Difference between revisions of "How to Get Started in VR Development"

From Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
(Created page with "=Beginner's Guide to Learning VR Dev=")
 
Line 1: Line 1:
 
=Beginner's Guide to Learning VR Dev=
 
=Beginner's Guide to Learning VR Dev=
 +
This page serves as a jumping-off point for new developers to find any resources they might need along their path to learning to make virtual reality experiences.
 +
==1. Learn about the hardware==
 +
Ask yourself: do you want to develop for a computer-driven headset like the Vive, or are you more interested in mobile applications such as GearVR or Google Cardboard? If you don't already own your hardware of choice, do some reasearch and think about what would be best for both your target market and most practical to develop on. If your idea requires motion controls or high-end graphics, stick to computer-driven VR. A list of currently available hardware that is supported by Unity, Unreal, and VR web implementations:
 +
===Computer VR:===
 +
* [[HTC Vive]], $799 - motion controllers ship with product. iFixIt will show you [[what it looks like]] when you take it apart.
 +
** [[VR Dev School's Vive Mini Course]]
 +
* [[Oculus Rift]], $599 - motion controllers won't be available until fall. iFixIt [[has also autopsied a Rift]].
 +
**[[Oculus Documentation Pages]]
 +
**[[Oculus Rift in Action]], a blog about designing for the Rift
 +
*[[OSVR HDK 1.4]], $299 - no motion control
 +
*[[Razer Hydra]], $599 - general-purpose wired motion tracking controller for PC
 +
===Mobile VR:===
 +
(can use a smartphone as HMD)
 +
* [[Gear VR]], $99
 +
** [[VR Dev School's Gear VR Mini Course for Unity]]
 +
** [[Fuseman's Introduction to Gear VR development in UE4]]
 +
** [[E4 Developer Livestream: Up and Running with Gear VR]]
 +
* [[Google Cardboard]], available as cheap as free
 +
===Web VR:===
 +
(can use a smartphone as HMD)
 +
* [[Mozilla A-Frame]] is a markup language (as are HTML and XML) for making cross-platform VR software. To see it in action, visit their site on your smartphone, turn off orientation lock, and press the VR button that appears.
 +
* [[Vizor]] is a web app that allows you to construct 3D scenes and view them across numerous platforms, including from mobile devices. Although it isn't as powerful as a game engine or open-source web platform, it is very straightforward and a great way to start creating in VR without an expensive headset. The [[Vizor blog]] has several tutorial posts.
 +
* [[Responsive WebVR]] is a cross-platform, web-based VR platform [[available for modification on GitHub]]. You'll probably want to brush up on [[Three.js]].
 +
===Unreleased, but preliminary development possible:===
 +
* [[Google Daydream]] - unavailable but supported by UE4 now, Unity support coming in the summer
 +
* [[OSVR HDK 2, $399]] - will be released in July; no announced motion control

Revision as of 05:41, 3 January 2017

Beginner's Guide to Learning VR Dev

This page serves as a jumping-off point for new developers to find any resources they might need along their path to learning to make virtual reality experiences.

1. Learn about the hardware

Ask yourself: do you want to develop for a computer-driven headset like the Vive, or are you more interested in mobile applications such as GearVR or Google Cardboard? If you don't already own your hardware of choice, do some reasearch and think about what would be best for both your target market and most practical to develop on. If your idea requires motion controls or high-end graphics, stick to computer-driven VR. A list of currently available hardware that is supported by Unity, Unreal, and VR web implementations:

Computer VR:

Mobile VR:

(can use a smartphone as HMD)

Web VR:

(can use a smartphone as HMD)

  • Mozilla A-Frame is a markup language (as are HTML and XML) for making cross-platform VR software. To see it in action, visit their site on your smartphone, turn off orientation lock, and press the VR button that appears.
  • Vizor is a web app that allows you to construct 3D scenes and view them across numerous platforms, including from mobile devices. Although it isn't as powerful as a game engine or open-source web platform, it is very straightforward and a great way to start creating in VR without an expensive headset. The Vizor blog has several tutorial posts.
  • Responsive WebVR is a cross-platform, web-based VR platform available for modification on GitHub. You'll probably want to brush up on Three.js.

Unreleased, but preliminary development possible:

  • Google Daydream - unavailable but supported by UE4 now, Unity support coming in the summer
  • OSVR HDK 2, $399 - will be released in July; no announced motion control