Hi HN, we’re Ben and Alex, founders of Muse HQ (https://muse.place/). We help anyone build immersive 3D websites.
Alex and I started building 3D websites because we were bored of building the same old static websites that we have been contracted to do for the past 6 years since high school. Building websites sucked and was boring. Fortunately, Alex discovered the power of three.js. Between us, Alex was the first one to start building websites in 3D and frankly, I was jealous because I saw that the code for 3D websites was far too complicated for me to grasp quickly and I felt left behind. This is why Alex and I started Muse, to make the 3D internet accessible to everyone and easy to use so we don't have to keep building static websites.
The way we solved this problem was by first building an open-source framework called SpacesVR that made it very easy for React developers to start building 3D websites. Several months later, we built a no-code editor that works similar to Squarespace and Wix built around this framework. Using our framework, our team has built over 200 3D websites by hand. Since launching our no-code editor, we have seen over 40 websites published. Also, a crazy thing happened the other day when Alex was scrolling through Twitter. He stumbled upon a 3D website that used very similar control mechanisms to our websites. With a little bit of investigating, we found out that a virtual gallery project, 3XR, started using our framework to build virtual NFT galleries for all Mintbase stores!
It has been exciting to see our no-code editor and open-source framework grow. I encourage everyone here to build a 3D website, try it out, you may enjoy it! You can check out our open-source framework at https://www.npmjs.com/package/spacesvr or go to https://muse.place/to build a 3D website with no code. Have fun building!
Isolation often gets a person stuck into positive feedback loops of negative feelings (loneliness, anxiety, sadness, guilt, shame, cynicism, paranoia, listlessness, self loathing, despair, etc.), disrupted circadian rhythms from poor sleep and lack of sunshine, lack of routines and loss of time sense, lack of exercise, unhealthy diet, poor personal hygiene and cleanliness, substance abuse, financial problems, and so on.
Without sources of external correction/feedback/perspective, even tiny negative thoughts can get amplified and spiral out of control, and a human can stop behaving within the range of personhood (that is, the usual social construction of normal behavior). Without any human contact, it is difficult to keep control over the focus of attention, find meaning in daily routines and projects, etc. Even trivial tasks can start to take monumental amounts of mental effort. With sufficient sensory deprivation someone can become dissociated or start hallucinating, or can fall into catatonic depression.
Some people are obviously better at handling isolation than others, but it’s tough for even the strongest willed. Involuntary isolation (e.g. solitary confinement, or long-term homelessness) is a torturous experience for most people, often causing permanent emotional scars. Voluntary isolation (living as a hermit in the woods to write a novel or whatever) should not be undertaken lightly.
Often people isolate themselves after some kind of severe negative shock, e.g. the death of a loved one, a bad break-up, a professional failure, etc. People experiencing strong negative emotions without any social support/comfort from family/friends can get themselves into situations that are difficult or impossible to climb back out of, especially if substance abuse is involved.
Alex and I started building 3D websites because we were bored of building the same old static websites that we have been contracted to do for the past 6 years since high school. Building websites sucked and was boring. Fortunately, Alex discovered the power of three.js. Between us, Alex was the first one to start building websites in 3D and frankly, I was jealous because I saw that the code for 3D websites was far too complicated for me to grasp quickly and I felt left behind. This is why Alex and I started Muse, to make the 3D internet accessible to everyone and easy to use so we don't have to keep building static websites.
The way we solved this problem was by first building an open-source framework called SpacesVR that made it very easy for React developers to start building 3D websites. Several months later, we built a no-code editor that works similar to Squarespace and Wix built around this framework. Using our framework, our team has built over 200 3D websites by hand. Since launching our no-code editor, we have seen over 40 websites published. Also, a crazy thing happened the other day when Alex was scrolling through Twitter. He stumbled upon a 3D website that used very similar control mechanisms to our websites. With a little bit of investigating, we found out that a virtual gallery project, 3XR, started using our framework to build virtual NFT galleries for all Mintbase stores!
It has been exciting to see our no-code editor and open-source framework grow. I encourage everyone here to build a 3D website, try it out, you may enjoy it! You can check out our open-source framework at https://www.npmjs.com/package/spacesvr or go to https://muse.place/to build a 3D website with no code. Have fun building!