VXLVERSE Play games Open the studio
Make a game · look up any line

Write words. This is how.

Everything VXLVERSE can do, on one page — for the person making a game and for the teacher running the lesson. You write a short story in plain words — a Character "Mara": who can say things, an Enemy, a way to Win — and a real 3D game builds live as you type. Every command below comes with a plain example you can look up while you work. New here? See how VXLVERSE compares →

Never made a game before?
Make your first game

Six tiny steps. We say what to type, you watch it show up in your game. No sign-in, nothing to install.

Start the six steps →

About two minutes. Read them here first →

Start here

A whole game, five lines long. You write a line and the thing it names shows up in the world — that is the entire idea.

World "beach":
  Character "Mara":
    say Hi! Bring me the lost crown and you're a hero!
  item 👑 crown
Win when: player has 👑 crown
What you see
  • World "beach":sand, sea and sky — the whole ground changes
  • Character "Mara":a person standing there, waiting to talk
  • say Hi! Bring me the lost crown…she says it out loud when you walk up and press E
  • item 👑 crowna crown lying somewhere you can walk to
  • Win when: player has 👑 crownpick the crown up and you win

Your first game, step by step

The same six steps the studio walks you through. Each one adds one line, and the buttons put it in for you.

Start the six steps in the studio → No sign-in, nothing to install. About two minutes.
1
Play it — open it →

Open the studio. A game is already waiting there. Press ▶ and walk around with the arrow keys.

2
Pick your place

Tap a place — Beach, Snow, Volcano, Jungle, Moon or Candy. The tap writes the line for you.

World "Beach":

the whole ground changes: sand, sea and sky

3
Name your hero

The word Hero is already picked out for you. Type your own name over it.

Character "Lila":

the name on the sign above her head changes

4
Make her talk

Click after say and put in your own words. Then walk up to her and press E.

Character "Lila":
  say Hi! I lost my star.

she says your words in a speech bubble

5
Give her a job

Tap the wants: star button. Now the player has something to do.

  wants: star

a star drops into your world — go and find it

6
Win the game

Tap the Win when: button. One more line, and your game can be won.

Win when: player has star

grab the star and the win screen comes up

The six steps leave you with this — open it in the studio →

World "Beach":

Character "Lila":
  say Hi! I lost my star.
  wants: star

Win when: player has star

How it works

Three steps, that’s the whole thing.

1
Write readable lines
Plain words in your own language (the keywords stay English), indented to show what belongs to what. No syntax to memorise.
2
Watch it build live
A real 3D game rebuilds on every keystroke. Press ▶ Play to jump in.
3
Share a link
Every game gets a URL. Send it — anyone plays your 3D game in the browser, no install.

Four kinds of game

Every game starts the same way — one line picks the kind. Story is the default; no Mode line needed.

Storythe default — no Mode line

Worlds, characters who talk and remember you, choices, quests, treasure and a win.

BattleMode: waves

Fight wave after wave of your enemies to a boss finale — melee, guns and spells.

ParkourMode: parkour

A floating-platform jump course auto-built from your title. Leap to the goal.

HordeMode: horde

One arena and no way out. Enemies never stop coming and keep getting stronger, and every level-up hands you a new power to pick.

What your game can do

Not a toy — every game ships with real mechanics, no plugins or setup.

Dialogue & choices
NPCs talk in typewriter pages and offer branching choices you write.
Melee, guns & spells
Swords, hammers, pistols, blasters — plus Fireball, Thunder and Blizzard, free.
Bosses
Turn any enemy into a boss with telegraphed attacks, HP phases and its own bar.
Ally squads
Companions who follow you and fight — up to a squad of 20.
Relationships
Characters remember how you treat them and can join you — or turn hostile.
Quests & items
Fetch quests, multi-step quest chains, gifts, usable potions and ammo, hidden loot.
Connected worlds
Up to 6 worlds, auto-linked with portals you step through — or win by reaching one.
Enemy tiers 1–50
From a grunt to a bullet-sponge apex — set exactly how tough each foe is.
Timers & escorts
Survive a countdown, race a clock, or defend an ally to win — tension built in.

Where your game happens

One line picks the place — and there are 44 of them. Beaches, cities, moons and swamps to run across… and nine buildings you walk right into, room by room. See them all on the games shelf →

🚪Places you can walk intoWorld: castle

Nine buildings with real rooms — furniture on the floor, people already in them, and a door that will not open until you find its key.

🏙️Towns & citiesWorld: city at night

Streets and blocks that go on forever: noon traffic, neon rain, a slum under a metal sky, a district somebody bombed.

🌿Woods, fields & shoresWorld: forest

The green half of the world — trees to hide behind, flower fields, blossom, sand, and a lagoon full of coral.

❄️Cold & highWorld: snow

White ground and thin air: snow, ice, windy green cliffs, and grey moon dust with the stars still out.

🔥Hot & harshWorld: volcano

Places that do not want you there — sun, red canyons, cracked ground, rivers of fire and mountains of scrap.

Strange & magicWorld: candy land

Worlds that stopped obeying the rules: glowing crystal, giant mushrooms, frosting hills, a graveyard at midnight.

🏭Indoors & machinesWorld: reactor

A roof over your head — catwalks over glowing pits, a white lab, a tower floor, torch-lit stone the sun never finds.

The nine you can walk into

These ones are not a picture around you — they are a building. The engine draws a floor plan, hangs the doors, puts the furniture in and fills the rooms with people, and then your story happens inside it.

