Complete Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Development with Unity

Get close and comfortable with Unity and build applications that run on HoloLens, Daydream, and Oculus Rift

Key Features

• Build fun augmented reality applications using ARKit, ARCore, and Vuforia
• Explore virtual reality by developing more than 10 engaging projects
• Learn how to integrate AR and VR concepts together in a single application

Book Description

Unity is the leading platform to develop mixed reality experiences because it provides a great pipeline for working with 3D assets.

Using a practical and project-based approach, this Learning Path educates you about the specifics of AR and VR development using Unity 2018 and Unity 3D. You'll learn to integrate, animate, and overlay 3D objects on your camera feed, before moving on to implement sensor-based AR applications. You'll explore various concepts by creating an AR application using Vuforia for both macOS and Windows for Android and iOS devices. Next, you'll learn how to develop VR applications that can be experienced with devices, such as Oculus and Vive. You'll also explore various tools for VR development: gaze-based versus hand controller input, world space UI canvases, locomotion and teleportation, timeline animation, and multiplayer networking.

You'll learn the Unity 3D game engine via the interactive Unity Editor and C# programming.

By the end of this Learning Path, you'll be fully equipped to develop rich, interactive mixed reality experiences using Unity.

This Learning Path includes content from the following Packt products:

• Unity Virtual Reality Projects - Second Edition by Jonathan Linowes
• Unity 2018 Augmented Reality Projects by Jesse Glover

What you will learn

• Create 3D scenes to learn about world space and scale
• Move around your scenes using locomotion and teleportation
• Create filters or overlays that work with facial recognition software
• Interact with virtual objects using eye gaze, hand controllers, and user input events
• Design and build a VR storytelling animation with a soundtrack and timelines
• Create social VR experiences with Unity networking

Who this book is for

If you are a game developer familiar with 3D computer graphics and interested in building your own AR and VR games or applications, then this Learning Path is for you. Any prior experience in Unity and C# will be an advantage. In all, this course teaches you the tools and techniques to develop engaging mixed reality applications.

Table of Contents

1. Virtually Everything for Everyone
2. Content, Objects, and Scale
3. VR Build and Run
4. Gaze-Based Control
5. Handy Interactables
6. World Space UI
7. Locomotion and Comfort
8. Playing with Physics and Fire
9. Animation and VR Storytelling
10. What AR is and How to Get Set up
11. GIS Fundamentals - The Power of Mapping
12. Censored - Various Sensor Data and Plugins
13. The Sound of Flowery Prose
14. Picture Puzzle - The AR Experience
15. Fitness for Fun - Tourism and Random Walking
16. Snap it! Adding Filters to Pictures
17. To the HoloLens and Beyond

Jesse Glover is a self-taught software developer and indie game developer who has worked with multiple game engines and has written many tutorials on the subject of game development over the past 8 years. He maintains a YouTube channel dedicated to game development made easy and writes for Zenva in his spare time to teach the ins and outs of game development with Unity, CryEngine, and Unreal Engine, just to name a few. Jesse has also written Unity Programming for Human Beings.

Jonathan Linowes is founder of Parkerhill Reality Labs, an immersive media indie studio and developer of the BridgeXR toolkit, Power Solitaire VR game, and upcoming Chess Or Die game. He is a VR/AR evangelist, Unity developer, entrepreneur, and teacher. Jonathan has a BFA degree from Syracuse University, an MS degree from the MIT Media Lab, and held technical leadership positions at Autodesk, among other companies. He has authored a number of books and videos by Packt, including Unity Virtual Reality Projects (first edition 2015), Cardboard VR Projects for Android, and Augmented Reality for Developers.