Rule The Realm

Inspiration

I wanted to create a space for everyone. Whatever your skill level, anyone can take their time gathering coins and competing in a simple mini-game (not implemented yet) to become the world's sole "Ruler"—a simple reward that can leave you feeling important, significant, and powerful. Anyone who wants some space has plenty of it, but there's also plenty of reason to gather. Different age groups can play together more easily since there's so much opportunity for social dynamics of varying intensity—from teaching someone a hard jump to plotting to overthrow a power-mad Ruler!

What it does

• Provides a simple structure for more complex social dynamics—specifically, a "rags to riches" scenario where anyone can earn enough money to challenge and dethrone the Ruler.
• Provides a sense of progression via gold collection and leaderboard record-making (not implemented yet).
• Provides a way for players to have short, voice-free, non-committal play sessions.

How I built it

• Used LLMs and the editor's documentation to help with learning TypeScript.
• Used the editor's and Meta A.I.'s generative capabilities to make content—namely, 3D models and textures.
• Used Blender to make some rudimentary objects—e.g., the castle grounds.

Challenges I ran into

• I wanted to give the Ruler a crown, but I believe wearables are disabled at the moment.
• Animating objects was somewhat difficult; I decided to manually pause and restart a couple animations as a workaround.
• The in-editor LLM was somewhat repetitive and difficult to work with.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

I'm happy I was able to find satisfying solutions to a few potentially problematic situations I identified while brainstorming mobile game ideas: (1) it might feel lifeless if no one is there when you arrive; (2) there's a risk of players interrupting your progress if they arrive suddenly; (3) players suddenly dropping out could also be disruptive. Generally speaking, my solution for all three issues was to give the world a "power structure"; depending on your perspective or mood, you can have fun embracing, rejecting, or dabbling in those almost political dynamics.

Overall, I feel like I made the "fun, casual, social" game I sought out to create. The platforming ranges from easy to difficult, giving players a skill to master over time. The theme keeps things lighthearted, and the open nature of the world makes it feel full of potential and worth coming back for.

What I learned

I learned a lot about TypeScript and designing a 3D experience for mobile devices. I also learned that playing 3D platformers on mobile is a bit more challenging than on PC, but that it becomes familiar quite quickly.

What's next for Rule The Realm

• Replace "first come, first serve" Ruler assignment with the tournament—a magic-infused, golf game-inspired, "hit it when the meter is full" competitive event hosted by the Wizard.
• Add various types of NPC: deluxe (e.g., the Wizard), merchant, background.
• Spend gold to: help other players challenge the ruler; buy wearables; start a fireworks show; buy access badges for special areas.
• Ruler abilities: fast travel; double gold; colors of buildings and banners throughout the kingdom; deciding whether the bakery's surplus flows to town center vs. the castle.
• Pick up misc. items—e.g., pies on window sills—to either consume or trade.
• Add SFX and VFX for item collection, gate movement, etc.

Built With

• blender
• generativeai
• typescript