How do you launch your own virtual world?
We talk a lot about the WHY of virtual worlds.
We haven’t talked about the HOW much at all.
So we figured it would be good to give you all an overview of how we approach the process here at yondr.
If you're ready to move forward (or are on the fence) and create your own Roblox, your Fortnite, your Spatial experience here are some pointers you need to take into account:
1. Involve your fans or your community in the process
You could even get them to vote on certain decisions to empower them and establish a sense of co-creation. Discord, social media, existing Roblox worlds, etc. Find ways to pick their brain. Don’t build what your 46-year-old CMO thinks would be cool. Build what your 14-year-old fans think is cool.
2. Define the vision and the goals of your virtual world
What’s the ‘business case’? Are you trying to open up a new communication channel (which you’ll need to keep alive) for the long-term? Are you looking to maximize the eyeballs you attract around a certain event? Do you want to build your own world or perhaps you’d prefer to collaborate with a brand partner?
3. Choose your tech, choose your platform
Perhaps you’re interested in building a unique branded Fortnite experience using Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN)? Want to give your fans a 3D ‘website’? Try Spatial. Or do you want to go for a virtual world in Roblox? Perhaps your team wants to incorporate NFT collectibles and add a web3 layer to your experience?
4. Conceptualize
The theme, the game mechanics, the art style, the features, the social interactions. Do all this while keeping your target audience in mind. Gamify your experience!
5. Know your audience
Don’t just build for Gen Z. Be clear on whom you’re building for. Gen Z gamers can be 9 years old or 24 years old, so make sure you create your world with a specific age range in mind.
6. Development and Programming
Bring your virtual world to life by developing the necessary code, assets, and systems. This involves scripting, 3D modeling, animation, sound design, and other technical aspects.
7. Testing
Make sure to test the environment extensively for any bugs that may be present before going live. You don’t want to open up the gates to your world and have thousands of players have a bad experience.
Now, we’re well aware that there are tons of other details that we omitted. If you want to dive deeper into the why, the how, and the what of virtual world-building and get the full shebang, then make sure you grab our free report!
