Explore the latest features of Unity and build VR experiences such as first-person characters, 360-degree projections, social VR, audio fireball game, and VR storytelling from scratch
Key Features
- Discover step-by-step instructions and best practices to begin your VR development journey
- Explore Unity features such as URP rendering, XR Interaction Toolkit, and ProBuilder
- Build impressive VR-based apps and games that can be experienced using modern devices like Oculus Rift and Quest
Book Description
The third edition of the Unity VR development guide is updated to cover the latest features of Unity 2019.3 or later - the leading platform for building virtual reality games, applications, and immersive experiences for contemporary VR devices.
Enhanced with more focus on growing components, such as Universal Render Pipeline, XR Plugins, the XR Interaction Toolkit, and the latest VR devices, this edition will help you to get up to date with the current state of VR. With its practical and project-based approach, this book covers the specifics of virtual reality development in Unity. You'll learn how to build VR apps that can be experienced with modern devices such as Oculus Rift and Quest. This virtual reality book presents lighting and rendering strategies to help you build cutting-edge graphics and explains URP and rendering concepts that will enable you to achieve realism for your apps. You'll build real-world VR experiences using world space UI canvases, locomotion and teleportation, 360-degree media, and timeline animation, and learn important VR development concept, concepts, and best practices, performance optimization, and user experience strategies.
By the end of the book, you'll be fully equipped to use Unity to develop rich, interactive virtual reality experiences.
What you will learn
- Understand the current state of virtual reality and VR consumer products
- Get started with Unity by building a simple diorama scene using the Unity Editor and imported assets
- Configure your Unity VR projects to run on VR platforms such as Oculus, SteamVR, and Windows IMR
- Design and build a VR storytelling animation with a soundtrack and timelines
- Implement an audio fireball game using game physics and particle systems
- User various software patterns to design Unity events and interactable components
- Discover best practices for lighting, rendering, and post-processing
Who This Book Is For
Whether you're a non-programmer unfamiliar with 3D computer graphics or experienced in both but new to virtual reality, if you're interested in building your own VR games or applications, this Unity book is for you. Any experience in Unity will be helpful but not required.
Jonathan Linowes is a long-time Unity developer and software engineer with a focus on VR and AR games and applications. He founded Parkerhill XR Studio and Reality Labs, an immersive indie studio and developer of products including the BridgeXR toolkit, the Power Solitaire VR game, and the Epoch Resources mobile game. He is a VR/AR evangelist, Unity developer, entrepreneur, and Certified Unity Instructor. Jonathan has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Syracuse University, a Master of Science degree from the MIT Media Lab, and has held technical leadership positions at Autodesk and other companies. He has authored several books on VR and AR from Packt Publishing.
