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Create Your First Horizon World

By following this tutorial, you’ll learn how to create a simple Horizon Worlds game. In the process, you’ll explore the basic workflow involved in:

  • Setting up your Horizon tooling
  • Creating a new Horizon World
  • Adding entities to it
  • Scripting entity behavior

The game is simple: you shoot at a target, and you get a point each time you hit it.

Section 1: Set Up Your Workstation​

To develop in Horizon Worlds, you’ll need the following:

Section 2: Create a New World​

  1. Launch the Meta Quest Application:

    • Start Meta Horizon Worlds in Desktop Mode.
    • Navigate to the Meta Horizon Worlds app in the Library.
    • Click the app’s menu icon (…) and select Start in Desktop Mode.

  2. Create a New World:

    • Click New World and name it (e.g., “Super Cool World”).
    • Select Custom Model Import and click Create.

Section 3: Import Game Assets​

  1. Open the Assets Panel:

    • Click the Assets tab at the bottom of the screen.

  2. Add New Assets:

    • Click Add New > 3D Model.
    • Enable Preserve Offset Pivots in the Import Models dialog.
    • Select your asset files (e.g., StoneFloor.fbx and StoneFloor_BR.png) and click Import.

  3. Position Assets:

    • Drag the StoneFloor asset into the scene.
    • Use the position manipulator handles (press “W”) to align the asset.
    • Duplicate and align multiple floor tiles for a larger area.

Section 4: Add a Pedestal and Rifle​

  1. Import and Position Pedestal:

    • Import SingleBlock.fbx and StoneBlockKit_BR.png.
    • Place and rename the object “Pedestal”.

  2. Import and Position Rifle:

    • Import ACWpnBattleRifle.fbx and its texture files.
    • Place the rifle on the pedestal.
    • Rename the object “Rifle”.

Section 5: Make the Rifle Grabbable​

  1. Select the Rifle:
    • In the Property panel, set Motion to “Interactive” and Interaction to “Grabbable”.

Section 6: Test Your World​

  1. Enable Auto-Start Simulation:

    • Open the Preview Configuration panel and enable both Auto-start simulation on Preview entry and Auto-start simulation on Preview exit.

  2. Preview Mode:

    • Click the person icon to enter Preview Mode.
    • Pick up the rifle and ensure it behaves as expected.

Section 7: Add a Simple Script​

  1. Create a Script:

    • Open the Scripts Panel and click the plus button.
    • Name the script “Shoot” and open it in Visual Studio Code.

2. Add Debug Code:​

  • Replace the start() function with:

    start() {
        console.log("Hello, World!");
    }

  • Save the script and attach it to the Rifle object.

Test the Script:​

  • Enter Preview Mode. The Console should display “Hello, World!” when the Rifle is created.

Section 8: Trigger a Rifle Event​

Update the Script:​

  • Replace the start() function with:

    start() {
        this.connectCodeBlockEvent(this.entity, hz.CodeBlockEvents.OnIndexTriggerDown, (player: hz.Player) => {
            console.log("boom!");
        });
    }

Test the Script:​

  • Save and test by firing the rifle in Preview Mode.
  • Each shot should log “boom!” to the Console.

Next Steps​

You’ve successfully built a basic interactive world! Continue exploring by refining your scripts, adding new assets, or experimenting with advanced scripting techniques.