How does Decentraland actually work?

Premise

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At Polygonal Mind, we've been actively engaged in Decentraland development and the community for the past 2 years. Thanks to this involvement, we've participated in numerous meetings, addressing questions about this Metaverse.

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This article serves as a recap of the most frecuently asked questions we've found about the platform, explained in a non-technical way.

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What Is Decentraland?

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Decentraland is a virtual world segmented into equal-sized squares of land. Users have the ability to purchase, trade and build on these land parcels. The unique aspect is that all the content within the world is generated by the owners of the land, foestering it a vast collaborative space.

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How did we get here?

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The project’s development has been ongoing for a longer duration than many would prefer to aknowledge, and its progress has been unfolding at a pace that may be deemed slow by some. This gradual evolution can be attributed to the fact that, two years ago, a significant portion of the platform’s advancement was directed more towards its financial aspects rather than its development.

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• MANA was released early on and swiftly listed on various well-known exchanges as a tradable coin.
• The sale of LAND parcels also took place long before any visible manifestations in the virtual world.

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This approach drew criticism, with many labeling it as a "money-grabbing project". The team’s publicized progress appeared heavily focused on financial aspects, leading to the disappointment of the community, particularly due to unfulfilled promises on the technical side.

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• The project underwent engine changes multiple times, requiring the redoing of much of the work.
• Additionally, VR was removed from the priority list.

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At the same time, many in the community felt let down, especially regarding the VR aspect. Decentraland, as a concept, attracted diverse investors with the expectation of a long-term project without a clear roadmap.

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However, what wasn't apparent then was that establishing a robust coin and assets before the actual platform enabled the organic growth of a development ecosystem from the ground up.In hindsight, this move, while risky, appears to have been the right one. Whether intentional or accidental remains unclear.

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Decentraland as an ecosystem to the future

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During this period, numerous initiatives have been implemented to draw talent to the project, including Game Jams, Funds, and contests, offering MANA and LAND as incentives.

In the future, these initiatives, especially the game funds, will be overseen by the Decentraland DAO. This transition will unlock funds to bootstrap projects pitched directly to the community.

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Such events has proven to be a motivating factor for professional teams, encouraging them to invest their time in developing for the platform. This strategic approach has provided a significant advantage over other platforms that haven't invested as much in attracting developers. Enabling the monetization of work at an early stage is crucial for retaining creative individuals for the long run.

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Payments for these initiatives have often been made in MANA, whose price has seen an increase over the last year. This rise has further benefit teams holding MANA as a financial asset to fund their ideas.

Considering these factors, one can anticipate the internal ecosystem growing gradually into a short-term B2B market, eventually evolving into a play-to-earn economy.

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I Haven't Been In Decentraland Ever Before, How Can I Enter?

You'll need a computer and a browser.

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The graphics suck

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While this statement may have some validity, there are several factors to consider regarding the graphical style of Decentraland.

The most crucial aspect is resource optimization. It’s a web project that loads your 3D interactive land and everyone around you in real-time from your browser. Additionally, it involves user-generated content, which may or may not be optimized for smooth performance.

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Think of it like a website — you might have found a poorly optimized website with high-resolution images that takes forever to load. This is similar, but on a larger scale. When you open a site, you’re simultaneously opening all the sites around it. Some may work fine, while others may not.

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Unfortunately, there isn't much we can do about this at the moment. Looking forward into the future, everything might be rendered on a cloud computer and streamed to your device, similar to what Google Stadia does. However, I'm not overly optimistic about this technology as it would require widespread access to very high-speed internet connections. Only time will tell.

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The second consideration in the graphic aspect is the style, which is purely a matter of personal taste. The debate between hyper-realistic graphics and stylized content has persisted in the video game industry for years with no definitive answer.

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While it’s true that Decentraland may lack certain visual elements, we can all agree on that. However, I anticipate the team addressing these shortcomings in the future.

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How Do I Become Rich Playing Decentraland?

Unfortunately, you can't do that yet.

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How can I make wearables?

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This question comes up very frecuently. Currently, you need a license from the Decentraland team to mint wearables. There’s a reason behind this requirement — creating wearables involves 3D modeling, texturing and rigging skills, which not everyone possesses.

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Given that we are still in the early stages of the platform, the team is likely conducting closed experiments with experienced teams and individuals to understand the best way to open up the market later on.

In the future, we can expect:

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• In-game tools to be available for creating basic wearables, such as T-shirts.
• More licenses to be issued by the community through the DAO.

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What about VR

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This point has sparked different debates and heated arguments within the community. Although it was initially promised in the Whitepaper, it was later discarded a few years back.

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Developing a platform is a challenging task, and a VR platform even more so. Removing it from the roadmap wasn’t an unreasonable decision, as it allowed the team to focus on making Decentraland accessible on a broader range of devices, beyond the limitations of a VR-focused project at the time.

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The Decentraland team has explicity mentioned that VR is not a forgotte; it’s just postponed. So, there’s hope that we’ll eventually be able to experience Decentraland with our favorite headsets. When? Not anytime soon, probably in 2022.

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Why LAND is so expensive?

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There are various reasons behind this, with the most obvious being scarcity. There is a limit supply,  and to create more, the community needs to vote for it.

Building on it isn't easy either; it requires some expertise to create something worth visiting.

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We can't deny that the market has gone wild and has been pumping prices for a while, leading to the situation we have today.

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At the same time, it has shaped the project’s vision into a more B2B approach rather than the B2C model we all had in mind. For businesses, buying and investing in Decentraland is more reasonable than for an average person.

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Why should I buy LAND if I got funding to build my own virtual space?

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Many traditional businesses are beginning to contemplate establishing their presence in the Metaverse, and the question of whether to buy land in Decentraland often arises.

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The Metaverse is, and will continue to be, vast, comprising endless layers and worlds accessible from different devices. As we delve deeper into the internet, navigating it becomes increasingly complex.

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Decentraland is positioned to serve as an attention beacon for users, akin to contemporary social media platforms. While you may want to build your personal space outside these Metaverse platforms, doing so requires significant efforts to attract and retain users.

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This involves more than just advertising; you'd need to develop interaction mechanisms, set up servers to accommodate visitors, implement avatar systems, interactivity features, and more. While not impossible, it would demand a substantial amount of time and funding compared to having your parcel in Decentraland.

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In the future, having a modest presence on Decentraland (or any other platform) and linking it to your personal space could be the most logical option, much like having a Facebook page and your own website.

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Conclusion

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This is just a glimpse into the multiple questions we receive every day. My goal this time has been to provide an insider’s perspective on how Decentraland has evolved over the past few years.

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There are many other questions that I haven't covered here, so stay tuned for more insider insights into Decentraland.

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As a final reminder, Decentraland is a collaborative layer of the Metaverse, much like how Facebook is part of the internet. If the evolution continues evolving steadily, it could potentially become the business cluster of the future.

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See you around the Metaverse!

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