3.1 - Comfort and Accessibility

3.2 - Optimization

3.3 - Lighting

3.4 - Building and Sharing

Challenge 3 - Training Simulation

Keeping up with XR technology

Lab 3 - Personal Project Ergonomics & Optimization

Submission 3 - Share your Work

Mission 3 Quiz - VR Ergonomics & Optimization

Explore ergonomics and optimization for VR for making apps as accessible and comfortable as possible.

In this mission, you will focus on ergonomics and optimization for VR in order to make your app as accessible and comfortable as possible.In these tutorials, you will do the following:

In the Challenge for this mission, you will apply your skills in an industrial training simulation prototype. Then, in the Lab, you'll implement the core functionality of your personal project. Finally, in the Quiz, you will test your new knowledge.

Ergonomics and Optimization

Unity VR Development

Dive into the world of virtual reality with Unity's VR Development Pathway. Learn to design immersive experiences, build VR games, and master Unity's VR tools. Start creating in VR today!

VR Development Pathway - Learn Unity VR Game Development | Unity Learn

 or have the equivalent experience, before starting Unity VR Development.

In addition, basic coding experience is recommended before starting the Custom VR Development mission, which can be obtained via the 

Ready to develop for VR? This guided learning Pathway will prepare you for a job in the VR industry!

Welcome to VR Development! This learning pathway is designed for anyone interested in learning to create experiences for VR. This pathway assumes a basic knowledge of Unity and basic knowledge of programming.

VR Development

Welcome to the VR Pathway

VR Software Setup 

1.1 - VR Project Setup

1.2 - VR Locomotion

1.3 - Grabbable Objects

1.4 - Sockets

Challenge 1 - Architecture Review

The VR software landscape

Lab 1 - VR Personal Project Basics

Submission 1 - Share your Work

Mission 1 Quiz 1 - VR Basics

Learn the basics of setting up a VR project and implementing simple interactivity like locomotion and grabbing objects.

In this mission, you will learn the basics of setting up a VR project and implementing simple interactivity.

In these tutorials, you will do the following:

Set up a VR-ready project with the room of your choice

Implement locomotion so that users can move around the scene

Add grabbable objects users can pick up and throw around

Set up sockets that objects can snap into

In the Challenge for this mission, you will apply your skills in an architectural review prototype. Then, in the Lab, you'll fill out a design document to lay out a concept for your own project, and then begin working on it. Finally, in the Quiz, you will test your new knowledge.

VR Basics

2.1 - Audio and Haptics

2.2 - Activation Events

2.3 - Direct and Ray Interactors

2.4 - User Interface

Challenge 2 - 3D Painting

The XR hardware landscape

Lab 2 - Personal Project Events & Interactions

Submission 2 - Share your Work

Mission 2 Quiz - VR Events & Interactions

Learn how to implement more complex interactions in VR to make the experience more immersive, such as audio, haptics, and user interfaces.

In this mission, you will implement more complex interactions in VR to make the experience more immersive.

Apply new functionality to specific objects

Allow the user to toggle between multiple types of interactors

In the Challenge for this mission, you will apply your skills in a 3D painting prototype. Then, in the Lab, you'll implement the core functionality of your personal project. Finally, in the Quiz, you will test your new knowledge.

Events and Interactions

What is in this mission?

Explore the sample scene

Set up the scanner

Code the scanning functionality

Balloon Inflator

Escape Room project overview

Number pad

Keycard reader

Sliding Door

Mission 4 Quiz - Custom VR Development

Project 3: Clone with a twist! 

Submit your final project

Clone with a twist!

Learn to write scripts for advanced interactions in VR applications, and create your own unique VR project.

In the previous missions, you used pre-made interaction scripts provided to you as part of the Create with VR project. This mission will teach you to write scripts specifically for VR applications. You’ll write these scripts from scratch in the context of three separate projects.

In project 1, the XRI example scene created by the XR Interaction Toolkit team, you'll reference existing code and documentation to program some more advanced, customized interactables.

In project 2, you’ll follow guidelines from a project brief to create part of a VR escape room. Rather than following step-by-step instructions here, you’ll only receive hints.

In project 3, which you’ll submit to receive your pathway badge, you’ll create your own unique VR project. The challenge here is to create a clone with a twist: a version of an established VR experience, but with a unique alteration.

, you should already have a good foundational knowledge of scripting in the Unity engine to make the most out of this learning content.

