This book takes a practical, project-based approach to teach the specifics of VR development using the Unity 3D game development engine. You'll learn how to use Unity 2020 to develop VR applications, which can be experienced with devices such as Oculus, Rift, Quest, HTC Vive, Cosmos, Valve Index, and even Google Cardboard.
However, we have a slight problem here—the technology is advancing very rapidly. Of course, this is a good problem to have. Actually, it's an awesome problem to have, unless you're a developer in the middle of a project or an author of a book on this technology! How does one write a book that doesn't have obsolete content the day it's published?
Throughout the book, I have tried to distill some universal principles that should outlive any short-term advances in VR technology, which include the following:
- Categorization of different types of VR experiences with example projects
- Important technical ideas and skills, especially those that are relevant to the building of VR applications
- General explanations of how VR devices and software works
- Strategies to ensure user comfort and and the avoidance of VR motion sickness
- Instructions on using the Unity game engine to build VR experiences
Once VR becomes mainstream, many of these lessons will perhaps be obvious rather than obsolete, just like the explanations from the 1980s of how to use a mouse would just be silly today.
Who this book is for
If you are interested in VR, want to learn how it works, or want to create VR experiences yourself, then this book is for you. We will walk you through a series of hands-on projects, step-by-step tutorials, and in-depth discussions using the Unity 3D game engine.
Whether you're a nonprogrammer who is unfamiliar with 3D computer graphics or a person with experience in both, but who is new to VR, you will benefit from this book. It could be your first foray into Unity or you may have some experience, but you do not need to be an expert either. Still, if you're new to Unity, you can pick up this book as long as you realize that you'll need to adapt to the pace of the book.
Game developers may already be familiar with the concepts in the book, which are reapplied to the VR projects along with many other ideas that are specific to VR. Engineers and 3D designers may understand many of the 3D concepts, but they may wish to learn to use the Unity game engine for VR. Application developers may appreciate the potential nongaming uses of VR and want to learn the tools that can make this happen.
Whoever you are, we're going to turn you into a 3D software VR ninja. Well, OK, this may be a stretch for this little book, but we'll try to set you on the way.