  • 🏠World: mansionA whole house: front hall, kitchen, living room, bedrooms, a study, a cellar, a garage and a garden. Or write house.
  • 🏰World: castleGatehouse, courtyard, great hall, throne room, armoury, chapel, kitchens — and the dungeon cells far below. Or write palace, or κάστρο.
  • 🏫World: schoolMain lobby, locker halls, classrooms, a science lab, an art room, a gym, a library, a cafeteria and the playground.
  • 🛒World: pizza shopShop floor, till, prep kitchen, stockroom, loading bay and a food court. Write shop, bakery, market or restaurant too.
  • 🏢World: officeReception, open plan, meeting rooms, a boardroom, a kitchenette, the archive — and a server room behind a keycard.
  • 👻World: haunted houseAn old hotel that never checked out: grand foyer, ballroom, nursery, cellar, room 13 and a secret passage. Or write hotel.
  • 🏥World: hospitalReception, waiting room, wards, an operating theatre, a pharmacy store, a lab, the morgue and a sealed quarantine.
  • 🔒World: prisonFront gate, cell blocks, guard posts, the mess hall, the exercise yard and the warden’s office watching all of it.
  • 💀World: cryptStone chambers under the ground — cells, a bone chamber, a candle chapel, a trap hall and a treasury. Or write dungeon.
🎲
A brand-new layout every time
The rooms are planned fresh the moment the game loads. Play your game twice and the way through is different — your story still works, because you name rooms, not corners.
🧍
Somebody already lives there
Guards, cooks, pupils, nurses, shoppers — they walk about and talk on their own. So write only the characters your story actually needs.
🗝️
One door wants a key
Most buildings lock one to three doors and hide the keys that open them in rooms inside. A school always locks exactly one; a house, a shop or an office sometimes locks none at all — so never make finding a key the whole story. Walk into a locked door and it tells you what it wants. Do not write a key of your own — the building already made one, and in the office, the hospital and the prison it is a keycard.

Say which room with at:

Put a room name after at: and that is where the person or the thing will be. Write it on the Character line, or on its own line underneath. Name a room and the building is planned to have it — every room word each building knows is listed in the 🌎 Worlds part of the reference below.

World "haunted house":
  Character "Ghost" at: ballroom
    say Nobody has danced here in a hundred years…
  Character "Caretaker":
    at: grand foyer
    say Mind the cellar. And the attic. And room 13.
  item 🕯️ candle at: library

Win when: player has candle
▶ Try it in the studio
What you see
  • Character "Ghost" at: ballroomthe Ghost is standing in the ballroom when you push the door open
  • at: grand foyerthe same thing on its own line, tucked under the Character
  • item 🕯️ candle at: librarythe candle is waiting on a shelf in the library, in whichever corner the library lands this time

The two buttons in the studio

  • 🌍opens the picker with every place on one shelf — tap one and it writes the World: line into your story for you.
  • 🎲shuffles the same place into a brand-new layout: same castle, rooms in new corners. Press it as often as you like.

A whole game inside a building

Three people in three rooms, one thing to carry back, and a school that lays itself out differently every single time. Nothing else is needed — the pupils, the desks and the locked door come with the world.

Title: The Missing Register
Story: Somebody hid the class register somewhere in the school.
Ending: The register is back on the desk — Miss Rowan cannot believe it! 📚

World "school":
  Character "Miss Rowan" at: classroom 1a
    say My register is gone! Somebody hid it in the science lab.
    wants: 📓 register
    gives: ⭐ gold star
  Character "Kostas" at: cafeteria
    say I saw someone run past with a notebook…
  Character "Alex" at: science lab
    say Fine — I only wanted one day off school.
  item 📓 register at: science lab

Win when: player has gold star

Run it as a 45-minute lesson

One lesson is all it takes: your students write, their games build, the whole class plays. It fits comfortably in 45 minutes, works on any locked-down school Chromebook, and needs no student accounts.

1
Students write a story
Plain words, any language — “A puppy is lost in the snow…”. No code, no accounts to create, nothing to install.
2
It builds live — provably finishable
A real 3D game rebuilds as they type, and the compiler PROVES every game can be finished. No student ever hands in a broken game.
3
The class plays each other’s games
Every game lands in your private class gallery — put it on the projector and let the room play. Class games stay out of the public feed.
What you need
  • A web browser — school Chromebooks are plenty
  • A free class code from vxlverse.com/class — students join with it, no accounts
  • Nothing installed, nothing to update
The student handbook

Every line you can write

The look-it-up part — when a student mid-lesson asks “how do I make a boss?”, the answer is here. Grouped by what you're building, each command with a plain description and a tiny example — and the ▶ links open the example straight in the studio, live.

Story, ending & winning

Set the name, the opening narration, the win-screen text and (optionally) a global win rule. These go at the very TOP of your game.

Title: The Lost Puppy
A name for your game — shown on the win screen.
Goal: Bring the bone to Pip
A one-line hint the player always sees, so they know what to do.
Story: A dragon woke in the cave.
A line of opening narration before the game starts. Stack several. No quotes — the text is the rest of the line.
Ending: You saved the village! 🎉
The text shown on the win screen.
Ending "good": … + win good
MULTIPLE endings: name several Ending lines, then finish a branch with `win <name>` — whichever the player reaches decides the win-screen text.
Ending "good": The city is saved!
Ending "bad": The dragon won...

Character "King":
  if choice is "Fight":
    win good
  if choice is "Flee":
    win bad
▶ Try it in the studio
Win when: defeat all
An optional global win rule. See “Winning & losing” for every form.
also written astitle · goal · story / intro · ending / outro / finale · win when / win if / win · lose when / lose if / fail when / game over when

Worlds

Where your game happens. Optional — a game works without one. Write 2+ worlds and they auto-connect with a portal. Characters, enemies and items written under a World live there.

World "Forest":
A scene. Pick a name — or any English/Greek phrase like “Spooky Castle” maps to the closest world. Up to 6 worlds.
World "Snow":
  Character "Yeti":
    say Brrr! Welcome to the peak!
▶ Try it in the studio
in: dungeon
Put ONE character in a specific world (instead of indenting under it).
Character "Guard":
  in: dungeon
▶ Try it in the studio
music: horror
A mood just for THIS world — stepping through its portal switches the soundtrack (the top-level Music: plays everywhere else).
World "cemetery":
  music: horror
▶ Try it in the studio
World "castle":
A GENERATED place: a real building with rooms, furniture and people already living in it. Nine words build one — castle, school, shop, office, haunted house, hospital, prison, dungeon, house. Every time the page loads, the rooms are laid out fresh.
Title: The Stolen Crown
Story: The crown vanished from the throne room at dawn.
Ending: The crown is back — the whole castle cheers! 👑

World "castle":
  Character "King" at: throne room
    say My crown is gone! Someone hid it in the dungeon cells.
    wants: 👑 crown
    gives: 🏅 royal medal
  Character "Cook" at: kitchens
    say I saw the steward sneak down to the cells with a sack…
  Character "Steward" at: dungeon cells
    say Fine, take it back. I only borrowed it!
  item 👑 crown at: dungeon cells

