# Build your own neon grid world

Paste this whole prompt into your AI coding helper.

```text
You are my patient, friendly guide. I want to build my own Tron-style neon grid world, a glowing city I can walk around in a VR headset (or in my web browser if I don't have one), using an AI coding helper. The world is called "The Grid." It should be an original world INSPIRED by the look of Tron: Legacy, not a copy of it.

I am NOT technical. Assume I have never opened Terminal and have nothing installed. Follow these rules the whole time:
- Give me ONE step at a time in plain English. Tell me exactly what to click or type, then wait for me to say "done" before the next step.
- When I need to type a command, put it in its own box so I can copy it, and tell me where to paste it.
- Ask me for a screenshot whenever something looks wrong. Read my screenshots carefully.
- Never ask me for passwords, API keys or tokens, and never tell me to paste one into a chat. If my computer asks for my password, tell me to type it into my own Terminal, and warn me that the letters won't show up while I type. That's normal.
- Only have me install things from their official websites or the commands below. Never have me run a command you found on a random forum.
- Keep everything on my own computer. Don't have me publish the world to the internet or share my computer's network address with anyone.
- If you can browse the web, check the current official install steps for any tool before giving them to me. If they differ from yours, follow the official ones.
- Celebrate small wins. This takes a while and I'll want to know I'm on track.

STAGE 1: CHECK MY SETUP (ask me these one at a time)
1. Do I have a Mac or a Windows PC? About how much free storage does it have? I'll want about 10 GB free. Show me how to check.
2. Do I have a VR headset? If yes, which one? This was tested on a Meta Quest 2. Other Meta Quest headsets should work the same way. Other headsets with a web browser that supports VR (WebXR) may work. If I don't have a headset, that's fine: I'll walk around the world in my web browser with the keyboard and mouse.
3. Which AI coding helper will I use? This guide is written for Claude Code, which comes with a paid Claude plan (Pro or higher). If I'd rather use another coding agent that can run commands on my computer and edit files in a project folder (for example OpenAI's Codex or Google's Gemini CLI), that's OK: in Stage 2, look up that tool's current official install steps instead, and wherever this guide says Claude Code, use my tool.
4. Have I already turned my own room into a 3D world (for example with Wes Bos's free "3d-model-anything" project)? If yes, ask where that project folder is. We'll add an arcade machine to my room that teleports me into The Grid. If no, we'll build The Grid on its own. Both are great.

STAGE 2: INSTALL THE TOOLS
If I'm on a Mac:
1. Show me how to open Terminal: press Command + Space, type Terminal, press Enter. Explain in one sentence what Terminal is.
2. Install Homebrew, a free tool that installs other tools. Have me copy the install command from https://brew.sh, paste it into Terminal and press Enter. When it asks, I type my Mac password (it won't show) and press Enter to confirm. When it finishes, it prints "Next steps" with one or two commands that add Homebrew to my PATH: have me copy and run those exactly. Then check it worked with: brew --version
3. Install Node.js and Git with: brew install node git
Then check with: node --version (it should say v20 or higher).
4. Install Claude Code. Have me paste this and press Enter:
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash
5. Have me type claude and press Enter. If it says "command not found", have me run this, then try again:
echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc && source ~/.zshrc
If I'm on Windows:
1. Show me how to open PowerShell (Start menu, type PowerShell, press Enter) and explain in one sentence what it is.
2. Install Node.js (the LTS version) and Git for Windows from their official websites, nodejs.org and git-scm.com, keeping the default options. Then have me close and reopen PowerShell and check with: node --version
3. Look up the current official Claude Code install steps for Windows on Anthropic's website and walk me through them.
Either way:
- Claude Code will open a browser window to sign in. I sign in with my Claude account.
- Explain the most important rule: from now on, I paste prompts INTO Claude Code (after the > prompt it shows), not into the plain Terminal. Tell me Claude Code asks permission before running things. It's fine to approve commands that install packages or work inside my project folder. If it ever asks to delete files outside my project, or to do anything with passwords or keys, I should say no and ask you first.

STAGE 3: HAND OFF THE BUILD TO CLAUDE CODE
First have me open Claude Code in the right folder:
- If I already have my room project, run: cd <that folder> && claude
- If not, on a Mac run: mkdir -p ~/the-grid && cd ~/the-grid && claude
  (on Windows: mkdir $HOME\the-grid; cd $HOME\the-grid; claude)
Then give me this prompt to paste into Claude Code, exactly as written:

---
I'm a non-technical beginner. Build me "The Grid": an original, walkable neon city inspired by the look of Tron: Legacy, that runs in a web browser and in a VR headset using three.js and WebXR. Explain each step in one plain sentence. Build it in phases. After each phase, stop, tell me exactly how to test it, and wait for me to say "next". Commit to git after every phase so we can always go back.

Ground rules for the whole build:
- Original designs only, inspired by the style. No copied film logos, music, characters, sound effects or ripped 3D models.
- Everything runs locally on my computer. Don't publish or deploy anything, don't set up accounts, and never ask me for passwords, API keys or tokens.
- Performance first: it must run smoothly (72 fps) on a standalone headset like a Meta Quest 2. Keep roughly under 150 draw calls and 750k triangles on screen. Use instancing, merged geometry, glowing (emissive) materials instead of real lights, and no real-time shadows.
- Comfort: smooth walking and turning with the thumbsticks (with a snap-turn option), a comfort vignette when moving fast, no camera roll, and an Exit VR button that's always easy to reach.
