A small world, alive.
Pocket Planet
A living 3D ecosystem in miniature. Shape terrain, introduce wildlife, change the weather, and discover how small changes ripple through your planet.
“Make a little change. Watch a whole world respond.”
01
Problem
Make ecosystem relationships tangible through a playful, interactive world that invites experimentation.
02
Role
Game design, 3D rendering, ecosystem simulation, responsive interface, and save-file validation.
03
Constraints
Run entirely in the browser with no accounts, API keys, or backend, while keeping simulation state bounded and portable.
04
Process
Built eight terrain materials, elevation sculpting, twelve interacting species, seasons, optional disasters, habitat missions, and a discovery journal around a rotatable 3D planet.
05
Result
A standalone ecosystem sandbox with ocean exploration, family histories, living terrain, controlled experiments, timeline branching, shareable seeds, and compatible backups.
Experience highlights
- Eight terrain materials with mountain, valley, and lake-depth sculpting
- Twelve species, underwater gardens, animal tracking, and family histories
- Eight missions, evolving landscapes, and controlled ecosystem experiments
- Planet templates, shareable seeds, timeline replay, branching, and creative building
Engineering & performance
- Three.js rendering with reusable geometry and materials
- Deterministic ecosystem simulation and bounded populations
- Validated JSON imports and browser-local autosave
- Tests for habitat rules, climate effects, long runs, and save roundtrips
