Why this game exists
3rd World began as an image: a tiny house in a meadow, and above it a universe so large it makes everything else feel small. It grew over a month of late nights into a complete story: a child, a mother who needs help, and three worlds full of people who need help too.
Most adventure games are about defeating something. This one is about showing up for others. You don't earn your rewards by winning fights; you earn them by bringing in a harvest, teaching a child to count, and helping a village fill its granary. The journey outward turns out to be the way home.
The look
The art direction is inspired by hand-painted animation backgrounds: warm light, big soft clouds, saturated skies and gentle colour. Everything you see (the terrain, grass, trees, clouds, water, characters, the car and even the black holes) is generated in code as the game runs. A brush-stroke post-processing filter gives each frame a painted texture.
How it's made
- Three.js and WebGL render the 3D worlds directly in your browser.
- Custom shaders create the painted skies, wind-blown grass, soft billboard clouds, the mirror lake and the gravitational lensing around black holes.
- Procedural audio built with the Web Audio API provides the ambient music, wind and sound effects, so no audio files are downloaded.
- WebXR support lets the game run on compatible virtual-reality headsets.
- Your progress is saved in your own browser's local storage.
Credits
Design, story and development: Aswini Balasubramanian. 3D engine: Three.js (MIT licence). Typefaces: Cormorant Garamond, DM Sans and JetBrains Mono (SIL Open Font License), served by Google Fonts.
Get in touch
Feedback, bug reports and kind words are always welcome. Message Aswini on LinkedIn or see the contact page.