In World Builder: No-Code Experiences in the Metaverse
By Decentraland DAO, , in Community Highlights
Decentraland DAO grantee In World Builder from Last Slice Studios is a community-driven project that removes barriers to scene creation in Decentraland making the activity more accessible and fun! Streamlining building, the In World Builder allows users to develop scenes and whole experiences by dragging and dropping assets in-world in real time, all without having to leave Decentraland’s virtual world, use code, or deploy. experiences, like games, 3D assets, or sound assets, all without leaving the Decentraland platform.
A quick look at the In World Builder grant
Decentraland’s DAO has continuously supported projects that help either expand current Decentraland functionalities or provide easier-to-use alternatives for the non-technical crowd. For example, the DAO recently funded the Virtual Land Manager project—a means for creators to modify and moderate their scenes on the fly, without having to redeploy.
While, in the past, the Foundation had released the SDK 7 Editor and a no-code web-based version to build scenes and experiences for Decentraland, these tools did not allow for building scenes live in-world and could be intimidating for new users to start using. Last Slice Studios, who had already delivered a previous successful grant project, Angzaar Marketplace, saw the opportunity to provide the community with a fun, engaging alternative that would make it easier for new users to dip their toes into scene building. Thus, the idea for the In World Builder was born.
Following a successful proposal with a 90% approval rate, the DAO awarded the project its first grant of $170,000 at the end of August 2023 to cover a period of six months. Then, in early April 2024, the project won a second grant to carry forward a more specific, bolder proposal: the generation of games in Decentraland without the need for code. The DAO supported this new phase of the project with a 75% approval rate and a budget of $125,000 for five months.
No code: Inviting more users to create and engage
Some metaverse experiences, such as scene building, can be hard for beginners to get into if they don’t have a background in programming. Unfortunately, this puts a limit on who can participate in building our virtual world. The initial idea for the In World Builder was to make it possible for anyone to easily create content within Decentraland without code, without deployment, through real-time collaboration.
Not only a means to build scenes in-world, the project also included creating 2,000 new assets of various types, such as textures, audio files, animations, smart elements, and functions grouped into exciting new themes. These components would present creators with endless options and possibilities to create whatever scenes they could imagine! The development of these features was successfully completed in early 2024, months after the initial proposal was enacted.
Users can now build their own World with over 2,000 parcels to subdivide into different scenes, enable scenes to be private or public, give players build permissions to build in their scenes, upload their own Custom Assets to build with, or leverage over 4,500 total assets by asset type, style, or keyword. To try out the In World Builder for yourself, head to Last Slice’s World and give it a whirl!
https://twitter.com/LastSliceCo/status/1775518213717000308
IWB Game Creator: No-code games for the metaverse
Following the success of the In World Builder, Last Slice doubled down on the concept of simplified scene creation—but this time with a focus on gamified experiences—by applying for another grant for the In World Builder Game Creator.
Usually the creation of interactive experiences requires a much more complex understanding of coding than static scenes, but with this newest project from Last Slice, even building games is on the table for beginning creators. With various pre-designed game systems to choose from, creators can now customize and tweak scenes to reflect their inner vision without using code. In this way, Last Slice plans to fulfill their aspiration of seeing “tons of Decentraland Worlds populated with many game types without coding.”
https://twitter.com/LastSliceCo/status/1770221414702076064
Last Slice hopes to see the creation of more “addictive content” in Decentraland that will keep users coming back again and again and see the In World Builder Game Creator as a pathway to making it a reality. Their latest project offers three pre-built game systems focused on Time, Combat, and Waves that they believe will serve as a good foundation to a future renaissance of games from codeless-creators in Decentraland.
The Time-based system is modeled after games involving collecting coins or other objects, competing to reach a key, and time-based races. Examples of this type of game include Temple Run or racing games. The Combat-based system allows for weapons, player aiming, and health to create first-person shooter experiences. Finally, the Wave-based system will give rise to games where players face off against the challenges from the environment or enemies that come in waves, such as Duck Hunt and Asteroids.
What’s next and how to contribute
Last Slice’s very own Lastraum recently reported some positive developments. Since the In World Builder went live, they have deployed over 74 Worlds on their server in only two months of being available to the public. According to Lastraum, that’s already 10% of the total Decentraland Worlds server. In addition, Last Slice has been engaging people to build with two building competitions. The team has also been very detail-oriented in their updates, sharing specifics such as the amount of 3D assets creators have at their disposal.
https://twitter.com/InWorldBuilder/status/1779214969457852869
The In World Builder is already running, but there’s still a lot to continue expanding on, and Last Slice is always ready to hear the community’s thoughts. Join their Discord or follow In World Builder on X for more news and competition recaps. Also, pay Last Slice’s World a visit in Decentraland and tell the dev team about your experience, or start thinking up what games you’ll be developing with their no-code shortcut!
The metaverse is full of yet unrecognized potential and opportunities. Do you have an idea that could benefit the Decentraland community? Learn more about the DAO’s grants here.
Do you know of a cool Decentraland community project that you think should be next in the Community Highlights series? Contact the Decentraland Foundation team @decentraland on X.
Disclaimer: The service described in this article was not developed or audited by the Decentraland Foundation. Always be careful when engaging in any kind of transaction. Decentraland is not responsible for any loss of funds/assets.