DevLog #3 - 26th March 2026 - Onboarding Trailer
Hey! For those that don’t know me, my names Mitch and I make indie games on horizon worlds. This week I focused on the ‘first-time-user-experience’ of the world. From chatting with a mentor in the creator program, I learnt a huge tip for onboarding new players: The loading screen! Horizon Worlds lets you upload a custom video to play while your world loads. Since players will have to stare at that for 20-30 seconds while your world loads, that absolutely counts as the 1st 30 seconds they experience of your game. So like how YouTube video creators need to over index their efforts on the 1st 30 seconds of their content (especially the 1st 3-5 seconds), this should apply to this loading trailer for the world. Imagine losing players before the world has even loaded… So this week my efforts were mostly outside the game editor, and instead working in vector graphic and video editing software, creating overlay tiles to appear on top of my existing trailer. I introduced 3 onboarding tiles that illustrate the gameplay loops, reduced down to be as simple and understandable as possible. Gameloop 1 (Every 1-10 seconds) Collect trash Gameloop 2 (Every 10-30 seconds) Collect ducks Gameloop 3 (Every 1-5 minutes) Claim pets with perk upgrades to reach distant zones The bonus benefit of having to refine clarity around the core gameloop system, is that it helped me think about future balance changes. For example, I realise the trash collection and duck collection are currently on par in terms of loop timing + action. In a future update (likely next week) I plan to: Shorten the trash loop time, by increasing trash volume + default carry capacity, maybe reduce value of each; Increase the duck loop time, by having less ducks, 3 per tide level instead of current system of increasing per level; and Have the distant zone more visible as the tide goes down, to intrigue players to want to get further in the map, which requires pet duck upgrades. That's what I’ve been working on this week. Wbu?Week 49 as a full-time Horizon Worlds Creator
Hey fellow creators, thought this might be interesting to read... Honestly I was overwhelmed by the multi script feature set required to make a system like this work, but this week I finally pulled the trigger. This week I implemented collectible pet companions. What I actually Implemented: Pet duck system where the ducks can be equipped and sit on your shoulder Perk system where ducks have unique player ability enhancements Pet Duck Store UI and Duck Locker UI so you can choose what pet you want to take into the next round. Currency system, where progress in the game rewards you with exponentially greater cash out to spend on more powerful pet ducks. What I learnt: At this later stage in development, adding major features that touch other systems means a wider code base architecture review is needed each time. I found that decisions I made prior, before considering this latest feature, may need to be changed to allow the new feature. The importance of PRD docs as part of the AI assisted coding workflow. Introducing a system of task management in my cursor project allowed much easier onboarding of fresh agents as I continue to wrestle with context window management. Next weeks goals (Well, by this Fri): Some Polish / delayed scope of the pet duck system Daily Login Rewards Game Link: https://horizon.meta.com/world/10241323577005469 Anyone still reading, have you built any similar 'collectible pet' systems yourself?Seasonal Updates
https://horizon.meta.com/world/10241323577005469 I spent this whole week implementing a seasonal quest system for the 1st time. I will love you forever if you jump in to test it 💘 If you're curious how I implemented anything just ask. I'm down to screen-share the scripting under the hood. And if you manage to break it let me know lolNew Generation Creator Lounge
Hi everyone! I’m creating a new world where HW creators can meet up and chat. I know there were spaces like this during the codeblock era, and after talking to people in forums and VR, it seems the community really wants a hub like that again. I’m also starting a YouTube channel to document my journey learning HW skills, including how I'm building this specific world. I want to show a realistic, grounded approach so beginners feel encouraged to start. The world will be a place for us to connect and share our creative process with people who are genuinely curious. P.S. This is meant to be a community project! If you are interested in building this with me, let's work together. Reply here, DM me, or find me in HW (please send a message so I know you aren't just following randomly!). Here's my Youtube channel link: https://www.youtube.com/@EasymodeHorizonPanic Attacks & The Wizard of Oz
Hello! I am new to the world of "World-building" and am working on a project to offer Therapy for Service-personnel initially and then to the wider community if successful. Building confidence is a key element of my vision, that vision being to help people overcome a number of MH challenges. I would like to start with one area in particular that focuses on public speaking. For many years I have taught; in the Army as an instructor, as a secondary school teacher and as a Security trainer. I've always said. If you put me in a Stadium, fill it with people, I will teach Communication skills and Conflict Management all day long and wont miss a beat. Day to day I am out-going, confident and very social however, you ask me to introduce myself to a group, attend and interview or put on the spot to speak I will have an Adrenaline Overload (I hate the term Panic Attack) and literally falls to pieces unless I can quickly find a way out of it. I have had this challenge for around 20 years or so, pretty much started when leaving the military. Over the years I have developed some unusual coping strategies to mask this, the most unusual I think is dashing out of the room saying "I've forgot