Inspiration

Our first Meta Horizon game Fire & Rescue aims to immerse players in dynamic scenes filled with fire. After many iterations and performance challenges, we finally achieved the ability to render thousands of fires in our world. This breakthrough opened new possibilities for delivering gameplay experiences on Horizon. For this competition we applied this tech and shifted directions from intensity to expression—creating an experience that’s collaborative and imaginative rather than harrowing. Paint the Block is a hangout world where players and friends can shape their surroundings with color. Discover new canvases, play with paint, and explore everything the city has to offer.

How we built it

Paint system Our paint system is the core of the experience. With it we are able to apply thousands of paints for each player in the world. Entering Focus mode allows for the capture of player touches into the world and we determine what in world geometry is hit. This information is then encoded and passed to the VFX system that decodes the world data and fills the space with paint. This allows the user to fill any space with paint quickly and performantly without requiring spawning new assets for each spot they want to color.

World Skybox was created Using the Llama horizon skybox generation tools. Primitives for grayboxing and swapping for performant mesh and textures.

What it does

Players explore their Block to discover new colors and expand their palette to create their own masterpieces! From walls and cars to signs and more—everything can be painted, whether up close or from afar. Bring a friend or meet new ones to play games, collaborate on murals, or hunt for hidden boomboxes. Paint the Block is a relaxing hangout where you can unwind, doodle, and get creative with friends.

Challenges we ran into

Problems happened when new players joined an ongoing game—sometimes the paint other players had made wouldn’t appear. After lots of testing, we finally found a way to make sure everyone could see the same painted world.

Getting paint to stick and look right on every surface took many tries. We experimented how to mark surfaces as “paintable” and how to make the paint move and spread in a natural way. Early versions made painting feel more like squirting water, but later updates made it smoother and more precise. For colors, we skipped a full color picker and instead offered a set of unlockable paint colors. This made things simpler, and it also turned collecting colors into a fun reward for exploring, while still letting players mix paints to create new shades.

Accomplishments that we're proud of and what we learned

Our fluid interaction mode allows mobile players to seamlessly “finger paint” over the entire world. When combined with our custom paint system, players can literally paint the entire block. We love that this experience is very easy for players to understand and utilize thanks to tech that feels invisible. Watching multiple players spray thousands of paint across a large and engaging city is incredibly rewarding. We’re proud of this accomplishment and think it opens up exciting possibilities for the future—allowing us to guide players to new areas they might not have explored before, or to unlock fresh sections of the Block for upcoming events.

What's next for Paint the Block?

Future updates will focus on fostering collaboration and creating more social moments through world events that bring players together in one place. Race to find a special paint can, cover a unique surface, or fill an area with as much paint as possible before time runs out. Follow a path or complete an obby to reach hidden areas on the map—or head to the underground club for a dance party! Upcoming features will also include quests, achievements, and new unlockables for players seeking deeper progression.