The metaverse is boring: why we need to design for emotional impact

The metaverse is boring.

There, I said it.

Specifically, open-world metaverse experiences that are not game-based...are boring.

Games offer a clear focus; build this, shoot that, win a prize.

But what about the vast expanses of pixels that exist in all the other virtual worlds?

Other than concerts (or very rare brand 'activations'), they generally leave the user feeling *meh*.

What's missing is the emotional experience that compels users to return time and time again, as well as telling all their friends.

The adrenaline. The wonder. The awe. The joy. The pathos.

Technical limitations are not an excuse for a poor experience.

Yes, we are still solving resolution/bitrate/lag/processing issues. But so were the designers of just about every single video game, every film prodcuer and cinematographer, even Twitch streamers. Yet they all build massive audiences.

We can do better. We need to do better.

It means making a shift from asking 'what can this technology do?' to 'how do we want users to feel?'

By starting from the user's felt experience (the Emotional User Experience aka EUX), we put ourselves into the position of storytellers and journey-makers. We change the language, the constructs, the references used to describe what we are building.

Some possible starting places:

• Genre: is this experience a Horror? a Comedy? a Whimsical poetic dreamscape?
• Soundtrack: what style of music would be the ideal accompaniment to this experience?
• Plot structures: are the on a journey of discovery? are they on a heroes journey? What are the plot points along the way?

Bottom line: the user needs to experience a change. The nature of that change determines their experience.

And something needs to change, because the metaverse should be anything but boring.