The World’s Last Cup of Tea

Inspiration

This project started with a simple image in my head: a quiet world, long abandoned, and a little robot offering tea like nothing ever happened. I was drawn to the contrast - how something so small and gentle could exist in a space so desolate. I've always liked the idea of wholesome elements and characters in an apocalyptic environment, like in shows like adventure time.

Originally, I joined this hackathon as part of a group, but when plans shifted late in the process, I had to pivot and build something... anything by myself within a few days. I had zero experience with the Meta desktop editor or TypeScript, and the deadline wasn’t feeling particularly generous. So this project became a rapid deep-dive into unfamiliar tools and last-minute improvisation.

How It Was Built

The world was built entirely in Meta Horizon Worlds, which meant adapting to its toolset and limitations on the fly. I used:

Custom UI components for the dialogue system
TypeScript to manage dialogue state and branching logic
A JSON-based dialogue tree to simulate conversational flow
Generated assets created using the Desktop Editor’s built-in Gen AI tools

Challenges

Learning the Meta editor and TypeScript from scratch with a deadline breathing down my neck
Designing a non-AI chatbot that still felt meaningful and reactive
Creating a thumbnail that looked like it belonged in the same world as the story
And of course, fighting with editor lag and crashes because of my potato PC. My fan sounded like an EF5 tornado on steroids. If it spun any faster, I’m afraid my laptop would take flight.

What I Learned

How to build a functional, branching dialogue UI without external APIs
How Horizon’s UI system works
New 3d modeling concepts like skyboxes
In general, I just learned more about the meta desktop editor tool and it's features
That I need a better PC

Accomplishments

Built a complete, branching dialogue experience
Learned how to use Meta’s desktop editor and TypeScript with zero prior experience
Designed a coherent world with simple narrative and emotional arc within a tight scope
Created a working UI system using Horizon’s Binding and Pressable components
Didn’t cry (too much) while debugging

Despite the hiccups, it came together. The story is intact. The robot serves tea.

What's Next for The World's Last Cup of Tea

I'd love to expand the project into something more dynamic—possibly integrating a real AI chatbot system if the platform ever allows for it. That was the original vision, and with more time (and fewer compatibility limits), it could add a whole new dimension to the experience.

There's also room to enhance the environment, animate more of the world, and deepen the branching dialogue. Maybe even add alternate endings based on the player's tone or choices.

But for now, I'm just happy it exists.