PolySpaceVR

PolySpaceVR

Lightweight, customizable VR social hub for small groups that I designed, engineered, and shipped on the Meta Quest Store.

PolySpaceVR is a VR social platform purpose-built for intimate, customizable gatherings. I started the project to explore how lightweight networking, avatars, and spatial audio can make remote hangouts feel less like meetings and more like living-room conversations.

Product Pillars

  • Comfortable performance: Low-poly art direction, baked lighting, and GPU instancing keep framerate high on standalone Meta Quest devices.
  • Modular spaces: Environment templates use ScriptableObjects so creators can remix layouts, props, and lighting without touching core code.
  • Social presence: Customizable avatars, spatial audio falloff, and shared interactables (whiteboards, card tables, media surfaces) make small gatherings playful.

Engineering Highlights

  • Implemented Photon-based networking to keep voice chat, avatar poses, and interactables synchronized for up to eight participants.
  • Built an in-headset world builder that lets hosts adjust lighting, prop placement, and seating arrangements before guests arrive.
  • Added moderation hooks (mute, soft kick, invite lists) so facilitators can run workshops or study groups with minimal friction.

Community Impact

  • Open-sourced the project so educators and hobbyists can host their own Poly Spaces without vendor lock-in.
  • Documented creator guidelines that supported monthly community drops on the store listing.
  • Used the platform for internal dogfooding sessions at Holos and later as inspiration for intimacy-focused spaces inside Microsoft Mesh.

PolySpaceVR on Meta Quest Store

Inspiration

VRChat excels at serendipitous encounters but is less suited for focused hangouts or workshops. After mapping the social VR landscape, I realized there was no lightweight, small-group alternative—so I built one. Keeping the project open source ensures the community can extend the platform and co-create the spaces they want to inhabit.

© made with ❤️ by Jack