The Easiest Way To Build in Decentraland | A Step-by-Step Guide

I think Decentraland is an exciting project, both technologically, as an investment, and as a place to spend time and build stuff. In this article, I will share a detailed step-by-step tutorial on how to build in Decentraland.

Building in Decentraland can be done in two ways: One is using the Builder Tool, and the other is through the Decentraland SDK. The Builder tool is preferred by most people, as it is beginner-friendly and requires no technical skills.

I will show you how to build, step by step, in this article. But first, let’s get familiar with some of the most important aspects of Decentraland in order to wrap our heads around how to build.

If you’re already familiar with Decentraland, feel free to skip this part and head straight to the step-by-step guide below it.

Decentraland

Decentraland is an Ethereum-based blockchain platform where people can build, buy, and sell virtual reality applications.

You can utilize the virtual land available on the Decentraland platform to run decentralized applications (DApp).

Esteban Ordano and Ari Meilich founded this project as a proof of concept for allocating ownership of digital real estate to blockchain users.

MANA

MANA is the native cryptocurrency used in Decentraland. You need MANA to buy/sell virtual real estate and other merchandise like avatars, services, etc.

Suggested reading:

Can Decentraland (MANA) Reach $100?

LAND

Every piece of virtual real estate in Decentraland is known as “Land”. It is a type of non-fungible token (NFT). Learn how to purchase Land in this article.

The Two Ways To Build: You Have To Pick One

One of the many reasons Decentraland is such a popular and extensive metaverse platform is its friendly interface.

You do not have to be a professional with coding skills to create a scene and build on Decentraland.

There is a powerful and native Builder that you can use easily to achieve all the possibilities offered by Decentraland.

But, if you want a customized approach and possess sufficient coding skills, then the Decentraland software development kit (SDK) is the right tool for you. So, it’s important to choose which path to walk down, depending on your expertise.

As I’m no coder, I’ll go through the first of the two options – The native building tool in Decentraland:

Oh, I almost forgot:
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Step-by-Step Guide to Build in Decentraland:

Decentraland’s Builder Editor is a simple online tool used as a visual editor for creating and publishing in Decentraland.

It utilizes the Decentraland SDK and runs on your browser without requiring any downloads.

Below you’ll find the step by step process of using it:

• Step 1: Sign in and choose the size

Head over to https://builder.decentraland.org/ and sign in.

You have to ensure that the shape and size of the scene chosen to deploy on your LAND matches the size of each parcel (16x16m) on that LAND.

If you have an existing scene, you can edit its size by clicking on the pencil icon found right next to the scene’s name.

If you don’t have any Land yet, read this article to learn how.

Note: The Builder tool creates rectangular shapes. SDK allows you to create scenes in all kinds of shapes.

• Step 2: Pick your prefered texture

Once you start building a scene, you should give it some texture:

Decentraland supports many types of textures available in the themed asset packs. Access the item menu and choose from all supported textures to give your ground a realistic look.

Once you have chosen a ground texture from the menu, clicking on it to replace the floor tiles with the desired one.

• Step 3: Add and edit items in your LAND

The item catalog has many options when it comes to customizing your scene in Decentraland. All you have to do is try various things on your LAND by a simple drag and drop feature.

Positioning is also an important part of building in Decentraland. Any item can be positioned precisely using three functions of the move tool.

There are times when you want to alter the changes you made while building in Decentraland. To achieve this, there is a delete tool that can undo any recent change.

Make sure to select an item properly before using the delete tool. Duplicating items are also allowed with the Builder tool using the Duplicate tool.

Tip: I select multiple items simultaneously by holding the Ctrl key and selecting the items as desired. This way, I can move, edit, rotate, delete, or duplicate more than one item.

• Step 4: Stay within your borders

The Decentraland ecosystem does not allow items from one LAND to overlap with the neighboring LAND. Unless you fix the limitation and boundaries, the scene will not be published.

• Step 5: Save your progress!

Although every scene is saved in your browser, there is a chance of you losing all that data.

To back it up, you can choose the Download Scene option that exports it into a zip file. You can later upload this zip file back from the main builder page.

Changes can also be made after the following step, but click on Update to publish changes.

• Step 6: Name and publish it

Eventually, you’ll want to name and publish what you’ve built. Simply hover on the scene and click on edit to provide a name and optional description.

The name will be visible right under the minimap. For publishing, select the scene and press Publish.

If you do not own land, then you can also publish it on the Scene Pool where it will be available for landowners.

That’s it! You now know how to build and publish in Decentraland.

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