Metaverse21M commented 7 years ago

Let’s Build Decentral City!

An increasingly urgent appeal to the open-source community.

Background: In early 2017, members of DCTRL Vancouver began writing a paper known as ‘Metaverse City’. Decentral City, is revision of this work which has been shortened to describe the urban plan for the first settlement in the Metaverse. Many of the ideas listed here may prove difficult to build but we hope that some, or most of the ideas are realized. Decentraland has proven to be one of the most promising projects for the promise of a decentralized Metaverse and we hope some or all of these ideas are constructive to the Decentraland project.
Purpose: The purpose of this GitHub post is to propose and eventually construct one of the first and largest urban settlements in the Metaverse. The resulting city would require the contribution of many people including property donors and volunteers working together to execute a unified masterplan for an urban centre. Specifically, certain lands in this plan would be permanently converted (i.e. ‘burned’) to become public space and utilities such as parks, roads, sidewalks and boulevards. In turn, land owners within this area would benefit from the network effect that this urban centre enables. Critical mass would serve to increase the utility and value of the crypto real-estate in this neighbourhood or city.
Design & Features of the City: This section describes design and features of the virtual city which includes features this city would need to initially form and later grow. Note: Many of the ideas and choice of names listed in this document were proposed with input from DCTRL Vancouver community. Competing design proposals should be welcomed and/or integrated. The entire design proposal could also be voted upon or randomized. These ideas should be modified, added to and improved as this project coalesces.

City’s Name: Below are possible names for the first settlement in the Metaverse. Any of these proposed names can also become neighbourhoods or districts within the city as the city evolves. •Decentral City •Decentraland City •Metaverse City

Marketplace/Boardwalk: The Boardwalk is a central place where many storefronts are located and where users can conduct commerce. •Is the first and main attraction of the VR Metaverse •A central area where storefronts are located and where people congregate to explore, socialize or go shopping •Any person may use an identity (avatar) to experience the Boardwalk in what may become one of the first examples of VR ‘urban’ density •Possibly located adjacent a beach or a park near a physical feature like a lake or ocean •Gaudy with many interesting sights to see •Populated by AI bots that provide additional interactivity

Storefronts: VR storefronts are where you can buy virtual or real goods and services using fiat, credit card or cryptocurrency •Entering a storefront can allow you to pass through a portal (i.e. WebVR link) to store’s website •Stores Sell: •Goods such as computer parts that you can order and have arrive to your home address in the real world •Services such as ridesharing or places to stay (i.e. #needaride #Vancouver; #needaplace #BuenosAires) •Services such as Metaquest where you play a quest in the Metaverse including Role Playing Games (RPG) in the Metaverse •Cryptogoods which include digitally signed original art, collectibles and tradeables for games and posterity •Online games like ones found on Steam Powered online games •Walking into storefront effectively gives you access to a game portal after usual account sign-in process

Culture & Ritual: Initially, Metaverse culture will be a mirror internet culture and eventually new culture and ritual will emerge. Public Rituals: •Graffiti day – Festival where people draw any art or graffiti on any Metaverse public buildings, roads, sidewalks •Graffiti and art would decompose after 48 hours •Festivals •Art festivals •Night light festivals •Dance events – Decentralized Dance Parties •Burning VR man – Burning man festival in VR •Group prayers – Prayer with special effects depending on numbers

Public Works: Any publicly available thing in the Metaverse which facilitates the cohesiveness of the community and gives the commons land a sense of time and place. Portals (a.k.a. Ports): •Public Portals (public entry points into the Metaverse): •Infocentres •Churches •Charitable organizations •Private Portals (private entry points into the Metaverse): •Buildings owned by any identity which includes a portal for guests •Storefronts owned by businesses •Private homes owned by identities Transportation (savings for travel time): •Reset points – Allows users to appear at a new place in the Metaverse including identity’s own home, in the home of a friendly user or at a limited number of public reset points •Increased activity in Metaverse could provide additional access to new reset points •Public reset points could be rationed especially if they are taxing to processing between nodes •Monorail through the city •Gondolas to high points in the city such as hills or nearby mountains •Additional transportation infrastructure (busses, train system extensions, hyperloops) can be built if consensus vote demands it

