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

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

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

badc9718-f30e-46f8-8c8e-466aa4ecce7c:872c930cc09c

Overview

Specific requirements

Hint set 1

Hint set 2

Hint set 3

Compare your code!

More things to try

Next steps

Comp-L3-Prog.VRp: Intermediate VR Development

Intermediate VR Development

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

D.4.4.7_Door-sliding-sound_edited.mp4

The time has come for you to attempt the final, most challenging feature from the project brief: the heavy sliding door. This feature will also require significant use of 3D vector math, but it will also test your ability to program interactions that feel natural in VR. This door looks like it would be very heavy and difficult to slide back and forth – it is up to you to make it feel that way through code.

In this tutorial, you will do the following: 

Program a custom sliding door according to the requirements of the project brief, with the help of optional hints

Use mathematical formulas, such as dot products, to program custom 3D interactions

Implement features that feel natural and intuitive in VR to promote a sense of presence

Games

Film

Automotive

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.

VR-Pathway_Escape-Room_final-scripts.zip

The Sliding Door

Project 2: Escape Room Project brief 

The final feature you’ll implement from the project brief is the sliding door. The user must be able to swipe their keycard through a card reader to unlock the door.

The specific requirements for the sliding door are listed in the next step. 

As a reminder, if you aren’t sure how to implement one of these requirements, three sets of hints are available to you. We recommend that you attempt to get it working before moving on to the next set of hints. 

If you go through all three sets of hints and are still stuck, at the very end of this project you will be able to download and inspect the completed scripts. Even if you can’t get it working, you will still learn a lot by attempting it and then reviewing someone else’s functional code. 

The sliding door is in the open position with the handle GameObject selected.

The must-have requirements for the sliding door are outlined in the full project brief and are also listed here for your convenience: 

The door handle should extend XRBaseInteractable.

The door should only be movable after the lock has been opened or removed.

The door should feel heavy: it should speed up as you pull farther from it (almost as if you’re pulling it with a rubber band).

The door should only move if you’re pulling in the appropriate direction. For example, nothing should happen if you pull directly perpendicular to it.

Below is the first set of hints, which includes direction on high-level code architecture and programming logic. Use these hints only after you’ve at least attempted the feature with the guidance above: 

While grabbing the door, calculate a pull vector starting at the position of the handle and ending at your hand’s current position. 

Compare the pull vector to the vector the door should move in and determine whether the pull is in the appropriate direction.

The bigger the pull in the appropriate direction, the faster the door should move.

Below is the second set of hints, which will point you to specific methods, classes, and documentation that may be helpful for this feature. Use these hints only after you’ve at least attempted the feature with the guidance above. 

To program this functionality, you will likely need the following variables:

The Transform of the actual door (rather than the handle) so that you can move the door instead of just the handle.

A float for the max drag distance for the door, which should be around 0.35 units.

A Vector3 for the door's start and end position, which can be set in Start().

A Vector3 variable for the local direction the door can move (the door should only be able to slide in one direction).

A Vector3 for the world drag direction the door should move in (convert local door direction to world coordinates). This can be set in Start().

Every frame while the handle is being grabbed, the following should occur:

Check if the door handle is selected - you can use the isSelected property from XRBaseInteractable to do this.

Get the position of the interactor that has selected the door - this can be used to track the hand's position.

Subtract the door transform from the interactor transform to get the Vector3 between them (this is what you’ll use to figure out how the user is pulling the door).

Use a dot product to figure out how far the hand has moved in the appropriate direction.

To calculate a speed value, get the absolute value of the dot product, then divide by Time.deltaTime.

You might want to divide the speed by a door weight variable to slow door movement.

Use MoveTowards to move the door toward the start or end position by the speed. 

Below is the third set of hints, which includes actual snippets of code that you could use for specific features. Use these hints only after you’ve at least attempted the functionality with the guidance above: 

public Transform DraggedTransform; // set to parent door object
public Vector3 LocalDragDirection; // set to -1, 0, 0
public float DragDistance; // set to 0.8
public int DoorWeight = 20;

private Vector3 m_StartPosition;
private Vector3 m_EndPosition;
private Vector3 m_WorldDragDirection;

private void Start()
{
  m_WorldDragDirection = transform.TransformDirection(LocalDragDirection).normalized;

  m_StartPosition = DraggedTransform.position;
  m_EndPosition = m_StartPosition + m_WorldDragDirection * DragDistance;
}

Partial ProcessInteractable function (runs every frame):

public override void ProcessInteractable(XRInteractionUpdateOrder.UpdatePhase updatePhase)
{
  if (isSelected)
  {
    var interactorTransform = firstInteractorSelecting.GetAttachTransform(this);
    Vector3 selfToInteractor = interactorTransform.position - transform.position;
    // calculate dot product of selfToInteractor onto drag direction
    // calculate speed based the dot product
    // move door based on speed using MoveTowards
  }
}

If you are interested, you can download an example of the functioning scripts for this project and compare your code. Looking at other developers’ work is one of the best ways to improve your code and learn new techniques, even if you were able to complete all the interactions successfully. 

If you want to further develop your skills, explore new concepts, or improve your project, check out some optional activities below. Each one is tagged as either [Easy], [Medium], or [Difficult] so you can choose the level of challenge. 

These activities are entirely optional, so if you’re not interested, no problem – just skip this step. 

We do recommend attempting at least one of them in order to get the most out of this learning experience. Good luck!

In VR, all the senses come together to produce a sense of presence, and audio is a big part of that.

If you’re putting all this effort into making the door feel heavy, it would be great to also include a sound effect that would enhance that feeling of heaviness. 

[Medium] Add dynamic haptic feedback for the door opening 

The final sensation you could add to enhance this experience would be a tactile element. As the door opens, you could vibrate the controller with dynamic intensity, depending on the speed it’s being pulled.

[Difficult] Build out more of the escape room  

What you’ve programmed here is just the end of an escape room, but how would the users actually get the code that they then enter on the number pad? 

If you want, design a puzzle to crack the code! 

For some inspiration, you could repurpose assets from the XR Interaction Toolkit example scene. For example:

Piggy bank: smash the piggy bank and have the code inside.

Grabber machine game: the code could be buried underneath objects in the machine or on the back of one of the animals in the machine.

Ball shooter gun: maybe you need to hit targets in a particular order to reveal the code.

Worldspace UI elements: there could be a riddle written in text somewhere in the scene that you need to solve.

Door and key: the user needs to find a key and open a door to reveal the code.

Watering can: use the watering can to wet an area, and the code appears.

These are just some ideas, but there’s much more you could do, too!

Congratulations! You’ve made it to the end of this project. Whether you didn’t use any of the hints or used all of them, that is quite an accomplishment. 

Following a project brief like this one is most likely the workflow you would encounter while working in VR development professionally. If you were able to do this project, then you’re well on your way to being able to work as a VR developer! 

Next, you’ll do a short quiz and then move on to your final project in the pathway, which will be a capstone portfolio piece.

Sliding Door

Overview Video

1. Overview

2. Specific requirements

3. Hint set 1

4. Hint set 2

5. Hint set 3

6. Compare your code!

7. More things to try

8. Next steps

Complete this tutorial