Win when: player has royal medal
▶ Try it in the studio
at: throne room
Put a character, an item or an enemy IN a named room of a generated place — on the Character line, or as its own line underneath. Name a room and the building is planned to have it.
World "haunted house":
  Character "Ghost" at: ballroom
    say Nobody has danced here in a hundred years…
  Character "Caretaker":
    at: foyer
    say Mind the cellar. And the attic. And room 13.
  item 🕯️ candle at: library
▶ Try it in the studio
🗝️ locked doors
A generated place locks one to three doors by itself and drops the matching keys somewhere inside — a school always locks exactly one, and a house, a shop or an office sometimes locks none. Walk into a locked door and it tells you which key you need; pick the key up and the door opens. Don't write your own key item — the building already has one.
generated placescastle · school · shop / pizza shop · office · haunted house / hotel · hospital · prison · dungeon · house
castle roomsgatehouse · courtyard · throne room · great hall · armoury · treasury · chapel · kitchens · dungeon cells · tower · passage
school roomslobby · classroom · science lab · art room · music room · gym · cafeteria · library · principal's office · locker hall · bathroom · playground · corridor
shop roomsshop floor · counter · kitchen · stockroom · office · loading bay · food court · toy store · bookshop · sweet shop · parking lot
office roomsreception · open plan · meeting room · boardroom · ceo's office · server room · kitchenette · archive · corridor
haunted house roomsgrand foyer · ballroom · library · room 13 · nursery · dining hall · cellar · attic · secret passage · long corridor
hospital roomsreception · waiting room · ward a · ward b · surgery · lab · pharmacy · isolation · morgue · nurses' station · corridor
prison roomsintake · cell block a · cell block b · the yard · mess hall · control room · guard post · vents · warden's office · main gate
dungeon roomscrypt entrance · bone chamber · cells · shrine · treasury · trap hall · boss hall · passage
house roomsfront hall · living room · kitchen · dining room · bedroom · kids room · bathroom · study · attic · cellar · garage · garden
good to knowa generated place already has people in it — guards, cooks, pupils, nurses — so write only the characters your story needs · Greek room words work too (κουζίνα, αυλή, κελί) · in the studio the 🌍 chip opens the world picker and writes the World: line for you, and 🎲 beside it shuffles the same place into a brand-new layout · Mode: waves and Mode: horde keep the open arenas — a building is for story games
natureforest · jungle · autumn · savanna
gentle & brightsakura · meadow
dusktwilight
frozensnow · tundra
drydesert · canyon · badlands
coast & waterbeach · reef · swamp
hostilevolcano · cemetery
mysticcrystal · mushroom · candy · moon
urban & indoorscity-day · city-night · dungeon · house
good to knowdungeon + house + reactor/lab/tower are indoor rooms · cemetery/volcano/city-night/dungeon/crystal/mushroom/city-slums/city-neon/reactor/tower are dark · house has no ambient danger unless you add enemies · city streets have parked cars — press E to steal a ride (Shift = nitro) · for an industrial saga: slums → wasteland → reactor → tower
also written asworld · scene · place · level

Characters & talking

People the player walks up to (press E) and talks with. Everything a character does is indented 2 spaces under it. Up to 24 characters.

Character "Mara":
Adds someone to talk to. Put their looks, lines and choices on the lines below, each indented 2 spaces.
Character "Mara":
  say Hi, I'm Mara!
▶ Try it in the studio
say Welcome!
A line the character speaks. No quotes — the text is just the rest of the line. Stack several for more pages (up to 12).
Character "Mara":
  say Welcome!
  say Pick a door.
▶ Try it in the studio
also written ascharacter · char · npc · person · people · hero

How a character looks

Style a character’s gender, hair, clothes and skin — each on its own line under the character. Unknown colours just stay random.

gender: girl
Make the character a girl or a boy (girl · boy · man · woman).
Character "Mara":
  gender: girl
▶ Try it in the studio
model: wizard
The exact 3D body — wizard, witch, king, farmer, police, pirate, astronaut, zombie and more (full list below). Shared outfits like suit, worker and soldier follow gender: — add gender: girl for the woman's cut. Skip it and the gender/colours pick one.
Character "Merlin":
  model: wizard
▶ Try it in the studio
hair: long blonde
Hair colour. Write “long” before the colour for long hair.
hair: long brown
wears: red
Shirt colour (also written “clothes:”).
wears: blue
dress: purple
Give them a dress in this colour (also makes the character a girl).
dress: pink
pants: navy
Trouser colour.
pants: black
skin: tan
Skin tone (pale · fair · medium · olive · tan · brown · dark).
skin: olive
looks like a woman with black hair
Describe somebody in a whole sentence instead of a list — the game reads the girl or boy, the hair, the dress, the shirt and even the body out of it. “looks: a witch in a purple dress” does the same. A trait line you also wrote always wins.
Character "Nell":
  looks like a woman with long black hair
  say I have watched this road for years.

Character "Sable":
  looks: a witch in a purple dress
  say Mind the third step.
▶ Try it in the studio
hairblack · brown · blonde · red / ginger · grey / silver · white · blue · pink · purple · green
clothesred · blue · navy · green · yellow · orange · purple · pink · black · white · grey · brown · teal · cyan · gold · maroon
modelwizard · witch · king · queen · princess · police · adventurer · man · woman · hero · runner · cube · pirate · farmer · worker · punk · suit · astronaut · beach · hoodie · casual · medieval · scifi · formal · soldier · swat · mech · robot · ghost · drone · bee · zombie · skeleton · slime · golem · alpaca

Choices & branching

Let the PLAYER decide. Indent what happens 2 more spaces under the choice. Up to 3 choices per menu.

if choice is "Help them":
A tappable button. The indented lines run if they pick it.
Character "Guard":
  if choice is "🟥 Red door":
    say Fire room! You win!
    win
  if choice is "🟦 Blue door":
    say Treasure! You win!
    win
▶ Try it in the studio
Ask about the siren -> say Something is loose.
A whole choice on ONE line — the button, an arrow, then what happens. It becomes a real if choice is menu, so stack two or three. Also written => or →.
Character "Mara":
  say The siren has not stopped since dawn.
  Ask about the siren -> say Something is loose up there.
  Run for the gate -> win
▶ Try it in the studio
else:
The other branch of the gate right above it.
if player has key:
  say It fits!
else:
  say Locked.

