Schrodinger’s Catgirl: Hoyoverse, Cybernesis, and the Ethnography of Metaverse

Abstract

"Metaverse" is not a Silicon Valley utopianism. It is a meaningful descriptor for an increasingly embodied and more deeply integrated internet. Nowhere is it more profound than in China, whose first forays into the metaverse have sent ripples the world over. This ethnography of China-based Hoyoverse, and a subsequent discussion, suggest the meaningful contributions ethnography can make to understanding the metaverse. And how the metaverse will in turn transform the discipline. All of this is articulated through the example of a cyborg catgirl, who may or may not be a mirage.