Authoring content in three-dimensional environment

Computing devices for authoring content in computer-based 3D environments are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a computing device is configured to provide, on a display, a user interface of a 3D authoring application having a 3D working area with a predefined shape and size. The computing device is also configured to, in response to receiving a user input selecting a 3D component, retrieve one or more files of the 3D component containing data that is pre-processed according to the predefined shape and size of the 3D working area. Based on the retrieved data of the 3D component, the computing device can produce (i) a graphical representation of one or more objects or (ii) a sound in the 3D working area without modifying, outside of the 3D authoring application, underlying data of the one or more objects or sound.