Build your first theme and course in the Theme Workshop
Path Protocol is an open-source browser precision game — 100 levels, MIT licensed. But the part I'm most excited for people to try is the Theme Workshop: a built-in editor for creating your own themes and courses.
This tutorial walks you through creating your first theme + course from start to finish and publishing it. No prior game-dev experience needed.
1. Register and open the Theme Workshop
Create an account (username, email, password), then open the Theme Workshop from the main menu. On first use you'll be asked to choose the official campaign or an enabled public theme as your starting point.
2. Create a demo theme and level
Use Create demo theme and level. This clones the default campaign and appends a showcase hole. "Cloned" here means the level JSON only — the geometry and rules are copied, not the visual assets. That's an important detail: the game keeps collision geometry and presentation separate.
3. Edit the course
The editor works on a 10-unit grid in a 1600 × 900 logical world.
- Resize an object by dragging its edge/corner handles.
- Right-click (or Shift+F10) for image, sound, and JSON actions.
- Add obstacles from the Kenney Course Builder palette — fairway, green, ramp, and hazard templates. You can reshape them after placement.
- Set the arena boundary to a rounded rectangle, ellipse, or polygon.
4. Assign visuals
- Pick a GLB model from the 126-model Kenney Minigolf catalog (optional
model3dId). The geometry stays JSON-owned — the model is just presentation. - Replace an object's image or sound via the media browser, which supports recursive folders, search, preview, and provenance.
5. Validate and save
Before a level is accepted, it passes schema validation plus generated-course gameplay checks. Invalid levels are rejected — this is what keeps community content safe and consistent. Fix what the validator flags and save.
6. Playtest
Run the level and watch the token-center trail. This shows the actual collision path your ball takes, which is the ground truth for how the course plays.
7. Publish and share
Go live as a public theme (moderation exists; the default campaign is read-only). Then copy the link and share it with the community.
What will you build? I'd genuinely love to see what courses people come up with — a wild obstacle, a themed arena, a brutal par-3. If you publish one, drop the link in the comments.