Memory & conditions

Make the game remember the player — what they carry, who they’ve met, how a counter stands. Pair any of these with else: for the other case.

if player has key:
Runs if the player is carrying the item. Add a number for “at least N”.
if player has 3 gems:
  say Rich!
if talked before:
Different lines the FIRST time vs. when the player returns.
if talked before:
  say Good to see you again!
else:
  say Nice to meet you!
if talked to "Mara":
Runs only after the player met that OTHER character — this sets the ORDER.
Character "Mara":
  say Tell the Shopkeeper I sent you.

Character "Shopkeeper":
  if talked to "Mara":
    say Mara sent you!
  else:
    say Go talk to Mara first.
▶ Try it in the studio
if coins is 10:
A counter gate — runs when your counter reaches a number. Works with is / >= / <= / = / > / <.
if coins >= 3:
  say You can afford it.
if warmer and player has gift:
AND-gate — join any conditions with “and” (2+). Opens ONLY when every one is true. There is no “or” — write separate gates instead.
Character "Ana":
  say The door needs my blessing AND the key.
item 🗝️ key

Character "Door":
  if talked to "Ana" and player has 🗝️ key:
    say The door opens!
    win
▶ Try it in the studio
ways to check a counterif coins is 5 · if coins >= 5 · if coins at least 5 · if coins equals 5 · if coins reaches 5 · if coins hits 5

Quests & items

Give the player something to fetch — and a reward. wants:/gives:/give belong to the character above them; item drops in the world.

wants: key
A fetch quest — this character asks the player to bring this item.
Character "Guard":
  wants: key
▶ Try it in the studio
gives: medal
The reward handed over when the wants: quest is finished.
Character "Guard":
  wants: key
  gives: medal
▶ Try it in the studio
give 🔦 torch
A gift — straight into the backpack, no quest needed.
Character "Wizard":
  say Take my torch!
  give 🔦 torch
▶ Try it in the studio
item 🔦 torch
A thing lying in the world to pick up. Put an emoji in the name — or leave it out and one is guessed.
item 🧪 potion heals 30
A USABLE item — pick it up, open your bag (I) and Use it. “heals N” restores HP.
item 🧪 potion heals 30
item 📦 clip ammo 20
item 🔋 cell gives 20 ammo
▶ Try it in the studio
item 🪙 coin x10
Scatter N copies across the world (up to 30). Add @world to place them in a named world.
item 🪙 coin x10 @beach
▶ Try it in the studio
item 🗺️ map at far north
Compass placement — put an item WHERE you want it: at [far] north, south, east, west or center. Kid words, no coordinates.
item 🗺️ map at far north
item 🔑 key at east
item 🔮 orb at the middle
▶ Try it in the studio
Quest "The Journey":
A multi-step quest — list steps (talk to / get / defeat) indented below. The HUD tracks the current one, the ◆ marker leads to it, each step auto-advances, and finishing the LAST step WINS. No separate Win when needed.
Character "Rowan":
  say Safe travels.
item 🌿 herb
Enemy "Warden":
  kind: golem

Quest "The Journey":
  talk to Rowan
  get 🌿 herb
  defeat Warden
▶ Try it in the studio
usable itemsheals N (restore HP) · ammo N / refills N / reloads N (refill your gun)
quest stepstalk to <Character> · get <item> · defeat <Enemy> (up to 12, run in order)
step words that mean the sameget = collect / find / bring / fetch / grab · defeat = kill / beat / slay

Enemies

Foes to fight — and the loot they drop. Traits go indented under the enemy. Up to 16 enemies.

Enemy "Skeleton":
A foe appears and the fight can begin — the game hands the player a weapon.
kind: zombie
The creature type. Many everyday synonyms map in too (dragon→wyrm, giant/troll→golem, android→robot, werewolf→wolf, wizard/goblin→raider…).
Enemy "Biter":
  kind: zombie
▶ Try it in the studio
drops 💰 gold
What it drops when defeated (feeds fetch quests too).
Enemy "Goblin":
  drops 💰 gold
▶ Try it in the studio
drops 5 gold
How much GOLD it pays when defeated — real coins drop on the floor and you run over them. A range like drops 3-8 gold rolls a different bounty each kill.
Enemy "Goblin":
  drops 5 gold
Enemy "Ogre":
  drops 3-8 gold
▶ Try it in the studio
count: 6
Spawn EXACTLY this many. The moment ANY enemy has a count, the game spawns your exact roster instead of a random mix.
Enemy "Skeleton":
  count: 8
Enemy "Zombie":
  count: 2
▶ Try it in the studio
tier: 3
How tough — 1 to 50. See the tier table below.
Enemy "Titan":
  kind: raider
  tier: 25
▶ Try it in the studio
fights: ranged
HOW it fights. ranged keeps its distance and fires dodgeable bolts, flanker circles to your side and pounces, support heals its wounded friends (kill it first!), swarm rushes in a pack. Synonyms work too: archer, assassin, healer…
Enemy "Bone Archer":
  kind: skeleton
  fights: ranged
▶ Try it in the studio
hp: 300 · speed: 4 · dmg: 25
Tune ONE foe’s statline exactly (hp 1–5000, speed 1–30, dmg 0–200). Tier multipliers still apply on top.
Enemy "Tank":
  kind: raider
  hp: 300
  speed: 4
  dmg: 25
▶ Try it in the studio
kind:raider · zombie · drone · mummy · skeleton · dog · wolf · robot · slime · bat · spider · ghost · wyrm · golem
fights:melee · swarm · ranged · flanker · support
also written asenemy · monster · foe · villain · boss · tier: = level:

Enemy tiers · 1 to 50

One number sets how tough a foe is. Set it and it is EXACTLY that tier — no random escalation. Higher = more HP, more damage, bigger, hotter colour.

tier: 1
① grunt — the baseline.
tier: 3
③ elite — 4× a grunt’s HP.
tier: 4
④ boss-class — 8× HP, purple.
tier: 10
⑩ apex — ~95× HP, white-hot.
tier: 50
ULTRA — a bullet-sponge with ~2000× a grunt’s HP.

