How to Build VR Game Worlds Like Disney
Lessons from a Disney Imagineer
Don Carson, former Disney Imagineer and Senior Art Director at Mighty Coconut, breaks down how Walkabout Mini Golf builds beloved VR courses with low poly art, story driven set dressing, and playful interaction. We tour Raptor Cliffs to see vignettes, social design in action, discuss audience and discoverability, and explore how these principles carry into Horizon Worlds and beyond.
Before getting into the interview, I wanted to quickly introduce you to today’s sponsor Gracia AI. Gracia AI is the only app that allows you to experience Gaussian Splatting volumetric videos on a standalone headset, either in VR or MR.
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Interview with Don Carson
With so many chasing realism, how do you design for immersion with a low poly look?
Don Carson: The low-poly part is a necessary evil if we want to be on every possible headset, so we embrace our limitations and aim for a specific Walkabout look. At Imagineering I learned principles of environmental storytelling that apply to digital spaces too. We focus on how humans interact with physical and digital 3D spaces, then build environments with an underlying story. It is a story foundation that guides design choices, so when you arrive to play a round of golf you are pulled into that world.
How do you practically let that narrative unfold?
Don Carson: There is the overarching story, then little opportunities in how we place props. We call it set decking. We try to place things so they reinforce the larger story. It is a little story within a bigger story that we often call “vignettes”. These can be breadcrumb moments that players stumble on. We avoid making them overt, and we let you decide their meaning in context. We constantly pepper environments with small discoveries that help you better understand the bigger place you are in as you move through a course.
Can you tell us about Raptor Cliffs, and what is the big story there?
Don Carson: I grew up in California and live in Oregon. Driving the West Coast you see family owned roadside attractions. We wanted that 1970s homespun place where you pull off to buy fudge and see something. Players also wanted dinosaurs, so we built a dinosaur filled family park with a view to the Pacific. The tone is friendly. Dinosaurs are like big friendly dogs you greet along the way. That is the bigger story, and then we reinforce it with small vignettes as you progress through the course.
(check out the full tour of Raptor’s Cliff and my terrible golfing skills👇)
Can you walk us through a specific vignette inside the gift shop?
Don Carson: In the gift shop we added what you can expect at a roadside attraction, but all dinosaur themed. There are shirts, dino grabbers, old photos of dinosaurs helping gold miners and lumberjacks, suggesting they have always been around here. Behind the counter is my favorite vignette. Emma Macato set decked a scene where the cashier propped up a book, slipped on fuzzy dino slippers, and broke open the fudge. It is not essential to the plot, but it gives a human connection and that above and beyond detail that makes the space special.
To what extent are these worlds interactable?
Don Carson: More and more, if it looks like you can strike a bell with your putter, you can. If a guitar sits on a bench, you can strum it. That is our tech art team making sure sounds fit and small interactions work. We also add ridables. In Atlantis you can ride a sea turtle, a whale, or a shark. Many people finish a round and then ride a turtle for an hour to chat. On Raptor Cliffs we have an interactable zip line you trigger with the putter grip. These little details deepen presence and invite playful discovery.
Why do so many players treat Walkabout as social space beyond golf?
Don Carson: Mini golf needs no tutorial. You have a stick, a ball, and a hole. The mechanic is simple and it builds natural pauses. Those pauses create space for conversation. We often hear dads reconnect with their kids in ways that calls do not allow. While waiting their turn people wander, notice things, and talk. Golf is the excuse, but the real win is sharing a place that is pleasant, funny, or adventurous together.
Who is your audience and how does that shape design?
Don Carson: We selfishly make what we want to play, and we are happy the audience shows up. Players are all over the place, with many adults who connect weekly with family or friends, often at a distance. Kids play too, but most compliments come from adults who enjoy story rich spaces. We begin with a clear expectation for the place you are entering and then deepen it so people can settle in, talk, and make memories while they play.
Do these principles translate to Horizon Worlds, Roblox, or Fortnite for younger audiences?
Don Carson: I spent a lot of time in Horizon Worlds during COVID to test this. The principles absolutely apply, even with very low poly blocky tools. What is universal is how physical humans expect the world to behave. If design choices reassure that expectation and you avoid contradicting your story, you will engage people. Those same principles work in many creation platforms.
How do welcome and keep users engaged throught the experience?
Don Carson: We begin with expectation and surprise and delight later. If we say we will take you to Nemo’s Nautilus, we must deliver the first mental picture of that experience. Once set, we avoid contradictions and anachronisms. Then we double down through vignettes and design so you dive deeper into that story. On Raptor Cliffs the expectation is a roadside attraction. Our job is to keep reinforcing that, then add live dinosaurs as the extra delight that elevates the visit and gives people moments to share.
What future do you want for VR venues and the multiverse of experiences?
Don Carson: Walkabout is like a theme park where every seven weeks we open a new land. I would love a multiverse of VR where in one venue you could choose a historical reenactment, then learn to weld. Neither requires a score. Both can be crafted experiences. We have the tools. What we lack is a venue that hosts a broad range of non game experiences and gives them equal weight in discovery. Applying our principles to museums, training, or storytelling spaces could unlock audiences far beyond traditional gamers.
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