Horizon Worlds

Horizon Worlds is as close to a metaverse app that Meta has released so far. The 3D social network has gotten a reputation over the years for poor graphics and some badly behaved kids, but all of that is now changing.

Meta has recently released a desktop editor and a sophisticated TypeScript API to create “worlds” (immersive experiences that may or may not be games).

The new development tools import 3D models from Blender or other sources and support metallicity and roughness texture attributes, allowing the creation of much more realistic environments. Given that Horizon Worlds already supports avatars and multiplayer networking out of the box, developing for it is much easier than creating VR applications from scratch in Unity.

The result looks surprisingly good on mobile and web as well as in VR headsets.

Meta has also introduced private and membership-only worlds, creating the possibility of specialized experinces for educational or professional use.

This year I created a couple of Gaia Mission based worlds to see how far I could push the technology - and I was impressed.

The first Star Central experience includes large walkable maps, educational posters, a Star Cinema with sound and picture presentations as well as the ability to teleport to a Starship Academy showcasing mulitfrequency sky boxes and a Galactic Outlook where you can chill out near the Messier 52 star cluster.

The result looks surprisingly good on mobile and web as well as in VR headsets.

I also created a Starship Port treasure hunt adventure game where teams can take a starship to several real nearby star systems and search for valuable alien artifacts.

Of course the Gaia Mission sky boxes look spectacular in the full VR game, but the treasure hunt works perfectly well in mobile and the web as well.

You can read more about the Starship Port game here:

Starship Port

You can try out the Meta Horizon mobile app by installing it from an Apple or Android app store. After installing it and setting up your avatar, you can search for “Star Central” or “Starship Port” and click on the “Worlds” tab to find them.