Over the past several years, I’ve been building Web Wide Worlds—an open-source framework for creating persistent, explorable 3D environments using web-native technologies.
This stack makes building a digital world like building a website—modular, remixable, and accessible across devices.
What Is Web Wide Worlds?
Web Wide Worlds is a modular framework for defining, deploying, and interacting with 3D environments in a world browser application. It’s engine-agnostic, protocol-friendly, and built to scale from tiny microsites to planet-scale simulations.
At its core:
- VEML (Virtual Environment Markup Language): An XML-based schema for defining entities, controls, behaviors, and assets
- JavaScript World APIs: Runtime logic for interaction, animation, and input mapping
- WorldSync: Real-time state replication using MQTT and WebSocket
- WorldOS: A NodeJS-based server framework for hosting, messaging, and procedural generation
- WebVerse: A platform-native or browser-based client for entering worlds via standard URLs
- WorldHub: Hosting, asset marketplaces, and low-code editors for creators
Why Modular Matters
Each layer of the stack is designed to be swappable and composable:
- Define worlds declaratively with VEML
- Extend behaviors with JavaScript modules
- Sync entities with a single synchronization flag
- Host worlds on your own infrastructure or through third-party hosting services
- Embed viewers into webpages or launch full XR clients
Whether you’re prototyping a multiplayer game, teaching through interaction, or replacing static content with explorable spaces—this stack flexes with you.
Use Cases
Here’s what people are building (or could build) with Web Wide Worlds:
- Collaborative prototyping for multiplayer mechanics
- Spatial microsites embedded in blogs or event pages
- Indie games with rollback logic and modular UI
- Onboarding flows that teach through interaction
- STEM simulations and spatial tutorials
- Digital art exhibits with interactive storytelling
Built on Open Standards
Web Wide Worlds is designed to align with:
- GLTF and USD for asset interoperability
- HTTP, MQTT, WebSocket for transport and messaging
- WebGL/WebGPU for rendering
- OpenXR for immersive input
You can use Blender, Sketchfab, or any pipeline that supports open formats. The goal is to make worldbuilding accessible, remixable, and standards-compliant.
Try It Out
- Explore live worlds: webverse.fivesqd.com
- Read the docs: GitHub repo
- Build your own world in just minutes
Let’s Connect
I’d love feedback from developers working on spatial logic, multiplayer frameworks, or declarative systems. If you’re building something similar—or want to collaborate—drop a comment or reach out.
Let’s make the web explorable.
Top comments (2)
Nice work making this stack engine-agnostic and standards-based. VEML + JS modules seems practical, and using MQTT/WebSocket for sync makes sense. How do you handle schema versioning/migrations for VEML, and what's the recommended auth model for WorldSync? I'll check out the demo and repo.
Thanks! I've found VEML + JS to work well for quickly spinning up worlds. I quickly found that I would need to come up with a solution for schema versioning. The VEML schema contains a version number, and the software application uses this to determine which version of the schema it's working with. In WebVerse, I've been able to maintain a chain of backward compatibility/document upgrading.
Thanks for giving the demo a try! Let me know if you have any questions/suggestions or would like help creating a world.