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 - VR Basics 

VR Software Setup 

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

Clone with a twist!

Submit your final project

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

22c36c69-e0f2-4170-8e95-9725eb2d3a49:9084bbd5fefa

Fill in Design Document for ergonomics & optimization

Replace primitive objects with 3D art

Improve comfort and accessibility

Optimize draw calls and polycount

Optimize lighting

Confirm settings and build your app

Recap

Beginner VR Design

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

Comp-L3-Prog.VRp: Intermediate VR Development

Intermediate VR Development

3_6_lab_3_1_v2.mp4

3_6_lab_3_6_v2.mp4

3_6_lab_3_3_v2.mp4

3_6_lab_3_recap_v1.mp4

3_6_lab_3_5_v2.mp4

3_6_lab_3_2_v2.mp4

3_6_lab_3_4_v2.mp4

By the end of this lab, your personal project will be filled with beautiful art, optimized for performance and ready to share. 

This lab will draw on skills learned in the following lessons:

This lab is part of the Create with VR course. 

Designed for post-secondary and K-12 educators at accredited academic institutions teaching Unity in the classroom, the Unity Educator plan provides you with free access to the same real-time 3D development tools used by professionals to support your students.

Included in this plan are Unity Pro, cloud-based collaboration, cloud build, free Unity assets, and much more!

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. 

Skill-L2-SysDes.VRd-2: Decide which XR hardware to target, given the goals of a particular project.

o-L2-SysDes.VRd-2.1: Explain the difference between VR and other types of XR (such as AR and MR), including suitable uses for each one.

o-L2-SysDes.VRd-2.2: Explain the differences between the most widely used XR hardware systems.

o-L2-SysDes.VRd-2.3: Explain at a high level the options for publishing or distributing VR apps.

o-L2-SysDes.VRd-2.4: Recall the latest hardware, software, and research trends in VR in order to inform recommendations.

Decide which XR hardware to target, given the goals of a particular project.

Skill-L3-Prog.VRp-3: Program custom VR interactions in order to meet the requirements of a project brief.

o-L3-Prog.VRp-3.1: Demonstrate familiarity with the XR Interaction Toolkit (XRIT) API by identifying a high-level approach for programming a given feature in VR.

o-L3-Prog.VRp-3.2: Extend the functionality of the default interactable and interactor objects by overriding the provided events in the XRIT.

o-L3-Prog.VRp-3.3: Perform mathematical calculations on 3D vectors in order to program custom 3D interactions in VR.

Program custom VR interactions in order to meet the requirements of a project brief.

Skill-L3-Prog.VRp-4: Optimize the performance of an app in order to meet headset framerate requirements.

o-L3-Prog.VRp-4.1: Recall approximate frame rate performance targets for popular head-mounted displays.

o-L3-Prog.VRp-4.2: Demonstrate techniques for optimizing lighting for performance.

o-L3-Prog.VRp-4.3: Select appropriate profiling tools to identify the sources of performance problems in an app.

o-L3-Prog.VRp-4.4: Apply graphical optimization techniques within Unity to improve polycount and draw calls.

Optimize the performance of an app in order to meet headset framerate requirements.

3 - VR Optimization and Lighting

VR Ergonomics & Optimization

Before you resume work on your project, you need a plan for what you’re actually going to work on. You will continue filling out your design document so you have a clear plan of action for this lab.

1.  Pick up where you left off with your design document:

Re-open the document you created during Lab 1 and continued working on during Lab 2.


2.  Fill out Section 5 (Optimization & Publishing) of the document:

List the ways you intend to make the user experience more comfortable or accessible.

Write down the target performance metrics for your target device(s).

Describe the lighting strategy you will implement.


3.  (Optional) Add more specific details to your design document:

Continue to fill out section 6 (Other features) 

Continue to fill out section 8 (Timeline)  

You should now have section 4 of your Design Document complete, providing direction for this lab where you will be implementing your app’s core functionality.

Before we begin optimizing our app and improving the user experience, it’s time to replace some of our primitive assets with some real 3D art. 

Search for “low poly” assets.
Tip: You can also filter by “Free”.

From the Package Manager, click Download.

Then click Import to add the assets to your project.


3.  To create your own 3D models inside Unity using Probuilder:

From the Package Manager, install the Probuilder package.

From the top menu in Unity, click Tools > Probuilder > Probuilder Window. 


4.  Replace the primitive shapes in your scene with custom or imported 3D art:

Add the 3D models as child objects of empty parent objects in your scene.

To achieve appropriate scale, adjust the scale of the child object rather than the scale of the parent object. 

As necessary, add colliders to your objects to make them collide appropriately. 

As necessary, adjust the attach points of your objects so that they are grabbed appropriately.

If possible, try to use the same shaders to reduce draw calls. 

Your scene should now look a lot nicer with some real 3D art.


Related resources:

You should take time to consider how comfortable and accessible your app will be. This will allow it to be enjoyed by as many people as possible and make sure fewer people are excluded from using your app due to design decisions you’ve made. 

1.  Make sure your app’s locomotion is as comfortable as possible.

Follow the instructions in the Comfort and Accessibility tutorial. 


2.  Add settings and menu options that increase the accessibility of your app:

Your app should now be more comfortable and accessible, allowing it to be enjoyed by more people than it was before.

Now that the app is largely functional and has some real 3d assets, you can attempt to optimize your app’s performance to hit your target metrics.

1.  Determine your app is currently performing, including fps, draw calls (batches), and polycount (tris):

Follow the instructions in the Optimization tutorial. 

Follow the instructions in the Optimization tutorial, including replacing high-poly assets with lower-poly ones.

Follow the instructions in the Optimization tutorial, including marking objects as static and using shared materials.


4.  Improve jagged lines with anti-aliasing:


5.  Quickly experiment with changes to your app’s performance:

Locate the UniversalRenderPipelineAsset and tweak its settings to see what has an impact.

You should now have an understanding of how your app is performing and, if it is performing poorly, what the cause of that poor performance might be. You should not be discouraged if your frames per second is still too low, though, since you have not yet optimized lighting.

Seven stages of optimizing mobile VR content in Unity 

In VR, performance is critical to the user experience and lighting is one of the biggest components of performance. In order to optimize performance for VR, baking most of the lighting is highly recommended, using a minimal number of real-time or mixed lights.

1.  Add and bake environmental lighting in your scene: 

Follow the instructions in the Lighting tutorial. 


2.  Improve realtime lighting with mixed lights and light probes:

You should now have baked lighting in your scene with realtime effects on dynamic objects from mixed lights and light probes.

The final step before building a version of an app that you would consider sharing or publishing is double-checking that you are using all of the recommended build settings for your target platform.

1.  Confirm that your app’s project settings are following best practices for VR:

Follow the instructions in the Building and Sharing tutorial, including Player settings, Quality settings, Build settings, Render Pipeline Asset properties, Lighting and shadow settings


2.  Build a version of your app that can be shared or published:

Follow the instructions in the Building and Sharing tutorial.

You should now have a built app, ready for distribution, following all best practices for build settings.

Lab 3 - Personal Project Ergonomics & Optimization

Overview Video

1. Fill in Design Document for ergonomics & optimization

2. Replace primitive objects with 3D art

3. Improve comfort and accessibility

4. Optimize draw calls and polycount

5. Optimize lighting

6. Confirm settings and build your app

7. Recap

Complete this tutorial