If you don’t already have a foundational understanding of scripting, now is an excellent time to learn. We recommend you complete the 

If you feel almost ready but want to brush up on a few skills without doing the entire Junior Programmer pathway, why not check out the 

Custom VR Development

bf50a923-4fea-4fdb-ba2d-dd5f8ef59235:d73b0f0ce150

Create a simple black canvas for fading

Fade in on scene load

Teleporting with fade

Add a settings panel

Add a snap turning setting

Add a distance grab setting

Recap

Extension Activities

Beginner VR Design

aaron.sharp@unity3d.com bCXcG*RnEp9O!6@q

3.1.ext - Voiceover.mp4

3.1.ext - Continuous movement.mp4

3.1.ext - Closed captions.mp4

3_1_2_v2.mp4

3_1_5_v2.mp4

3_1_recap_v1.mp4

3_1_3_v2.mp4

3_1_1_v2.mp4

3_1_4_v2.mp4

3_1_6_v2.mp4

In this lesson, you will learn how to reduce the risk of simulator sickness and increase the inclusivity or your app, allowing it to be enjoyed by as many people as possible. By the end of this lesson, your app will be more comfortable and accessible. 

This lesson is part of the Create with VR course. 

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

Explain the importance of limiting a user’s field of view in order to reduce the risk of simulator sickness, especially as it relates to locomotion.

Recognize opportunities for improving accessibility in an app in order to make it more inclusive, including motor, audio, visual, and cognitive accessibility. 

Modify a project in order to make it more comfortable or accessible in order to allow it to be enjoyed by as many people as possible.

VR Developer Pathway Facilitator Kit.zip

VR Developer Pathway Facilitator Kit (Google Drive)

Unity Educator Hub

The VR Developer Pathway Facilitator Kit includes everything you need to successfully bring this Pathway into your learning context including a syllabus, complete lesson plans, standards alignment, teacher preparation guide, and more.  

Games

Film

Automotive

Skill-L2-SysDes.VRd-1: Evaluate a proposed VR experience in order to suggest ways it could be improved

o-L2-SysDes.VRd-1.1: Describe the advantages and disadvantages of VR experiences, when compared with traditional screen-based experiences.

o-L2-SysDes.VRd-1.2: Describe the design considerations specific to VR experiences, when compared with traditional screen-based experiences.

o-L2-SysDes.VRd-1.3: Explain the importance of optimization and performance for VR experiences.

o-L2-SysDes.VRd-1.4: Explain comfort and accessibility considerations specific to VR experiences.

Evaluate a proposed VR experience in order to suggest ways it could be improved. 

3 - VR Optimization and Lighting

VR Ergonomics & Optimization

Unit 4: VR Optimization and Lighting

When the scene loads, it can be a little jarring to just appear in a new world. It is generally good to fade into new environments. 

1.  Make a new Screen Space canvas to fade in from:

In the Hierarchy, Create > UI > Canvas and rename it “Fade_Canvas”.


2.  Make the canvas render directly in front of the camera:

In the Canvas object, in the Canvas component, set the Render Mode to Screen Space - Camera.

Set the Render Camera property to your Main Camera.

Right-click your Fade_Canvas object and create a UI > Image.

Set the X Scale and Y Scale properties to a large number (e.g. 100) to make sure the canvas covers your whole field of view.


4.  Make the canvas appear directly in front of the Main Camera and in front of all other objects:

In the Canvas component, set the Plane Distance to 0.1.

The black canvas should now completely cover the field of view when you run the program. 

Canvas component shown with Render Mode set to Screen Space - Camera, Render Camera set to Main Camera, Plane Distance set to 0.1, and Order in Layer set to 1.

Now that you have the black canvas set up, you need to fade from it on scene load.

1.  Allow the canvas and all of its elements to fade:

On the Fade_Canvas object, add a Canvas Group component and a Fade Canvas component.


2.  Make an event that detects when the scene has loaded:

In the Hierarchy, add an empty object and rename it “Scene Loader”. It will hold your scene loading events.

Add an On Scene Load component to the Scene Loader object. 

On the Scene Loader object, in the On Load event, click the + to add a new function.

Select the FadeCanvas > StartFadeOut () function.


4.  Hide the black image in scene view by default: 

Set the Canvas Group component’s Alpha value to 0.

The scene should now appear to fade in from black when the scene loads. You can test this using the reset scene UI screen you made. 

In the Hierarchy, the Scene Loader object is selected. In the Inspector, in the On Scene Load component, in the On Load event, the Canvas_Fade object is assigned with the function FadeCanvas.StartFadeOut.

Another opportunity to improve player comfort through fading is during teleporting. Typically, there is a short fade to reduce the illusion of movement (“vection”) when teleporting and improve comfort.

1.  Add fading functionality to your Teleportation Area (rug):

On your Rug prefab, remove the default Teleportation Area component and replace it with the custom Teleport Area With Fade component.