something, I'll be right back" going to my car, finding my "favourite pen" and using the out of breath feature to cover the shaking of the voice. The years haven't helped, and I have just found more and more ways to get around this limitation. Mainly by employing others who will do the intro work so I don't have to. These strategies have worked, but they are unsustainable, tiring and doesn't take away from the that dreadful feeling. I am assuming some here have an idea what I am rambling on about, as I understand this is very common. Anyway, to the point. Through gentle exposure therapy using VR I want to build worlds where people can learn and train how to desensitise these feelings and hopefully give them stronger coping mechanisms to get themselves out there. I am certain there are some truly amazing people, who have much to offer society that are held back by these feelings so much so they don't put themselves out there, and the world misses out. I thought I would start with something simple like would like designing a world of LLM NPCs that enable a person to enact a part in a play, say the Wizard of Oz. The player selects a part like Professor Marvel and can practice their "lines" against the NPC of Dorothy lets say. That's my end goal I think. In practice therefore what I envision is an individual going into VR accessing the play and selecting the role. When started the NPC speaks their lines, and the player then follows through with their own lines having a conversation. This process continues until the section of the play is completed, as you would in reality. As a newbie, and a proud GenXer I know already I am going to need some help. And that help will be much appreciated, but needs to be at the level of a GenXer who is still wowed by the NES... Looking forward to the journey, enjoying it so far. My favourite point to date was getting that bat to hit that ball! Now if i can just work out where the ball went..... :] Ant⚔️ Spell Sword
Finally finished this project with this original combat mechanic designed as a mobile only game! It's a fantasy adventure turn-based RPG where you spell words to attack the enemy. Clear each floor to earn XP, more health, and of course LOOT! The game starts out easy while you familiarize yourself with the mechanic. Then you start earning armor and weapons to take on higher floors. Use potions to recover HP, and scrolls to summon up to 2 extra letters at a time. This progression system was by design made to be addictive and challenging tracking 4,700+ data points and a custom word engine using JSON files for precise adjustments to difficulty for the 3 player archetypes: casual gamer, the dedicated gamer who put in their time, and those gamers who choose to pay-to-win. Custom leaderboards use World Persistent Variables which allowed me not to track just scores, but also what words earned them their ranking (after filtering out 500 words to stay appropriate to general audiences). Please try it out and vote for the project on Devpost
My Creator Story: Maybe This Time I'll Finish
I've always been someone who starts things. Earlier this year, I tried Unity modding. I learned, I built, I got somewhere; but I couldn't close the gap between "in progress" and "done." It stayed unfinished, like so many projects before it. I've tried creating in Second Life, VRChat, Vroid, countless wrestling game character creators. But nothing stuck. Either the tools fought me, or it never felt like it was truly mine. Then in October, I started making clothing in Horizon Worlds. And something was different. I got addicted immediately. For the first time in a long time, I wasn't just starting something; I was finishing pieces. Designing them, releasing them, watching people actually wear what I made. Creating clothing made me want more. I wanted a place to sell from. So I'm building a store now ; but if I'm honest, it's becoming something bigger. The store is an excuse. What I'm really building is a world. Fiction and worldbuilding have always been my strengths, and I'm quietly weaving that into every corner of this project. The problem is: I'm doing this completely alone. I've always wanted to program, but my brain doesn't work well with code or math. I'm shy about meeting new people and even worse at maintaining relationships, so finding a partner or collaborator feels impossible right now. But I'm still going. I broke out my iPad and Apple Pencil and started drawing again. I'm learning scripting even though it doesn't come naturally. I'm making slow progress toward something I can't fully picture yet. I don't know what the finished version will look like. But for the first time in a while, I think I might actually close the door on something and call it complete. Maybe this time is different. https://www.facebook.com/BlackObsidianProtocol/Oopsie Jumpsie - A game built 100% with GenAI assets (Looking for feedback)
Hey creators! 👋 We recently wrapped the first version of Oopsie Jumpsie: Multiplayer - a lightweight runner where players jump → dodge → survive → retry and try to out-distance their friends. The video from the competition can help you get the vibe: I was curious whether it was feasible to create a fully playable 3D world using only GenAI-generated models inside Horizon. No imported custom models - just GenAI meshes, texture tweaks, and primitives. Along the way, we also explored: ✅ The new native portrait-mode ✅ Procedural world fragments ✅ Multiplayer side-by-side runs It’s now published, and I’d really love to hear your thoughts on what’s working and where it could grow. 🔍 Looking for feedback on: 1. Does the speed curve feel fair / fun? 2. Would you prefer more short-session depth (e.g. more hazards), or long-term depth (progression)? 3. What biomes / themes would you enjoy seeing next? 🎮 Try it here: https://horizon.meta.com/world/726446533896067/ Any thoughts from fellow builders are super welcome. Happy to chat about the GenAI workflow, too. I learned a lot along the way.
