered by their tech overlords (so hopefully, they’ll make their own). By transcending the boundaries of isolated systems and fostering a spirit of openness, they lay the groundwork for a more integrated digital world.

Through interoperability, we have the potential to create a cohesive and connected digital realm, where users, data, and assets can flow seamlessly across platforms. It's that magical paradigm shift that holds the power to empower individuals and industries alike by providing the autonomy to navigate this complex landscape on their terms.

My concern is that though we’re see a step in the right direction for video game publishers and studios exploring the prospect of working in web3, the paradigm shift of tools will be much slower. The sense of proprietary solutions might continue to be a dependency for small studios who are stuck between a rock and a hard place. For everyone in other industries, the problems evolve from this place too, but that there are not enough interoperable employees to develop tooling, pipeline and workflow to assist. Al though my background is in games I worked with everyone from LVMH to ABB and outside of the video games industry the need for individuals or teams who can operate confidently in these technologies for other industry sectors is hard. Why would anyone leave GTAVI or Candy Crush to go and work in construction or medtech?

In these next few articles that’s exactly the problem we’re going to solve together. I’m going to show you why it’s important in all sectors of industry to be proficient in technology models and systems (outside of your competencies) to bring interoperability to the workforce and to your customers.

And if you want more? My book drops on November 3rd through Byte Bound.

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