Pokémon Go proved the metaverse concept works by overlaying digital items onto the real world. The Archive project extends this idea, letting users discover digital artworks placed globally. The speaker sees AR and VR versions coming next, where static pieces become immersive experiences with rich context and storytelling.
I think it's actually funny if you think about this whole concept of metaverse. If I had to think back and say what has been the most successful version of it, I might— it's Pokémon Go. There's massive sensation. What Pokémon Go in a really interesting way is it added a digital layer on top of the entire world. But instead of saying there's this ecosystem that you're used to, it's physical, it's the sidewalk outside, it's the bushes in your front yard. But what if there's more there that you're not looking at right now? In a lot of ways, it's very similar to what I think we end up doing at Archive in this project. And what we're kind of doing is creating this Pokémon Go-like system of having items placed all around the world in different locations where you got to catch them all on the way. See these different works, but also there's definitely eventually an AR, maybe even VR concept of archive where you start to also augment the storytelling. When you're looking at a certain work, you could think about its story being embedded within it. You could go and visit an experience and have it be so much more than just that work on the wall. It's context and you start to embed that into the picture of how you're interpreting the world around you. That's what we're getting to. We're getting to an era where information is becoming more enriched around everything that we do.
