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What is small-world?

brunosimon/small-world — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-07-14 · repo last pushed 2021-11-30

82JavaScriptAudience · designerComplexity · 2/5DormantSetup · easy

In one sentence

Small World is an interactive 3D web experience by Bruno Simon that lets visitors explore a playful miniature world in their browser. The repository contains the full source code to run locally and modify.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Interactive 3D world
      Runs in browser
      Live demo available
    Tech stack
      JavaScript
      Node.js
      Web dev server
    Use cases
      Learn 3D web
      Customize the world
      Deploy to hosting
    Audience
      Creative developers
      Designers
      Tinkerers
    Setup
      Install dependencies
      Start dev server
      Build for production
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Code map

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filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Explore a live 3D web world in your browser to see what interactive experiences look like.

USE CASE 2

Clone the project and modify the 3D world to create your own interactive web experience.

USE CASE 3

Study the source code to learn how browser-based 3D environments are built.

USE CASE 4

Run the build command and deploy the optimized files to your own web hosting.

What is it built with?

JavaScriptNode.js

How does it compare?

brunosimon/small-worldzhouyoukang1234-spec/windsurf-assistantenergypantry/agent-browser-runtime
Stars828586
LanguageJavaScriptJavaScriptJavaScript
Last pushed2021-11-30
MaintenanceDormant
Setup difficultyeasyhardhard
Complexity2/54/54/5
Audiencedesignerdeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Requires Node.js installed, otherwise just clone, install dependencies, and start the dev server.

The README does not mention a license, so usage terms are unknown.

So what is it?

Small World is an interactive 3D web experience created by Bruno Simon. You can visit a live version of it online, and the repository contains the full source code so you can run it locally or modify it for your own purposes. The project is built in JavaScript and runs in any modern web browser. It renders an interactive 3D world that visitors can explore, the kind of immersive, playful web experience that goes beyond a typical scrolling webpage. Based on the creator's body of work, this likely involves driving or navigating through a miniature environment, though the README itself doesn't go into detail about the specific contents or mechanics of the world. Setting it up requires Node.js installed on your computer. From there, the process is straightforward: you download the code, install the project's dependencies with a single command, and then start a local development server. This lets you view and interact with the project in your browser at a local address. There's also a command to package everything up for production, generating optimized files you could deploy to your own web hosting. This project would appeal to creative developers, designers, or anyone curious about building interactive 3D experiences for the web. It's a good reference if you want to learn how these kinds of browser-based 3D worlds are put together, or if you simply want to explore and tinker with an existing one rather than starting from scratch. The README is minimal, it covers the basic setup steps and links to the live version, but doesn't document features, architecture, or customization options. You'll need to look at the code itself to understand how it works under the hood or to make changes.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Help me set up and run the Small World 3D web project locally. I have Node.js installed, what commands do I need to run after cloning the repo?
Prompt 2
I want to customize the Small World 3D scene. Can you look at the project structure and guide me on which files I should edit to change the environment or add new objects?
Prompt 3
Walk me through how to build the Small World project for production and deploy the generated files to a static web host like Netlify or GitHub Pages.
Prompt 4
Explain how the Small World project renders a 3D world in the browser using JavaScript, and point out the main parts of the code I should read first to understand the architecture.

Frequently asked questions

What is small-world?

Small World is an interactive 3D web experience by Bruno Simon that lets visitors explore a playful miniature world in their browser. The repository contains the full source code to run locally and modify.

What language is small-world written in?

Mainly JavaScript. The stack also includes JavaScript, Node.js.

Is small-world actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2021-11-30).

What license does small-world use?

The README does not mention a license, so usage terms are unknown.

How hard is small-world to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is small-world for?

Mainly designer.

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