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Not so long ago, the metaverse was being touted as a thing of the future. It was meant to represent the next stage of the internet, upgraded into a lush immersive environment. At the height of the pandemic hangover, in a world fast approaching catastrophe, few ideas could have sounded more appealing. But we all know how it turned out: technology fell short of its promises, financial capital pivoted to artificial intelligence, and the largest impact of this little corporate adventure was a multibillion-dollar hole in the bank accounts of the company formerly known as Facebook. At least until the next hype cycle, transcendence by mixed reality seems to have been taken off the table.

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That is not to say that virtual worlds aren’t going strong. Fantasizing together is, after all, an intrinsic aspect of human cultures. Digital media has only expanded the possibilities created by literature, theater, and other kinds of make-believe practice. Since the multi-user dungeons of yore, people have been using shared online environments to explore new forms of identity, sociability, and embodiment. Systems have come and gone. Some are gameworlds that provide users with plenty of opportunities to role play and interact. Others begin as loosely defined play spaces that grow into lifestyles, home to small but loyal communities, pushing against the limits of technology. At times, these virtual worlds operate as platforms in everything but name, complete with a set of tools for personal expression, a infrastructure for content creation, and a marketplace for commercialization. Some, still, become so hegemonic it feels they are still competing for the metaverse crown.

 

Seeking to investigate virtual worlds in all their wealth and diversity, the Magic Circles laboratory program invites practitioners from different areas to engage in an eight-week cycle of online discussions, tours, and experiments. We are looking for projects at any stage of development that explore the possibilities (and shortcomings) of virtual worlds. The laboratory is conceived as a sort of horizontal production residence, through which participants will be encouraged to support and guide each other in their online spaces of choice.

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