Bosses

Turn any enemy into a BOSS — telegraphed attacks, escalating phases and its own HP bar. Then give the fight some theatre: let it TALK, and stage it in an arena the player walks into.

attacks: slam volley charge summon
Makes the enemy above a boss: telegraphed patterns + a dedicated HP bar. Pick any of the four moves.
Enemy "Raider"
Enemy "Smoke Dragon":
  kind: drone
  attacks: slam volley charge
▶ Try it in the studio
attacks: slam volley / charge / summon
Slashes design the FIGHT PER PHASE: each segment is that phase’s move set — phase 1 slams and shoots, phase 2 only charges, phase 3 summons. Phases follow your segments automatically.
Enemy "Raider"
Enemy "Golem King":
  attacks: slam volley / charge / summon
▶ Try it in the studio
phases: 3
How many HP phases (1–3) before it dies. Adding phases alone also makes a boss.
Enemy "Raider"
Enemy "Golem":
  attacks: slam charge
  phases: 3
▶ Try it in the studio
says: You should not have come here.
One line per HP phase, in order. The first opens the fight — the boss stands up, the camera goes to its face and it says this. The next lines land when the fight turns to phase 2 and 3. Writing one also stages the fight (see arena:).
Enemy "Raider"
Enemy "Iron Warden":
  attacks: slam volley / charge / summon
  says: You should not have come here.
  says: Enough. Now you see me.
  says: I have held this tower for a hundred years!
▶ Try it in the studio
last words: The tower... falls...
What it says as it goes down. The victory beat waits for it, so beating a boss ends on a sentence instead of a health bar hitting zero.
Enemy "Raider"
Enemy "Iron Warden":
  attacks: slam charge
  says: You should not have come here.
  last words: The tower... falls...
▶ Try it in the studio
arena: 30
How close you must come before the fight starts. Until then the boss holds its post inside a circle drawn on the ground: no HP bar, no chasing, no attacks. Step in (or land the first hit) and the circle lights up.
Enemy "Raider"
Enemy "Iron Warden":
  attacks: slam volley / charge
  arena: 30
▶ Try it in the studio
movesslam · volley · charge · summon
how each attack warns you💥 slam — orange circle · ✳️ volley — violet lines · ➡️ charge — yellow lane · 👾 summon — green rings

Allies & companions

Give the player a friend who follows them and auto-attacks the nearest enemy (and can fall in battle).

Ally "Rex":
A companion with a green nameplate.
kind: dog
What creature the ally is (same types as enemies).
Ally "Rex":
  kind: dog
▶ Try it in the studio
count: 5
Field a SQUAD — up to 20 companions at once.
Ally "Rex":
  kind: dog
  count: 5
▶ Try it in the studio
in: forest
Which world the companion waits in. An Ally written BEFORE any World belongs to no world at all — that one is YOUR squad, and it follows you through every portal.
Ally "Rex":
  kind: dog
  in: forest
▶ Try it in the studio
also written asally · companion · partner · sidekick · friend · buddy · pet

Relationships & mood

Characters remember how you treat them. Change their trust, then react when they warm up or turn cold — they can even join you or turn against you. Trust starts at 2: warmer opens at 3 or more, neutral is exactly 2, colder is 1 or less.

trust_mara + 3
Raise (or lower with -) how a character feels about you. Use trust_<name>.
Character "Mara":
  if choice is "Help her":
    trust_mara + 3
▶ Try it in the studio
if warmer:
Runs when they trust you more. Also “if colder:” and “if neutral:”.
Character "Mara":
  if warmer:
    say I trust you now!
    join me
▶ Try it in the studio
join me
This character becomes your ally and fights for you.
if warmer:
  join me
turn hostile
This character becomes an enemy and attacks you.
if colder:
  turn hostile

Score & counters

Keep numbers that go up (or down) as the player plays — the built-in score, or your own named counters — then win when one hits a target.

score + 10
Give points. Win with “Win when: score is 30”.
if choice is "Grab the gem!":
  score + 10
coins + 5
Your OWN counter with any name. Add, or subtract with “coins - 2”.
if choice is "Open the chest":
  coins + 5
set coins to 0
Set a counter to an exact value (also “coins = 10”).
Character "Banker":
  say Let's start fresh.
  set coins to 0
▶ Try it in the studio
other ways to give pointsscore + 10 · score 10 · add 10 points · +10 points · 10 points

Gold & shops

The loot loop: enemies and chests pay gold, a merchant sells gear for it. The moment your story says “gold” anywhere, the 🪙 purse shows in the corner and the shop charges gold instead of points.

drops 5 gold
This enemy pays 5 gold when defeated — coins fall at the corpse and you pick them up.
Enemy "Goblin":
  drops 5 gold
▶ Try it in the studio
drops 3-8 gold
A range: every kill pays somewhere between 3 and 8 gold.
Enemy "Ogre":
  drops 3-8 gold
▶ Try it in the studio
sells sword for 30 gold
This character sells things. A market stall opens near the start of the world, and you can also trade straight from their dialogue. A weapon name (sword, hammer…) is wielded the moment you buy it; anything else goes into your bag.
Character "Merchant":
  say Best prices in town.
  sells sword for 30 gold
  sells 🧪 potion for 10 gold
▶ Try it in the studio
gives 20 gold
The character hands you 20 gold on the spot.
Character "Elder":
  say Well done.
  gives 20 gold
▶ Try it in the studio
gives: 30 gold
With a wants: line, the gold is the REWARD for the quest — paid when you hand the thing over.
Character "Elder":
  wants: crystal
  gives: 30 gold
▶ Try it in the studio
if gold is 50:
Gold is a counter like any other, so you can gate a line on it or win with it.
Character "Guard":
  if choice is "Sell the ruby":
    gold + 100
  if gold is 50:
    say You look rich!

Win when: gold is 100
▶ Try it in the studio
weapons you can sell:sword · dagger · hammer · pistol · smg · shotgun · crossbow · blaster

Things that happen

A When block is your director's chair. Everything else says what the world CONTAINS — a When block says what HAPPENS in it: the bridge falls when you reach it, the alarm howls after two minutes, three guards drop in when the door opens. When … fires once. Whenever … fires every time it comes true.

