IslandLab

IslandLab, V1 through V4 · V4.1 preview

Watch one island learn how to become a world.

Each version keeps one good idea and runs into a new problem. Terrain learns to remember. Memory turns into a game. The stable game opens into an archipelago, and the V4.1 preview gives each island a stronger voice.

Follow the experiment Play stable V4 Tour the V4.1 preview
A small explorer robot and its glowing companion look toward three colorful islands from a tiny ship.
V4 remains the stable voyage. V4.1 is the public preview for new surfaces, controls, wildlife views, and island landmarks.

The whole experiment in order

Four releases. One preview. One island that keeps learning.

Read straight down from V1 to stable V4, then step into the V4.1 preview. Every stop answers the same three things: what did the build add, where did it struggle, and what survived?

  1. V1Terrain

    Can the browser make a place worth exploring?

    First, make a place.

    V1 starts with an empty browser and grows a coastline, hills, trees, and moving water. You can orbit the island or walk across it. Nothing lives there yet. The first job is making math feel like somewhere.

    Added
    Procedural terrain, a moving ocean, and the camera language used by every later island.
    Struggled
    The island looked alive, but it had no residents, story, or memory.
    Survived
    The terrain, ocean, and idea that the island itself should be the main character.
    Play V1See how the terrain worksRead the build story
    A bright green procedural island surrounded by blue water in Island V1.
    V1 proved that a browser could grow an island from code.
  2. V2Memory

    What changes when the island remembers?

    Then, let people move in.

    Six residents arrive. They travel between twelve named places, follow routines, and leave events behind in browser memory. The island stops being a landscape and starts behaving like a small town.

    Added
    Six residents, fifteen routes, world state, routines, and a history of what happened during a visit.
    Struggled
    The event history kept growing until performance suffered. Free exploration was also weaker than V1.
    Survived
    World state, intent-based movement, and the rule that a place should remember consequences.
    Play V2Read the build storySee what broke
    Island V2 showing a colorful landscape and its living-world interface.
    V2 gave the island residents, routes, and a memory that eventually became too large.
  3. V3Adventure

    What if the living world becomes a game?

    Now, give the island a problem.

    A storm knocks out four systems. The Explorer Robot arrives to repair them while rain moves in, rabbits bolt behind rocks, and squirrels climb trees with suspicious confidence.

    Added
    A repair quest, the robot and drone, weather, wildlife, collectibles, costumes, a ship, and Field League.
    Struggled
    Movable rocks never felt right. The summit also trapped the builder, so recall became a five-second escape hatch.
    Survived
    The robot, drone, ship, wildlife, repair loop, and the idea that play should change the world.
    Play V3Read the build storyBrowse the fixes
    The Explorer Robot crossing the stormy landscape of Island V3.
    V3 turned the simulation into an adventure with repairs, weather, and wildlife.
  4. V4Archipelago

    What makes a place worth returning to?

    Finally, let the world continue.

    V4 opens the single island into an archipelago. The robot and Mote sail between three ecologies, repair three guardians, and make choices that keep changing each island after the visit ends.

    Added
    Three islands, persistent ecology choices, forty-eight daily currents, guardian encounters, ship travel, and Robot Lab.
    Struggled
    The newest coastline is still being tested. This version is the current experiment, not a finished museum piece.
    Survived
    Everything useful from V1 through V3, now joined into a world designed for return visits.
    Play V4Open the player guideVisit Robot Lab
    The Explorer Robot and Mote in the three-island archipelago of Island V4.
    V4 turns one evolving island into three connected places that remember your choices.

    See the current experiment move

    A five-second V4 commercial with audio.
    A thirty-second V4 trailer without audio.
  5. V4.1Preview

    How much can the places change without losing the voyage?

    Make every island speak for itself.

    V4.1 keeps the three-island campaign and rebuilds how it feels to move through it. Canopy gets denser surfaces. Emberglass gains lava, steam, and a volcanic pulse. Tidelight raises a working lighthouse above the coast.

    Added
    WebGPU surfaces and post-processing, island lighting, Tidewatch Lighthouse, volcanic effects, fauna observation, and a unified field console.
    Struggled
    The new renderer still needs a compatibility path. V4.1 stays a preview so the stable V4 route and its save remain untouched.
    Survived
    The complete V4 campaign, three guardians, daily currents, ship travel, and the rule that each visit should leave a mark.
    Launch the previewTour every changePlay stable V4
    The Explorer Robot and Mote beside the Tidewatch Lighthouse in the Island V4.1 preview.
    V4.1 turns Tidelight's old lookout into a working lighthouse above the sea.
    Canopy Crown root-light and wildlife in Island V4.1.Canopy Crown The lava channels of Emberglass in Island V4.1.Emberglass Tidelight wildlife and the distant lighthouse in Island V4.1.Tidelight Atoll

Keep exploring

Choose a trail without losing the story.

The evolution above is the main path. These collections hold the characters, mechanics, mistakes, and dated build notes behind it.