Heaven 'N' Heck

Heaven 'N' Heck Splash
8 Player PvE Cooperative
Mine Soulstone to offer to altars
Reach rewards in the heavens
Take to the skies with equippable wings
Explore the map by train

Inspiration

Heaven ‘n’ Heck was inspired by a playful contrast between good and evil and looks to brings about the fun parts of both. I wanted to capture that energy in a lighthearted, multiplayer experience where players can explore, laugh, and compete while uncovering all the fun surprises of the underworld. The idea grew from classic dungeon crawlers, mining sims, and gothic adventures all remixed with a modern, social VR lens.

What it does

Heaven ‘n’ Heck is an 8-player mining and action/adventure world where players gather Soulstone, redeem lost souls, and ascend altars to the heavens. Along the way, they’ll explore sprawling dungeons, dodge lava traps, ride trains, and even take flight with angel wings. It blends mining, combat, and exploration into one seamless experience and is playable on both Mobile and VR.

How I built it

The world was build with Horizon Worlds Desktop Editor, with Typescript, and Meta's AI suite of tools. I utilized Houdini for procedural geometry and texturing, enabling rapid level prototyping with efficient optimization. Hotspot textures were used for flexible visual variations, while tiling textures kept performance high. I also used generative AI mesh generation, sound generation, and ambient sound. This workflow made it possible to iterate quickly and maintain a consistent art style across large, complex environments.

Challenges I ran into

Optimizing for such a large map, with large amounts of zombies, bullets, soulstones and chaos!

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

Bring humor and character to every corner of the world through NPCs, altars, and lore.
Creating a seamless cross-platform experience that feels great on both Mobile and VR.
Developing a procedural world generation system that keeps the map fresh and replayable.
Designing smooth, low-friction controls like Auto-Mining and Auto-Shooting for accessible gameplay.

What I learned

I learned the importance of optimization early in the design, especially when building for multiple platforms. Procedural generation was invaluable for creating dynamic, varied environments. I learned how important tutorialization is to capture mobile players attention quickly and hook them into the experience. Also keeping mobile players controls fluid and responsive.

What's next for Heaven 'N' Heck

Next, I plan to expand the world with new altars, quests, and boss encounters, but also new levels entirely. I want to expand the competition with more leaderboards and challenges and perhaps even explore PvP mechanics. It would be a great world also for seasonal events and content. Long term, Heaven ‘n’ Heck will continue to evolve with new content updates and player-driven ideas, keeping the afterlife full of surprises.