Parks & Public Spaces: •Streets, Sidewalks, Benches, Street Lamps •Market place •Crypto market trading floor •Binary Park •Green space where people can engage in various VR games possibly even involving teams •Speakers’ corner where identities stand on soapboxes and speak their mind •Courtyards – various green spaces between buildings •Consensus plaza park •TAZ Park •Plaza of Marriages -- where you can marry someone ‘on the blockchain’ •Infocentre Buildings (provides a tour and info to new users) •Acts as a public portal

Monuments & Public Art: •Pieces related to computers and cryptography •Pieces harnessing power of current internet memes •Possible examples of statues/monuments: •Turing •Satoshi •Giant Ethereum Diamond •Monuments to Whistleblowers •Giant billboard with ‘Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace’ •Gold brick road – visualization representing gold held using Digix Dao or similar •Graveyard – digital monument to the fallen •A place where people can meet in VR to remember their loved ones •Grave plots are commons land

Places of Learning: •Library •Trade School •Metaversity •Crypto Museums •History of Cryptocurrencies •Blockchain Visualizations •Museum of Rare Crypto Assets

Arts, Sports & Leisure: •Colosseum •A venue for sport competition •Theatre •3D & VR Movies •Singles Night Club •Quagmire (Alternative Night Club)

Building Design / Building Code: •Initially buildings can be simplistic in construction using basic tool sets •Private buildings should respect height restrictions i.e. no higher than 2-4 stories with few exceptions •Height restrictions for storefronts and homes (exception for public works) •Depth restrictions for storefronts and homes (exception for public works) •Restrictions limit over-supply (i.e. if a skyscraper were built, this would introduce too much supply in the city) •In the long-term, buildings can be extremely ornate with original works of art integrated into them •Can be filled with various objects, books, furniture, tools – all of which may be useful in various ways including games or quests •VR buildings are not actually inhabited, but can be often visited (i.e. you would not ‘live’ in VR full time) •Private Portal: One of the places where you may appear from when entering the Metaverse •Front door buzzer can have a link to reality via instant messenger •Can provide public or private meeting areas for various meetup groups •Can provide a place to meet artists, composers, celebrities for interviews in replicas of their living rooms in VR

Famous Buildings

·The Black Sun (Developer space)
·DCTRL Vancouver Replica ·Voltaire House Replica
·Decentralized Dance Party Office
·Other hackerspace replicas

Street Names

·Satoshi Wei
·Snow Crash Route
·Consensus Street
·Napster Avenue
·Internets Way
·Charlie Lee Way
·Tor Trail ·Burners’ Way
·Darpa Drive
·Privacy Alley
·Electric Avenue
·Ada Lovelace Lane
·Matte Glocc Crescent
·Consent Alley
·Da5id Drive

Other Names

·Turing Tunnel
·Monorail
·Central District
·International Village District
·Hashpower District
·Quartier des Artistes
·Decentral City District
·Steam District
·Backpages Bazaar

Business & Organization Types

Hashtags: | ·Storefronts that help identities find rides, places to stay or any other type of service (i.e. #needaride; #needaplace) Retailers & Dealers: | ·Various car companies with showrooms
·Various furniture companies with showrooms
·Various big box retailers with online catalogues
·Doge Pet Store – Sells AI Pet Bots
·VR Café (where you can enter VR again while already in the Metaverse)

Networking Businesses:	·Online dating – including options for verified 360° facial scans and STI status ·Job-seeking – including linked ‘open identities’ that can disclose employment or credit history

18+ Establishments: | ·Bitcoin/Crypto gambling – provably fair
·Adult-oriented content

Religious Organizations: | ·Any religious organization that wishes to establish a place of worship in the Metaverse

Non-Governmental Organizations; Non-Profit Organizations: | ·Charities
·Addictions Anonymous (AA, NA)
·Decentralized Dance Party (DDP)

Neighbourhoods & Districts Central District: | ·Central district adjacent to the Boardwalk
·Districts that are outside of the Boardwalk area that have specific characteristics echoing famous neighbourhoods from around the world
·Houses (mainly townhouses)
·Storefronts (shops selling all types of goods and services).