When player reaches the bridge:
the player walks up to a place, a person or a thing — name a World, a Character, or an item
item 🌉 bridge

When player reaches the bridge:
  say The bridge groans — and drops into the dark.
  raise bridge_down
▶ Try it in the studio
When 90 seconds pass:
the clock — also "2 minutes pass" or "after 30 seconds"
When 90 seconds pass:
  say The alarm starts howling.
  raise alarm
▶ Try it in the studio
When the alarm rises:
something the story remembers went up — raise it in another When block or read it with if
World "yard":
  Enemy "Guard":
    kind: raider
World "vault":

When the alarm rises:
  send in 3 Guard
  open the way to vault
▶ Try it in the studio
When Grix dies:
an enemy of that name goes down — with Whenever it fires on every one of them
Enemy "Grix":
  kind: raider

When Grix dies:
  say The pack scatters.
  score + 50
▶ Try it in the studio
When player is hurt:
the player takes a hit — a Character can shout a line right into the fight
When player is hurt:
  Mara says Keep your head down!
▶ Try it in the studio
When health drops below 30:
health falls that low — also "health is low"
When health drops below 30:
  give 🧪 potion
▶ Try it in the studio
Whenever 30 seconds pass:
Whenever repeats forever — a timer that re-arms every 30 seconds. When would fire only once.
Enemy "Guard":
  kind: raider

Whenever 30 seconds pass:
  send in 2 Guard
▶ Try it in the studio
When quest The Council is done:
a quest finished — or "step 1 of The Council is done" for one step of it
Character "Rowan":
  say Bring me the seal.
item 🔑 seal

Quest "The Council":
  talk to Rowan
  get 🔑 seal

When quest The Council is done:
  say The doors open.
▶ Try it in the studio
play the warning
cue a Cutscene you wrote — the camera takes over at exactly this moment
World "city":
  Character "Mara":
    say The bridge is out.
World "bridge":

Cutscene "the warning":
  when talked to Mara
  look at Mara
  shake

When player reaches bridge:
  play the warning
▶ Try it in the studio
only once / every time
Change your mind inside the block — “only once” makes a Whenever fire a single time, “every time” makes a When repeat forever. The line inside beats the word at the top.
Enemy "Guard":
  kind: raider

Whenever 30 seconds pass:
  send in 2 Guard
  only once
▶ Try it in the studio
Moments you can wait for:player reaches X · 90 seconds pass · X rises · X dies · player is hurt · health drops below N · quest X is done · step 1 of X is done
Things a When block can do:say … · Name says … · send in 3 X · raise X · give X · open/close the way to X · start quest X · play <Cutscene> · score + N · coins + N · set coins to N · win · lose
other ways to say “reaches”player arrives in X · player gets to X · player enters X · player walks into X · player steps onto X · player comes to X · player is near X · we get to X

Cutscenes — the camera

A cutscene is you DIRECTING a moment instead of just staging it. The camera takes over, black bars come down, the HUD goes quiet — you frame a face, hold, pan to the thing they were meant to notice, shake, fade — and then control comes back exactly where the player left it. Any key (or a tap) skips it, at any moment.

Cutscene "the warning":
Opens a cutscene. Put the lines under it in the order they should happen — it reads like a little screenplay.
World "city":
  Character "Mara":
    say They sealed the gate.

Cutscene "the warning":
  when talked to Mara
  look at Mara
  Mara says They are already inside the gate.
  wait 1
  shake
  fade out
▶ Try it in the studio
when talked to Mara
WHEN it plays. Also: when player has key · when coins is 10 · when quest "The Journey" is done. It plays once, the first time that becomes true.
World "city":
  Character "Mara":
    say They sealed the gate.

Cutscene "the warning":
  when talked to Mara
  look at Mara
▶ Try it in the studio
at start
The opening shot — plays once, right as the world finishes rising.
World "city":
  Character "Mara":
    say They sealed the gate.

Cutscene "the opening":
  at start
  look around
  say The siren has not stopped since dawn.
▶ Try it in the studio
look at Mara
Point the camera at someone (or something) and hold there. Add "for 3" to hold longer.
World "city":
  Character "Mara":
    say They sealed the gate.

Cutscene "c":
  when talked to Mara
  look at Mara
  look at Mara for 3
▶ Try it in the studio
look around
Pull back and show the whole place — an establishing shot.
World "city":
  Character "Mara":
    say They sealed the gate.

Cutscene "c":
  at start
  look around
▶ Try it in the studio
look at me
Frame the hero, from the front.
World "city":
  Character "Mara":
    say They sealed the gate.

Cutscene "c":
  at start
  look at me
▶ Try it in the studio
Mara says Run!
A line delivered IN the world — their name above it, no panel, no buttons.
World "city":
  Character "Mara":
    say They sealed the gate.

Cutscene "c":
  when talked to Mara
  look at Mara
  Mara says Run!
▶ Try it in the studio
say The street is empty.
Narration — a line nobody speaks.
World "city":
  Character "Mara":
    say They sealed the gate.

Cutscene "c":
  at start
  say The street is empty.
▶ Try it in the studio
wait 2
Hold on this shot for 2 seconds (up to 6), so a line can land.
World "city":
  Character "Mara":
    say They sealed the gate.

Cutscene "c":
  at start
  look at me
  wait 2
▶ Try it in the studio
shake
Punch the camera — a blast, an impact, a door slamming.
World "city":
  Character "Mara":
    say They sealed the gate.

Cutscene "c":
  at start
  look around
  shake
▶ Try it in the studio
fade out
Fade the screen to black. "fade in" brings it back.
World "city":
  Character "Mara":
    say They sealed the gate.

Cutscene "c":
  at start
  look around
  fade out
▶ Try it in the studio
Cutscene inside a World
A Cutscene INDENTED inside a World belongs to that world: it plays the first time the player arrives there. Each world can have its own opening shot — and in the world the game starts in, that IS the opening of the game.
World "city":
  Character "Mara":
    say They sealed the gate.
World "reactor":
  Cutscene "arriving":
    look around
    say The air tastes like iron.
▶ Try it in the studio
when player reaches Reactor
The same moment, written at the far left: the first time the player reaches that World. Also: when the player arrives in X · when we get to X · when you enter X.
World "city":
  Character "Mara":
    say They sealed the gate.
World "reactor":
  Character "Ash":
    say You should not be here.

