Decentraland — A first-time visitor’s guide

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BosonProtocol

5 min readSep 21, 2021

Boson Protocol is a crypto-native commerce protocol that enables the decentralized exchange of anyThing. It will enable sellers to sell physical items in the metaverse using NFTs, making Boson an essential part of the plumbing for blockchain-powered virtual worlds.

The protocol is designed to work as the dCommerce infrastructure in any virtual world, but it is in Decentraland where Boson Protocol will be first implemented.

Portal, connected by Boson Protocol, will be a virtual wonderland in which brands, artists and ordinary people will be able to transact using Boson Protocol.

We understand that entering metaverses can prove to be daunting experiences. So, as we are hosting our next dCommerce meetup in Decentraland, we’ve crafted this guide to walk you through your future experience in Portal.

Who owns all these places, and how do I get around?

Plots of land (‘parcels’) are registered on the Ethereum blockchain in units called LAND. You can move around between these parcels just like you would navigate up and down streets in Google Street View.

Anyone can buy LAND — you can check out what’s for sale either in the Decentraland Marketplace or on OpenSea. Once someone has bought a plot in Decentraland, it cannot be confiscated. The owner can validate their possession by referencing the smart contract on Ethereum.

When you enter Decentraland for the first time, you can either enter via the website’s home page, in which case you are deposited into Genesis Plaza or you can use the coordinates someone gives you to jump directly to a particular location.

In this case, our space in Decentraland can be found here at these coordinates.

To get around and explore the space, you can move your avatar around using the WASD keys on your computer keyboard or by using the arrows. To exit the screen and get back to the browser bar, just hit Escape.

Why is Decentraland divided into districts?

Just like a town or country in the physical world, people and businesses with similar interests and customers tend to cluster together. Some places are more expensive than others because they are in a central location where lots of people pass by. One of the most sought-after districts is Vegas City, where Portal will be located. Atari already has a casino in Vegas City and the focus of this neighbourhood is fun, whether your idea of fun is esports, malls, shows or even a fairground.

The idea of co-locating themed areas of LAND according to interest is a logical one that mirrors the real world. Every large city, for instance, has a finance district, a shopping district, an art district and an area that’s known for its restaurants. Similarly, Decentraland’s districts — which are listed here — include Fashion Street, Crypto Valley and the Museum district, as well as Hacker City, Music Hub and the Design Quarter.

What can I do there?

One of the reasons Decentraland continues to be the most talked about decentralised metaverse is its vibrant events calendar. Decentraland’s Pride parade earlier this year made history by being the first of its kind to happen in the metaverse.

Sign up to get the weekly email listing of what’s on and you’ll be presented with anything from NFT drops to DJ sets, launch parties for museum exhibitions and crypto competitions.

If you find you’re spending a lot of time there, maybe you want to open your own shop or event space. Once you’ve bought some LAND parcels, you can customise it to your heart’s content and wait for all your friends and visitors to show up.

What am I going to wear to all these events?

Unlike some other metaverses, where your avatar is naked until you hand over some cash for clothes, Decentraland offers free options for your virtual alter ego. Chances are you’ll end up dressed in a Decentraland-rendered T-shirt, jeans and sneakers. It won’t be unique, but at least it gets you started.

You can spot the true Decentraland enthusiasts by their cool wardrobes. The Decentraland Wearables marketplace on OpenSea features all kinds of cool stuff, from branded hoodies and baseball caps to wolf costumes, monocles and crowns.

To get an idea of what’s possible fashion-wise, check out some of these awesome outfits from the Pride Parade we mentioned above.

How do I take part?

You’ll need a wallet, such as Metamask, as this is the way you sign into the game and keep the same clothing and persona you have chosen for your avatar. When you visit decentraland.org and click the Play button, you will be prompted to sign a transaction in your wallet in place of the username and password combo you find on centralised sites.

The best way to appreciate Decentraland is simply to wander around and enjoy the spectacle. If you’re expecting pixel-perfect graphics this may not be for you, but the creativity on display outweighs any lower resolution.

If you don’t have time to wander around and take it all in, the panel in the top left corner allows you to teleport to specific locations. You can simply teleport to a random location. The one predictable thing about Decentraland is its unpredictability. You might find yourself in a place or at an event that will be unlike anything you’ve ever experienced.

Keep an eye on Boson’s social media for more announcements about Portal, and we’ll see you in Decentraland soon.

About Boson

At Boson Protocol, we are creating a decentralized commerce ecosystem that everyone can use and anyone can trust.

Boson Protocol is a decentralized infrastructure for enabling autonomous commercial exchanges of anyThing, specifically off-chain items. Boson is a peer-to-peer system which replicates the benefits of a market intermediary, without the disadvantages of centralized systems.

Keen to learn more?

Enjoy the dCommerce Stack outlining the services we’ll need to build a dCommerce ecosystem.

Want to get involved?

Learn more about Portal here
Apply for a Boson Ecosystem Grant today
See our live job openings

Where are we going?

See our ROADMAP and embark with us.

Got more questions?

Our FAQs ought to have you covered.