International Village District: | ·Central area where people from all over congregate HashPower District: | ·Another area adjacent to the Boardwalk

Quartier des Artistes: | ·Area where artists sell and display their original works of art that are cryptographically proven to be original works

Decentral City District: | ·Neighbourhood with themes echoing the Decentraland project

Steam District: | ·A district with many storefront portals to online games including Steam Powered games

Backpages Bazaar: | ·18+ district with gambling and other adult-oriented establishments
·This zone could be disabled if user chooses certain censor/adult lock settings

Inner City: | ·Central-most point of the city which is surrounded by a moat and city walls Outer City: | ·Area outside of the moated and walled central city but within city limits

Urban Design: Design was inspired with examples of some famous neighbourhoods from around the world. The original designs are conceptual and are subject to change with input from the community. Consult screenshots in this document for some conceptual sketches.

Types of Land in the Metaverse

Land for Settlement: | ·Any land that can be owned and where a building can be built upon with some restrictions
·In the case of Decentraland, MANA tokens are given in exchange for this Crypto-Real Estate (CRE) known as LAND

Commons Land: | ·Any land that is owned and protected by the commons (i.e. parks, roads, monuments)
·Some lots of commons land can be leased out to raise money to fund development
·Some lots of commons land can be used to advertise goods and services in the form of billboards to help raise money to fund development

Conclusion: Every day we hear of big business moving closer and closer to delivering their version of a Metaverse. Though often centralized, these projects are well-funded and employ the greatest minds in the tech industry. Simply put, the race is on to build a Metaverse. Decentral City, the first settlement in Decentraland’s decentralized open source Metaverse, promises to use an urban plan to unify a critical mass of users in one location. Public works, concentration of commerce and basic infrastructure such as roads, provide users with a sense of utility that is not possible without some level of community planning. Lastly, this proposal is meant to be a guide and any of the ideas in this document reflect those created by Vancouver’s decentralists. Our ideas are flexible and we welcome your input. Together let’s build Decentral city!
Images: Decentraland

Screenshot showing a public monument to the ‘Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace’

Source: Decentraland

Anything To Say?

Monument to whistleblowers located in Alexanderplatz,Berlin

By Davide Dormino

Public buildings built in Minecraft cities

Created by: The French Whisperer

Naarden, Netherlands

Inner City Moat

Image is public domain

Venice Beach, Los Angeles, USA

Boardwalk

Image is public domain

Kowloon Walled City (1989), Hong Kong, China

Backpages Bazaar

Photo by Ian Lambot (source: Wikipedia)

Gothic Quarter, El Raval and surroundings. Barcelona, Spain

Inner City Neighbourhoods

Image from Google Earth

Gothic Quarter, Barcelona, Spain

Inner city scale (2-4 stories)

Image is public domain

Black Rock City

An example of allocated real estate in a decentralized community

Image by Kyle Harmon, Burning man

Metaverse City

First conceptual sketch with input from community members

DCTRL community hub in Vancouver

-- Metaverse City ____ 3D Conceptual Sketch, Inner city

Metaverse City, Inner City ____ 3D Conceptual Sketch

Alonzo-Coeus commented 7 years ago

this looks a lot like black-sun city(name pending) which is a project which some of us on slack have been working on for some time now. we would love to have you on board. what is your slack handle?

tobeyrowe commented 7 years ago

Hello, I am interested in learning more about this project. If you could please find me on the slack my name on there is tobeyrowe and add me. Thank you.