Cutscene "arriving":
  when player reaches Reactor
  look at Ash
▶ Try it in the studio
look at:Character · Enemy · Ally · item · me · around
when:when talked to X · when player has X · when coins is N · when quest X is done · when player reaches <World> · at start
other ways to open the “when” linewhen X · after X · once X · plays when X · starts when X · at start = at the beginning / when the game starts / at once / straight away

Loops — repeat without copy-pasting

Make many of something in one go — a pile of coins, a pack of enemies, a row of named guards. What it repeats is indented 2 more spaces. Up to 30 per loop.

loop 6:
Repeat the next block 6 times.
World "beach":
  loop 6:
    item 🪙 coin
▶ Try it in the studio
loop 3 as $i:
Number each copy — $i becomes 1, 2, 3… great for unique names.
loop 3 as $i:
  Character "Guard $i":
    say I am guard $i!
▶ Try it in the studio
loop over coin, gem, star as $x:
Repeat once per item in your list — $x becomes each value.
loop over coin, gem, star as $x:
  item 🍀 $x
▶ Try it in the studio
also written asloop 6: · for 6: · for 6 times: · repeat 6 times: · loop over a, b, c: · repeat over a, b, c: · as $i = as i

Sneaking past guards

Normally an enemy knows where you are the moment the game starts, and walks at you forever. A GUARD does not. It walks its own route, and it has to actually SEE you — in front of it, close enough, and with no wall in the way. Get behind it, stay in cover, or crouch (C, or the 🤫 button) to move in total silence. Watch its head: ❓ means it heard something, ❗ means it has you, 👁 means it is hunting where it last saw you. Break line of sight and it cools down and goes back to its route.

Stealth: on
turns the whole game into a sneaking mission — every enemy becomes a guard, and you get crouch
Stealth: on

World "outpost":
  Enemy "Guard":
    kind: raider
▶ Try it in the studio
guards: yes
makes just THIS enemy a guard — the others still chase the way they always did. You can also write what it is guarding: guards: the bridge
World "outpost":
  Enemy "Sentry":
    kind: drone
    guards: yes
▶ Try it in the studio
sees: 30
how far this guard's eyes reach, in steps (8 to 60). Writing it also makes the enemy a guard.
World "outpost":
  Enemy "Watchman":
    kind: raider
    sees: 30
▶ Try it in the studio
When spotted rises:
the moment any guard spots you, the story remembers it as «spotted» — so a When block can decide what the alarm actually does
Stealth: on

World "outpost":
  Enemy "Guard":
    kind: raider

When spotted rises:
  say The whole yard is awake now.
  send in 3 Guard
▶ Try it in the studio
What the mark over a guard's head means:❓ heard something · ❗ has seen you · 👁 hunting for you
How loud you are:C (or 🤫) crouch — silent · walking — heard close by · sprinting — heard far away

Game type & weapon

By default you make a STORY. Add ONE line to make a different KIND — and pick the weapon you fight with.

Mode: parkour
A floating-platform jump course from your title. Leap to the goal — race the clock for medals and your own ghost replay.
World "sky":
Mode: parkour
▶ Try it in the studio
Mode: waves
A wave battle to a boss finale.
Mode: waves
Enemy "Grunt":
  kind: raider
▶ Try it in the studio
Waves: 10
How many waves the battle runs (1–50; default 5). Only in Mode: waves.
Mode: waves
Waves: 10
Enemy "Grunt":
  kind: raider
▶ Try it in the studio
Mode: horde
An endless survival arena — one flat place, no portals, and enemies that never stop coming and grow stronger every minute. Every level-up deals you cards: pick a new power. Your own enemies become the roster (leave them out and the game brings its own). Last 15 minutes and you win.
Mode: horde

World "badlands":
  Enemy "Grunt":
    kind: raider
  Enemy "Biter":
    kind: zombie
▶ Try it in the studio
Weapon: shotgun
The weapon the player starts with (shows even in a story).
Weapon: sword
▶ Try it in the studio
Mode:story (default) · waves · parkour · horde
everyday words for each Modestory = adventure / normal · waves = battle / combat / arena · parkour = platformer / jump · horde = survival / endless
Weapon:pistol · smg · shotgun · crossbow · blaster · dagger · sword · hammer

Music

Pick the background music mood for your game. Leave it out and each world picks its own (and it changes as you travel through portals).

Music: fantasy
Set the soundtrack mood.
Music: battle
▶ Try it in the studio
moodsambient · exploration · fantasy · battle · horror · mystery · town · cinematic · sad · victory · scifi · jazz_funk · menu

Saving

Long stories remember themselves. Your game saves on its own at the big moments — a new world, a quest taken or finished, the end of a chat — so a player who closes the tab comes back to a Continue button next to Start. Pressing Start still starts over, and finishing the game clears the save.

Save: off
Turn saving off — no Continue, every run begins at the beginning. Nice for a short score-attack game.
Title: Coin Rush
Save: off
▶ Try it in the studio
Save:on (default) · off

Spells — free in every fight

Every combat game hands the player all three for free, on keys 1, 2 and 3. They hit harder the higher you climb. (Unless your game uses MATERIA — see below — in which case the player starts with nothing and has to find each one.)

1 · Fireball
A hard-hitting fire blast with a small area of effect.
2 · Thunder
Lightning that chains between nearby foes.
3 · Blizzard
A ground blizzard that freezes and grinds enemies down.

Materia — magic you find and equip

Write `teaches fire` after any thing and it stops being a keepsake: it becomes a POWER. The moment your game has one, the three free spells go away — now the player starts with no magic at all and has to FIND it. Each one they find slots into one of 3 magic slots (the same 1, 2, 3 keys), so carrying four means choosing three. Slotting happens in the backpack: press I, then Equip. And a slotted power GROWS — every time it is cast it gets closer to its next ★, and more stars mean more damage and a bigger, wilder spell.

item 🔥 fire crystal teaches fire
leaves a power lying in the world — walk over it and it slots itself if you have a free slot
Mode: waves

World "cave":
  item 🔥 fire crystal teaches fire
  Enemy "Bat":
    kind: bat

Win when: defeat all
▶ Try it in the studio
give storm orb teaches lightning
a character hands the power over: «the Sage teaches you the storm»
Mode: waves

World "cave":
  Character "Sage":
    say The storm is yours now.
    give storm orb teaches lightning
  Enemy "Bat":
    kind: bat

Win when: defeat all
▶ Try it in the studio
drops frost stone teaches ice
an enemy drops it when it dies — the reward for the hardest fight
Mode: waves

World "cave":
  Enemy "Ice Wyrm":
    kind: wyrm
    drops frost stone teaches ice

Win when: defeat all
▶ Try it in the studio
sells ember shard teaches fire for 30 gold
a shop sells it, so the player has to earn the gold first
Mode: waves

