It is the graduation season of college. For students, having a unique graduation ceremony is a precious memory. "Metaverse" graduation ceremonies that integrate online and offline have become increasingly popular on university campuses in recent years. So, what's going on this year?
This year’s graduation season
Metaverse graduation ceremonies are popular in colleges and universities
Not long ago, Peking University New Media Research Institute and MetaI/O Metaverse Future designed and produced the Metaverse graduation scene based on web browsers and 3D scene technology, and held A Yuanverse graduation ceremony that integrates online and offline Internet. Graduates can participate in the entire graduation ceremony through Yuanverse.
In addition to Beijing, some universities in Shanghai are unable to hold large-scale offline graduation ceremonies this year due to the impact of the epidemic. In order to ensure that graduates will not leave any regrets, some universities in Shanghai have also prepared cloud graduation ceremonies.
A reporter from China Business News learned that Professor Jiang from the Digital Art Department of Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts, Shanghai University, and his team of graduate students created a "Shanghai Metaverse" for graduates, restoring the school's classic buildings in a virtual scene for students to They roamed the campus immersively in the cloud, took photos in graduation gowns, participated in treasure hunts, and more.
In fact, the Yuanverse graduation ceremony originated from the 2020 Teachers and students of the School of Animation and Digital Art of Communication University of China used the sandbox game " Minecraft " platform to recreate the pixel style campus, and built a virtual The graduation design exhibition and graduation ceremony were held in the scene. The teacher's words at the ceremony, "Please don't fly around on the red carpet!" made the entire event quickly become popular on social networks.
This year, the teachers and students of the School of Animation and Digital Art of Communication University of China also continued the Yuanverse Graduation Ceremony. Compared with the "flying on the red carpet" in 2020, this year's Metaverse Graduation Ceremony of the School of Animation and Digital Art of Communication University of China has become much more mature, and has even begun to try to link up with other big IPs, such as inviting the virtual idol " star" "Hitomi " will serve as the host and build a branch venue for the "Peace Elite" scene.
Student-led schools support
Metaverse campuses have a bright future
Many colleges and universities in Shaanxi are also actively promoting campus metaverses. The reporter learned that Northwestern University and Northwestern Polytechnical University have started the construction of the campus metaverse. Among them, Northwestern Polytechnical University held some theme day activities in virtual scenes this year.
Xiao Wu, the relevant person in charge of the campus club responsible for the construction of the metaverse scene at Northwestern Polytechnical University, told reporters that the core activity of the club is to recreate the campus on the "Minecraft" platform. The construction of dormitories and some teaching buildings has been completed.
Regarding whether it is possible to hold a graduation ceremony in the game, Xiao Wu said that there are relatively few people studying this aspect in China, and the related learning costs are very high. Currently, students study and study the codes themselves by looking for materials abroad, and there are still some flaws. Device compatibility also needs to be improved, so we are worried that there will be some difficult-to-solve problems during the activities, which will affect the students' experience.
In addition, because the game platform is now blindly lowering the threshold, the scalability of the game has been reduced. In this regard, Wu said that he is already considering other professional platform software as the carrier of the virtual campus.
Facing the future of the Metaverse campus, reporters found in interviews that college students generally believe that the Metaverse is not completely virtual and can be combined with reality through technologies such as digital twins. Even after the epidemic has passed, the Yuanverse campus can still be displayed to the outside world as a digital campus. Moreover, Metaverse does not necessarily have to be an activity that runs throughout the graduation ceremony. It can also be used as an auxiliary link and become the highlight of the entire graduation ceremony.
Experts in the industry said that the construction of the Yuanverse campus has become a new hot spot in the future construction of schools. Yuanverse Campus will become an important digital resource for the school and serve students’ campus life in the future. Huashang Daily reporter Yang Gang Intern reporter Wu Chenqian
