Hamster Ball Battle

Mobile Screenshot 1
Mobile Screenshot 2
Mobile Screenshot 3
VR Capture 1
Hamster Ball Battle!
VR Capture 2
VR Capture 3

Inspiration

Hamster Ball Battle was inspired by the physics-driven fun of Super Monkey Ball and the chaotic mini-game style of Crash Bash. We wanted to create a party game that’s instantly easy to pick up, but deep enough to keep people laughing and competing for hours. Rolling around in giant hamster balls felt like the perfect mix of silly and skillful. Our focus was on making something that works seamlessly as a mobile party game, while also being a blast to play in VR.

What it does

Hamster Ball Battle is built as a flexible framework for ball-based party games. From the start, we focused on extensibility because variety is a cornerstone of the party game experience. The system is designed so new modes and arenas can be added quickly, making the game easy to expand over time.

Our first mode, Sumo, demonstrates how this works in practice. Matches can cycle through different arenas to keep players engaged, and we developed a streamlined workflow that allows new arenas to be created without writing a single line of code. This lowers the barrier to content creation and opens the door for a steady stream of new experiences, whether from our team or from the broader community.

For full details and documentation check out: https://nathanmwilliams.com/hbb/readme.html#intro

How we built it

We drew on over 15 years of game development experience to create a project we genuinely wanted to play, while ensuring it could be easily shared and remixed by others. The world was built in the Horizon desktop editor, with many late evenings spent refining and testing alongside valuable feedback from friends, family and the Horizon community.

The art style was intentionally simple and efficient: unlit materials, minimal textures, and a cute, stylized look designed to keep performance smooth with physics and AI running. Models were created in 3ds Max, while textures, branding, and artwork were produced in Photoshop and Illustrator.

Challenges we ran into

Supporting twelve players in a physics-heavy environment meant optimisation was critical. Balancing fun, chaos, and performance pushed us to refine our systems until the game felt both smooth and responsive.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We built bots to ensure the game is fun regardless of player count. This was a major undertaking, but the result means that every match is full of life and energy. With Hamster Ball Battle being a party game, we felt it was essential to support a high player count and guarantee that there are always opponents to face, whether human or AI.

What's next for Hamster Ball Battle

We are expanding our own version of the remix with new modes and an expanded shop system. A racing mode is already in development, adding even more fast-paced chaos to the mix. Beyond that, our goal is to keep introducing new types of gameplay and to encourage community-made modes that build on the framework.

If you’d like to try our version, you can play it here: https://horizon.meta.com/world/10162325368863937/?hwsh=4c3y75PZ76