World "town":
  Character "Trader":
    sells ember shard teaches fire for 30 gold
  Enemy "Thief":
    kind: raider
    drops 12 gold

Win when: defeat all
▶ Try it in the studio
item 🔥 fire crystal teaches fire x2
two copies of the same power: the spare one is an extra ★ straight away
Mode: waves

World "cave":
  item 🔥 fire crystal teaches fire x2
  Enemy "Bat":
    kind: bat

Win when: defeat all
▶ Try it in the studio
The three magics:teaches fire · teaches lightning · teaches ice
Other words that mean the same magic:fire = flame · lightning = thunder, storm, spark · ice = frost, snow, blizzard
How a power grows:★1 found it · ★2 6 casts · ★3 16 casts · ★4 32 casts · ★5 55 casts · +1 star per spare copy

The Limit Break — your one enormous move

A fight has no peak until you give it one. Write `Limit:` and name your hero's greatest move, and a meter appears in the corner. It fills every time you hit something — and MUCH faster every time something hits YOU, because this is a comeback: the meter arrives for the player who is losing. When it is full the bar turns gold and says the key. Then it is YOUR choice when to spend it: the camera swings round onto your hero, the world stops for a beat, the name of the move lands on the screen, and everything around you goes with it. A crowd is finished. A boss loses about a fifth of its bar — it is a fight you turned, not a fight you skipped.

Limit: Omnislash
names your hero's limit break — the meter appears the moment the game has a fight in it
Mode: waves
Limit: Omnislash

World "cave":
  Enemy "Bat":
    kind: bat
    count: 8

Win when: defeat all
▶ Try it in the studio
Limit: Meteor after the reactor
they LEARN it later: nothing at all until «the reactor» happens, then a banner says it is theirs. Any When block that raises the same name opens it.
Mode: waves
Limit: Meteor after the reactor

World "cave":
  Enemy "Bat":
    kind: bat

When 20 seconds pass:
  say The reactor tears open.
  raise the reactor

Win when: defeat all
▶ Try it in the studio
Limit: Star Fall after player has crystal
learned by finding something — the move arrives with the crystal
Mode: waves
Limit: Star Fall after player has crystal

World "cave":
  item 💎 crystal
  Enemy "Bat":
    kind: bat

Win when: defeat all
▶ Try it in the studio
Limit: Judgement after talked to Mara
learned from a person — she teaches you, and the meter appears as you walk away
Mode: waves
Limit: Judgement after talked to Mara

World "cave":
  Character "Mara":
    say Take this. You will need it.
  Enemy "Bat":
    kind: bat

Win when: defeat all
▶ Try it in the studio
How you unleash it:Q on a keyboard · the 💢 button on a phone
Other words that start the same line:Limit: · Limit break: · Overdrive: · Ultimate: · Special move:
Ways to say when the hero learns it:after the reactor · after player has key · after talked to Mara · after quest "The Council" is done

Winning & losing

Always give the player a way to win. Put win / lose inside a choice or after a finished quest, or add a global “Win when:” rule at the top.

win
The player WINS here — shows your Ending text. Put it under the right choice.
Character "Dragon":
  if choice is "Free the dragon":
    win
▶ Try it in the studio
lose
The player LOSES here — game over.
if choice is "Touch the lava":
  lose
Win when: defeat all
Win by beating every enemy.
Win when: defeat Warlord
Win by defeating one named enemy or boss.
Win when: survive
Win by outlasting the waves.
Win when: survive 300s
TIMER — win when the clock runs out (survive 5 minutes). Great for a “hold on!” finale.
Win when: reach Castle Peak
Win by REACHING another world — walk through the portal. Needs 2+ worlds.
Win when: player has crown
Win the moment the player holds an item.
Win when: player has carrot and onion and mushroom
Win by holding a WHOLE SET — a recipe or collect-them-all.
Win when: defend Rex for 90s
ESCORT — hold out 90 seconds while an Ally stays alive.
Win when: talked to Mara
Win once the player has spoken to a character.
Win when: score is 30
Win when the score (or your own counter) reaches a number.
Lose when: time > 90s
LOSE if the clock runs out — pairs with any win for a race against time.
Lose when: Rex dies
LOSE if a protected Ally falls — the escort fail that makes “defend” tense.
also written asWin when: · Win if: · Win: · Lose when: · Lose if: · Lose: · fail when: · game over when:

Good to know

A few quiet rules that make everything click.

Indent 2 spaces
to put a line INSIDE the one above it — a character’s lines under the character, a choice’s lines under the choice.
No quotes on text
the text is just the rest of the line: say Hello there! Put emoji right in item names.
A boss in a story
with no other way to win automatically turns the game into a wave battle (that’s where bosses spawn). If your game also has a quest or a Win when: rule, add Mode: waves yourself — or the boss stays hidden.
Move & jump
every game has running, a dash and a double-jump built in — no setup.
Indent a cutscene
every beat goes 2 spaces in under the Cutscene line. Left at the far left they still count as part of the scene — and the Save:, Stealth: or Limit: line right after gets swallowed with them.

No command matches that — try another word (like “enemy”, “win”, “colour” or “loop”).

A whole little game

Every idea above, working together. Paste it into the studio and press ▶ Play — then change a word and watch it rebuild.

Story: A tiny puppy is lost in the snow… Ending: Pip is home, warm and happy. 🐶❄️ World "Snow": Character "Pip the Puppy": gender: girl say *whimper* I can't find my home! wants: bone gives: 🐾 puppy's trust Character "Pip's Cozy Home": if player has puppy's trust: say Pip dashes inside. You did it! win else: say Pip won't go in until it trusts you. item 🦴 bone

For AI assistants

Any LLM can build a VXLVERSE game for you. The whole language lives in one machine-readable file — vxlverse.com/llms.txt — and a finished script opens straight in the studio via vxlverse.com/make?code=<url-encoded script>. Paste this into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini — anything that can read a URL: vxlverse.com/llms.txt

Read https://vxlverse.com/llms.txt and make me a VXLVERSE game about [YOUR IDEA].
Reply with the full VXLScript in a code block, plus the one-click
https://vxlverse.com/make?code=... link that opens it in the editor.

The assistant reads the language, writes your game, and hands back a link — click it and the game is already building in the editor, yours to play, tweak and share.