Decentraland - A Virtual World Run Open Standards (Review)

Introduction

Since time memorial, land has been a major source of survival for humans. It has helped the entire human race to survive by providing shelter, food, and water. Land has also made the race of Humankind, to experience major changes throughout our evolution. The existence of every living thing depends on land.

For the past decade, land has been a hot cake for every individual. Each one of us wants to own a land, if not for anything you want to owe it just to build yourself a house, company, or any other thing that seem to please you.

The introduction of blockchain technology have made it possible for one to own a land in a virtual living world to do whatever you want to do with it on Decentraland. Decentraland can be found among the featured category of Dapps on State of the Dapps. Currently, Decentraland is ranked 33rd.

What Is Decentraland?

Decentraland is an Ethereum powered virtual reality platform. In this virtual world, you purchase yourself plots of land that you can create your whole new world, then you monetize it. The very things you can create include games, applications, gambling services, creative 3D scenes, informative sites, among many other exciting things you can think of.

Decentraland is the first digital platform that is owned by its users, and allows you to participate in the 3D world you create. On Decentraland, the plots of land are known as non-fungible digital assets. These non-fungible digital assets are permanently owned by the community and give them full control over their creations. Meaning, you only get to claim ownership on the plots of land you purchase and control every content on your plots of land.

One can only purchase non-fungible digital assets with an ERC20 token known as MANA. MANA can also be used to purchase goods and pay for services with the world you create with your land.

Features Of Decentraland

Some major components that can be found on Decentraland includes

Marketplace
This feature on Decentraland allows you to browse, buy and sell non-fungible digital assets. When you click on the marketplace button, first, it allows you to read through the terms and conditions to marketplace. You can then proceed by clicking the “I agree” button.

You are then taken to the Atlas view of the marketplace, thus the bird’s eye view Genesis city. The atlas view has grids of different colored squares. These squares have a measurement of 10 by 10 parcels of land. Each parcel has a color coded according to its status. You can click on the color key to view what each color means.

Builder
On Decentraland, the builder feature allow you to create and design the contents you want to have on your land.

• First, you pick the size of the land (surface) you want.

• Select from the list of option the type of world you want to create

• Flip through a number of over hundred items to help you create your world
• Place the item you want on your surface by dragging, dropping and rotating it to the very place you want it to be

• Your world is then saved automatically when you move back

Docs
The Docs feature on Decentraland, allow you to read through subjects that boarders your mind. You get to understand how things work on the platform

Agora
This feature help you to participate on various discussions. You get to air your views on the various happenings on the platform through polls.

Blog
The blog feature allow you to access all blog by the community, this will help you keep an up to date information of what happens on the platform

Search space
This feature get you an easy access to a particular asset or user on the platform. It saves you the time and worrying of flipping through tons of contents.

Language
Decentraland have only two languages integrated in it, thus English and Chinese.

Getting Start With Decentraland

• Logon https://decentraland.org
• sign up with your email address and fill the various requirements need
• Install a metamask if you don’t have already
• Link your ethwallet to Decentraland
• Purchase or deposite some MANA into your eth wallet
• Now purchase and create your world

Note: 1000 MANA is needed to purchase each plot of land you want

Why Decentraland

Transparency
On Decentraland non-fungible digital assets are claimed by its users and can do whatever you want with your land. Buying and selling are done through smart contracts, that do not involve any third party, even though the community take stake in the virtual world. Transactions are publicly displayed for everyone to look.

Built by its users
The various virtual worlds you see on the platform are been created by users themselves. The community has no hand in it, but only create the various tools, tutorials, and support to users.

Creativity is rewarded

With Decentraland, you earn from your creative works. The world you build earns you tokens (MANA) for the various goods and services you offer in your world.

Image Source

Conclusion

Decentraland is a great project that makes you achieve plots of land by purchasing with MANA and allow you to do whatever you want with it. You get to transform your land into a 3D world with awesome content with it. Others who visit your world will pay you for your goods and the services you render.

I rate this Dapp 4.5 star rating.

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All images are screenshot from decentraland.org