At the bottom of the new component, assign the same Interaction Layer Mask,  Custom Reticle and Match Orientation properties to match the original component.


2.  Add fading functionality to your Teleportation Anchor (mats):

Enter Prefab Mode on one of your mats in order to apply changes to all mats at once.

Remove the default Teleportation Anchor component and replace it with the custom Teleport Anchor With Fade component.

Edit the new component’s properties to match the original component.

Note: make sure that you have applied the changes to all mat prefabs or prefab variants. 

Your teleportation anchors and teleportation area should now quickly fade to black when you teleport.

In the Hierarchy, The Mat object is selected. In the Inspector, the Teleport Anchor with Fade component is highlighted.

In order to add some settings, you will add a new panel that can be accessed from the main menu panel. 

In the Hierarchy, right-click Welcome Background object and select UI > Button - TextMeshPro to add a button. 

Set the Source Image property to the gear icon 

Delete the default Text so that it has no text on it.

Resize and reposition the button so it fits nicely on in the bottom-right corner of the menu.

In the Hierarchy, duplicate the Welcome Background object. 

Rename the copied object “Settings Background” 

Temporarily deactivate the welcome panel so you can only see the settings screen for easier editing.


3.  Add placeholder content to the settings screen:

Replace the contents of the panel with three placeholder text objects (“Setting 1” / Setting 2” / “Setting 3”)

Add a Toggle object next to each setting, deleting the default text that is generated by the toggle. 

You may want to parent each text object to group them together.

Note: Use TextMeshPro Text for the labels instead of the default Text label that comes with the toggle.


4.  Replace the settings gear icon with an “X” icon:

In the Gear icon’s Image component, change the Source Image property from Icon_Gear to Icon_Close.


5.  Allow the user to go back and forth between these menus:

In the Settings button’s On Click event, set the settings screen as active and the welcome screen as inactive.

In the Close button’s On Click event, set the settings screen as inactive and the welcome screen as active.


6.  Make the reset menu hide the settings menu when it appears:

In the XR Rig’s On Button Press event, add a new action that disables the settings screen.

You should now be able to access the Settings menu from a gear icon in the main menu, which has 3 placeholder toggle settings. You should also be able to return to the welcome panel from the settings by pressing a Close button. 

In Scene view, the X button in the top-right corner of the user interface panel is selected. In the Inspector, the OnClick event is highlighted. In the On Click event, the Settings_Background object is being set to InActive and the Welcome_Background object is being set to Active.

In Scene view, the Cog settings button in the top-right corner of the user interface panel is selected. In the Inspector, the OnClick event is highlighted. In the OnClick event, the Welcome_Background object is being set to InActive and the Settings_Background object is being set to Active.

One of the easiest ways to increase accessibility is allowing for more ways to navigate the environment. You will allow the user to enable or disable snap turning.

Edit the first setting text to say “Snap Turning”. 

In the Toggle component, make sure the Is On property is enabled, since Snap Turning is enabled by default.


2.  Link the toggle to the Snap Turn component:

In the Toggle component, for the On Value Changed  event, click the + to add a new action.

Assign the XR Rig to the Object slot, since it contains the Snap Turn provider component.

Select the Action Based Snap Turn Provider > enabled (Dynamic Bool) function .

Note: Make sure to select the “enabled” property that is a dynamic bool (boolean) - this means that it will be affected dynamically by the state of the toggle.

You should now have a functional check box that enables and disables snap turning. 

In the Toggle component, in the On Value Changed event, the XR Rig is assigned to the GameObject property with the function, ActionBasedSnapTurnProvider.enabled.

Another setting that can drastically increase accessibility is the ability to grab objects at a distance using rays. 

1.  Set up how your setting should appear by default:

In the Toggle component, enable or disable the Is On property.

Change the text of the Toggle to “Distance Grab”.


2.  Make sure all of your grabbable objects can be accessed on the same layer:

In each object’s XR Grab Interactable component, make sure the Interaction Layer Mask property includes the Default layer.


3.  Give your rays the ability to change to a different set of layers:

In the Hierarchy, select both the LeftHand Ray and RightHand Ray objects.

Add a Set Interaction Layer component to both objects.

Set the Target Layer property to include the Default layer and the Raycasts layer, which would allow them to grab objects.


4.  Make the “Distance Grab” toggle trigger these target layers:

In the Toggle component, in the On Value Changed event, click the + two times to add two new actions (one for each hand).

3.1 - Comfort and Accessibility

Overview Video

1. Create a simple black canvas for fading

2. Fade in on scene load

3. Teleporting with fade

4. Add a settings panel

5. Add a snap turning setting

6. Add a distance grab setting

7. Recap

8. Extension Activities

Complete this tutorial