Horizon Worlds avatars will soon have legs, and Meta greatly simplifies creating and sharing them.
Meta announced several updates to the avatars he wants to use in the metaverse and beyond. And yes, finally, these avatars will have legs! At least in the virtual sense of the term, if not in the physical or metaphorical sense.
Horizon Worlds avatars will soon have legs
Meta explains that “legs have been one of the most requested features on our roadmap and it’s been a big part of our work lately.” These upgraded avatars will initially be available in Horizon Worlds before Meta opens them up to other developers.
In this regard, Meta has created an SDK so that avatars can be used in third-party virtual reality experiences and other applications. Which is quite logical, finally. Meta will never be able to create a real metaverse if it keeps its ecosystem closed. In fact, the SDK will soon include compatibility with the Unreal Engine for virtual reality and Unity support for iOS and Android. The SDK will also enable what Meta calls “natural facial expressions” on the Meta Quest Pro – the high-end virtual reality headset will be able to replicate your facial expressions on your avatar -.
Meta also wants to make it easier for you to create an avatar. The giant explains that you can start by taking a video selfie with your smartphone’s camera. You will then have the possibility to modify the avatar at your convenience. Of course, you certainly don’t want to have an avatar that looks exactly like you, nothing prevents you from doing what you want. There are also a number of base avatars to start working on.
Additionally, you will soon be able to create and share your Meta avatar in WhatsApp. Avatars will be available in Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp video calls next year. These will replicate your expressions and movements during calls, similar, in a way, to Animoji.
Still, it is the legs, and the general improvement in the rendering of the avatars, which will attract attention. In early August, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg shared a screenshot of his avatar in Horizon Worlds and it was widely mocked. Someone even compared it to a “Nintendo GameCube game from 2002 called ‘World Baby’”. Mark Zuckerberg was quick to say that “major updates” for VR were on the way, and we’re learning more today during the Meta Connect event.
The strange floating avatars currently seen in Horizon Worlds will soon be history, but Mark Zuckerberg’s avatar will be remembered for a long time, no doubt.
legs
— When (@When) October 11, 2022