8th Wall and Ready Player Me Join Forces to Bring Custom, Interactive Avatars Into Web-Based Metaverse Experiences

Integration enables developers, agencies and brands to easily add avatars to any Web3D, WebAR and WebVR 8th Wall powered experience

8th Wall, the leading web-based augmented reality (WebAR) development platform, and Ready Player Me, a cross-app avatar platform for the metaverse, have today announced an official integration which equips developers with all the tools they need to create immersive browser-based experiences with custom, interactive avatars. Projects that make use of this integration will allow users to bring their avatars into web-based 3D, AR and VR experiences which can be engaged with on smartphones, computers and AR and VR headsets.

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Acting as our digital identity in virtual worlds and spaces, avatars play a major role in the metaverse, a term used to describe the next iteration of the Internet. Ready Player Me is a cross-app avatar system that allows users to explore virtual worlds with one consistent identity acting as their passport to the metaverse. Users create their 3D avatar by taking a selfie or by selecting from a variety of pre-made options. They can then customize their avatar with virtual apparel and accessories including NFT-based assets. These avatars can be used in multiple compatible apps and games, including 8th Wall powered experiences.

“We are excited to continue our collaboration with 8th Wall. Their tools make it easy for WebAR developers to turn their ideas into reality and share them with the world. We can’t wait to see how 8th Wall’s developer community utilizes Ready Player Me avatars in their experiences.” – Timmu Tõke, Co-Founder & CEO of Ready Player Me.

Developers can get started building WebAR experiences featuring Ready Player Me avatars using the Ready Player Me sample project now available in 8th Wall’s growing Project Library. The sample project can be used to create Face Effects that make use of the front-facing camera on smartphones and computers to transform the user’s face into their custom avatar’s, complete with facial expressions. It can also be used to create World Effects that allow users to place and navigate their avatar in the real world in front of them using the rear-facing camera on iOS and Android smartphones.

As 8th Wall’s Engine features Metaversal Deployment, World Effects can also be experienced as AR on smartphones and smart glasses, 3D on computers, and VR on head-mounted displays. 8th Wall’s Metaversal Deployment lets developers build a WebAR project once and deploy it across all device categories, significantly reducing the development time while greatly increasing the reach for their experience.

“We are extremely excited to be working with Ready Player Me to make it easier for our developers to use its avatar system in 8th Wall projects,” said Erik Murphy-Chutorian, CEO and Founder of 8th Wall. “Avatars play a critical role in our digital identity and giving users the ability to create, customize and engage their avatar in 8th Wall powered projects will make these experiences even more personal and meaningful.”

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8th Wall developers have already demonstrated how personal and meaningful WebAR experiences can be with Ready Player Me avatars. To promote the launch of the Sci-Fi blockbuster film, Dune, WebAR agency, Aircards, in partnership with Yahoo Creative Studios and Ringtail Studios, developed an innovative cross-platform avatar experience that enabled users to create their own custom 3D Dune avatars. In this experience, Dune fans could create their own custom avatar by uploading a selfie of themselves or by customizing one of the avatars provided to them. Next, users personalized their avatars to look like a citizen of the planet Arrakis by choosing from a variety of custom designed Dune character outfits, hair style and eye colors. Once their avatar was created, users could view their custom avatar in web-based augmented reality or download it to use across platforms in hundreds of compatible games and environments.

Ready Player Me avatars were also featured within Yahoo’s Electric/City immersive shopping experience. Created by Aircards in collaboration with Yahoo, this Brandiverse combined WebAR, 3D virtual environments, 4K video streaming, blockchain-enabled digital collectibles and more. The digital environment enabled users to discover the Charli Cohen collection through immersive 360-degree video as well as custom-generated avatars wearing Charli Cohen garments in AR.

Ready Player Me avatars are also a key component in the world’s first immersive cross-platform web game, Summit Scramble. Summit Scramble is a multi-player game that can be played with up to four players across smartphones, desktop computers, Meta Quest and Microsoft HoloLens. Set on top of a 3D mountain, players race up and down the mountain with their customized avatars, overcoming obstacles such as rolling boulders, in order to collect as much gold as they can before it turns into a volcano that erupts. With the ability to play as a single player or multiplayer across platforms, players race against the clock to stake their claim as champion of Summit Scramble on the global leaderboard.

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