- Every new feature gets an on/off switch in a simple in-world menu.

PHASE 1: Project and controls
- If this folder already has my 3D room project, add The Grid as a new scene and DON'T change anything about my room except what Phase 7 asks for. Otherwise, set up a new Vite + three.js project here.
- Desktop controls: WASD to walk, mouse to look, and a clear "Enter VR" button.
- VR: hands or controllers visible, smooth thumbstick movement and turning.
- Run the dev server so my headset can reach it over my home Wi-Fi with HTTPS (VR in the browser requires HTTPS), for example using Vite's --host option and @vitejs/plugin-basic-ssl. Tell me the exact address to type into my headset's browser, and warn me that the browser will show a security warning because the certificate is self-made, which is expected on my own network.

PHASE 2: The world
- Solid, glossy near-black buildings (not see-through wireframes) with thin glowing lines along their edges and panel seams. Lines behind a building must be hidden by it.
- A dark, reflective floor with a glowing grid.
- Low fog that fades to black, a dark cloud ceiling with occasional lightning glowing inside it, and a faint glow on the horizon.
- A strict color palette: cyan #00e5ff for the world, orange #ff7a00 for rivals and hazards, white for small highlights. No other colors.
- No photo textures anywhere. Signs are dark see-through panels with thin cyan borders.
- A few districts to explore: an arrival plaza, tall towers, a stadium, and long straight avenues.

PHASE 3: The arrival
- When I enter, a laser scans over me, my view breaks into glowing cyan cubes, I fall through a tunnel of light for about 3 seconds, and I land crouched on the grid in silence. Then a deep bass hit, the city lights up block by block out to the horizon, and glowing lines trace up my arms.
- Keep the whole thing under 8 seconds and add a "skip intro" switch.

PHASE 4: Bring the city to life
- Huge, slow patrol ships of your own design drifting overhead, sweeping searchlights across the streets.
- Small light jets streaking between towers and pulses of light climbing the buildings.
- Vehicles passing along the avenues trailing ribbons of light.
- People made of light (your own designs) who walk around, turn their heads to watch me, and step aside when I get close.

PHASE 5: The disc and the light cycles
- A glowing disc on my back. I reach over my shoulder and grip to take it, throw it, it bounces off walls and comes back to my hand, with controller vibration. Targets it hits break into glowing cubes and come back a few seconds later.
- A glowing handlebar on the ground. When I grab it with both hands, a light cycle of your own design builds itself around me and I race 3 computer riders along the avenues, each of us leaving a solid wall of light behind. Hitting a wall breaks me into cubes and I restart. Show lap time and position. Use the comfort vignette at speed.

PHASE 6: Sound
- All sound made in code (Web Audio), nothing copied: a deep constant hum, buildings that hum where they stand, vehicles that whoosh past from one ear to the other, disc and crash sounds, a light-cycle engine that rises with speed, and an original synth soundtrack that swells when I land and when I race. Volume sliders in the menu.

PHASE 7: The portal (only if this folder has my 3D room)
- Add a glowing arcade machine to my room. When I grab its joystick, the arrival sequence from Phase 3 takes me into The Grid. A menu button brings me back to my room.

When all phases are done, give me a short list of the 5 best things to try in the headset, every on/off switch you added, and ideas for what to build next.
---

Stay with me while Claude Code works. Tell me each phase can take anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour. If I paste you a screenshot of anything confusing, explain it.

STAGE 4: TEST IT
- On my computer: open the address Claude Code gives me in Chrome, Edge or Safari, click into the page, and walk around with W, A, S, D and the mouse.
- In my headset (if I have one): my computer and headset must be on the same Wi-Fi. Open the headset's web browser, type the https:// address Claude Code gave me, and when the security warning appears, choose Advanced, then continue to the site. That warning is expected for a site on my own computer. Then press "Enter VR".
- Before I put the headset on: clear some space around me, and sit down for the light-cycle races. If I feel dizzy or queasy, take the headset off and rest. Turn on the comfort switches if needed.
- Teach me to give fixes in plain words, for example: "The buildings feel too short," "The fog is too thick," or "The disc is hard to catch." Specific notes work best, one or two at a time.

IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG, help me with these known snags:
- "command not found: claude" > the PATH fix in Stage 2.
- I pasted a prompt into the plain Terminal by accident and it shows quote> > press Control + C, then start Claude Code again from my project folder.
- The headset can't open the page > check both devices are on the same Wi-Fi (not a guest network), the address starts with https:// and has the right numbers, and the dev server is still running on my computer. Some home routers block devices from seeing each other: ask Claude Code for another way to connect, such as connecting the headset by USB.
- No "Enter VR" button, or it's greyed out > the page must be opened with https://, and in the headset's own browser.
- The world is choppy in the headset > ask Claude Code to "cut the draw calls and triangles until it holds 72 fps on my headset, and tell me what you changed."
- "Port already in use" > ask Claude Code to stop the old server and start it again.
- The screen is blank or shows an error > take a screenshot, paste it to Claude Code, and ask it to fix it.

When it works, suggest what I could try next (new districts, a race against friends' times, other themes), and remind me that this world is inspired by a film style, so if I share videos of it, I should present it as my own fan-inspired creation, not an official product.

Start now with Stage 1, question 1.
```

From The Analyst Academy: https://download.theanalystacademy.com/tron