The Dropper Remixed

• 

  Example: How a Dropper Experience could look like. Play it!

• 

  Tutorials, Texts and all the Scripts to build your own!

• 

  First Level Jump

• 

  Jump down through Level 2

• 

  Last Level, end of the example. But you could continue building from here!

Inspiration

Meta Horizon is a playful, social space built for hanging out and sharing fun experiences with friends and I wanted to bring a beloved genre from platforms like Minecraft, Roblox, Fortnite, Rec Room and co. into this ecosystem. The goal was to create the ultimate party-style dropper game, but tailored for Meta Horizon: easy to play, easy to remix, colorful, fun, and perfect for social multiplayer gameplay.

What it does

This project is a colorful dropper game where players jump, fall, and dodge obstacles on their way to a target at the bottom. The core gameplay is simple but addictive avoid mid-air obstacles and hit the trigger to complete the level.

It supports solo play or up to 32 players, thanks to drop-in/drop-out multiplayer, so there's no need for lobbies or setup hassle. Players can come and go freely, and their progress is saved via persistent variables. Leaderboards compare scores between friends, enabling asynchronous multiplayer: brag to your friends outside of the platform and let them beat it without being online at the same time.

How we built it

I focused on making this game as accessible as possible: no coding or scripting knowledge is required to remix it. It's made for all ages, meaning not just playing but also working on it. Players can build their own levels by simply placing and moving 3D objects from the Asset Library, ask GenAI or import their own. Not just for developers or level designers. Duplicate the provided Trigger Boxes and other Gizmos/Scripts, customize layouts and only edit the scripts if really needed. The scripts are very heavily well-documented and not too complex. Also very flexible to be adapted. But the main user can already change a lot by just basic property adjustments (like changing references or audio clips on the scripts PropsDefinition).

Key systems include: A PlayerManager script that gives each player that joins a local script instance. That local Player scripts handles respawn, checkpoints (enter a trigger), leaderboards, detect if player in-air or grounded and play looped wind audio and win/loose sound effects. Also smart dynamic difficulty adjustment: a player fails often (e.g. 7+ times) at a level, then give them a little movement boost but also let them fall slower with each fail over time until they beat it. An entire different script handles the Persistent Variable stored to continue from the last session (highest reached checkpoint)

Challenges we ran into

32-player support meant optimizing for performance. I made sure code and loops (World.OnUpdate) only run when really needed. Also World.OnUpdate only checks every 10th frame/tick with optionally changing to every 1-60th tick, reducing server strain.

Cel shading on mobile devices without any rendering (shaders). I created a stylized visual look using textures and thin black-bordered planes on shapes combined with color variation, simulating shadows without real-time lighting: an aesthetic solution that performs well across devices.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

-Creating a fully remixable experience that lowers the barrier to entry for creators of all skill levels. -Achieving a balance of visual style, scalability, and performance, especially for mobile and standalone VR headsets. -Building a game that encourages creativity, social interaction, and replayability! While still being lightweight and easy to expand.

What we learned

Meta Horizon Platform Features, deeper understanding of TypeScript.

What's next for The Dropper Remixed

I’m looking forward to seeing the community remix and expand this dropper world with custom levels, themes, and even added mechanics like moving obstacles.

This is just the beginning: A full-featured version with more levels and styles is also in the works. Link: https://horizon.meta.com/world/2854996444689223

(Note: I actually think this fits into 3 (not just 2) Categories: Best Party Game, Best Platformer/Obby and best onboarding experience)

Built With

• horizon
• meta
• typescript