Working on an AR experience project, looking for comments and collaborators

I am a spatial experience designer who is researching and working on an AR narrtaive experience project about the metaverse for my postgraduate dissertation at Central Saint Martins. I am exploring the concept of the metaverse and decentralised communities along the canal networks in London. I am interested in making contact with others who share my interest or who are working in similar fields. such as?influencers, commentators and anyone who wishes to engage.

?I have built storyboards as a basis for an AR experience based on an speculative dystopian and am looking for AR developers and writers to collaborate on this project with me.

The concept of the metaverse was hyped and has been growing at a rapid pace for a few years now. Is it really moving in the direction that people initially aspired to? Taking the 'Decentraland' as an example, ?zenbirkan (2021) in his blog points out that many expansive lands have been sold in the Decentraland, but the vast majority of the decentraland is pure emptiness. less than 100 people actively playing or living here which results in a desert-like.?

The Metaverse is not a place for virtual real estate; it is where we, real people, live. It is a hidden fight between the capitalism and us, and we are losing.?

A problem the decentralising metaverse is facing is that rather than enjoy or build the experience, most people come to the metaverse for investment. They expect to earn profit by buying or selling land or NFTs. This will gradually bring the 'property rights of the metaverse under the control of a centralised capitalist organisation, and this impact on our future, virtual life would be catastrophic

In fact, people have fought for decentralisation over centuries in the real world before the concept of the metaverse. Bowles (2019) defined the canal as a disorganised society because there is no central representation of the whole canal community.

The canal communities are good examples of decentralised communities as they must regularly move their moorings because of a ‘continuous cruising’ policy. Their surroundings and neighbours change constantly and yet they have developed a way of decentralised representation and made decisions based on social consensus. Decentralisation does not mean chaos. No lands being sell on the canal like many ‘metaverse’ platforms. Instead, a charity charges boaters license fees to maintain the canal services. Boaters are not coerced or controlled by powerful individuals within the group, and it is hard for those outside to force structural changes upon them as a body.?We can learn from the canal that it is a place where people live and enjoy the continually changing experience.?

My storyboards use this concept of a decentralised community and speculative dystopia as their theme. Examples of my stories in progress can be seen here:??

I am looking for an audience to engage with and feedback to me if you are interested please contact me by email: [email protected] or send me message on Linkdin.