(2021-05-13) Spatial Is Bringing Vr Hangouts And Nft Galleries To Web Browsers

Spatial is bringing VR hangouts and NFT galleries to web browsers. Spatial feels like a cross between Zoom and IMVU or Second Life. You can create a 3D avatar using an image of your own face, wander around 3D environments, interact with other users, present, or collaborate. But until recently, to get the best experience, you needed to use a VR headset like the Oculus Quest or HTC Vive. That’s no longer the case because the latest version of the platform makes it possible to jump into, explore, and socialize using Spatial from a web browser on your desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

This broader accessibility is being promoted with a series of events this month and next, many of them exhibitions of virtual artworks

Legless and limitless — We had the chance to try out Spatial’s latest browser-based offering earlier this week. We started in a virtual auditorium, before moving through a selection of workspaces, virtual art galleries, and eventually Kim’s aforementioned Mars House, which she describes as “a meditative and healing space built for the metaverse.

While Zoom has become the gold standard for virtual interactions over the last year, it’s not great for large groups, and there’s something about the straight-on camera view that’s isolating and which makes us more self-conscious, not less. With its replicated gestures, photo-generated avatars, adaptable audio, and infinite location possibilities, Spatial felt far more social and natural... even if the avatars are all floating torsos