As we know that virtual reality is the fastest-growing and most fascinating technology and some people even say that VR can be the future of the entertainment and gaming industry. For a long time, VR has been a dream for video game developers, despite disappointing games like Nintendo’s virtual boy. The objective of having fully-realistic VR game development can finally become reality after countless vaporware iterations.
VR has the power for transforming how we can generate things. It is far from perfect but hardware such as- Oculus Rift, PSVR, and the HTC Vive have made it far more tempting for consumers and developers alike.
Investing in VR now no longer needs thousands of dollars and state-of-the-art machinery. Nowadays, affordable software and VR headsets provide an opportunity for low-cost investment in Video game development. Do you want to learn how to make a Video game in Unity? You are in the right place. This blog will shed light on how to make a VR game in Unity and different game engines that can help you develop games.
Table of Contents
What is VR and How Is It Transforming the Gaming Industry?
Virtual reality is known as an immersive and realistic simulation of a 3D environment. VR gained essential ground in each scope due to the extension of digitization. It can increase business profits and can improve the consumer experience drastically. VR developers can now build VR solutions on par with industry veterans thanks to 3D game engines like Unity3D and Unreal Engine.
VR is getting famous in the gaming industry, and the industry is getting more and more benefits from this immersive technology. There are so many effective implementations of cutting-edge VR gaming in this industry. Various large-scale android game development companies have switched to the VR movement for transforming the user experience.
The gaming industry innovations are blooming at high speed and in the past years, the gaming industry with virtual reality has played an essential role and given a new twist to the business of video games.
Get Free Unity 3D Game Demo
We have a team of experts who can help you in app web & software development
Unity3D was first released in 2005 as a development engine. It has since become the most commonly used 3D and 2D development tool on the globe. Here are a few figures:
Unity3D is used to create 60% of AR/VR content and 50% of mobile games.
VR Development in Unity supports a total of 28 channels (from iOS & Oculus to Windows Mixed Reality and all in between).
Because of its widespread use on mobile devices, there is a persistent misconception that Unity3D is only suitable for mobile projects. This is largely due to Unity3D’s previous focus on the mobile market, especially during the rise of Apple’s AppStore and Google’s Play Market.
VR Games Developed Using Unity
Unity is the finest gaming platform that offers a two-dimensional and three-dimensional experience while creating both VR and AR content. Here are some of the most prominent VR Games Made With Unity.
Escape From Tarkov
Escape from Tarkov is the most popular VR game made with unity. Tarkov is a multiplayer shooting game that was developed by the AR development team of Battlestate Games. It gives a perfect experience of war happening between military companies: BEAR and United Security. It is a game of survival, players need to escape or survive while fighting with other players.
Norman’s Island
Norman’s Island is an action-comedy game for kids aged 8 to 12 years. It is a simple animated game that gives you a real-time environment of immense visual effects, and impeccable design for a small studio as a mountain animation.
Coco VR
Coco VR offers an immersive experience in Pixar’s industry with Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR. Coco VR represents their entire process as more exciting and challenging with a multiplayer platform that explores vibrantly with animated files in real-time in Unity. Users can mutually explore with friends while in the land of the dead.
Osiris: New Dawn is a single-player game that sets an example for an open-world environment. With survival challenges, this sci-fi game introduces a space exploration model that looks at the planet as really as possible that gives players an impeccable experience.
Rick & Morty
Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-Ality is a PlayStation VR game based on the American animated series Rick and Morty. This game is a reflection of Owlchemy’s transformation of 2D cartoons into 3D encounters in Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-Ality. Owlchemy’s VR games are multi-platform that are built under the Unity platform.
VR Development in Unity
VR Development in Unity allows VR game developers to build highly-interactive games that blur the lines between physical and virtual reality. Making VR Games in Unity is highly beneficial for developers as it facilitates VR Game Development and easy publishing of the game.
Download Unity3D Game Engine
If you don’t have the latest version of Unity in your system, then download it now as it gives users the experience of a 3D environment. It is free for personal or other use and it allows you to generate and upload your game for various platforms like Android, iOS, Linux, and Xbox.
Include VR Plug-ins
For VR game development for any of the selected platforms, you will require to download a set of plugins.
In order to upload it on iOS, you need to download Xcode.
Download the Google VR SDK plugin for Unity. For Unity’s version 1.110, search it on GitHub.
Unzip and extract all the files into a new folder and it will help you keep files arranged. Additionally, if you don’t have it, then you may require the Java SE Development Kit.
For additional instructions, you can search them on the Oracle website.
Open up Unity 3D to make a new project and you will be asked to download an asset. Download that environment package instantly.
And once your project is open, go to Assets>Import package>Custom package >Import Google VR SDK for Unity>Import.
You need to create your project for the VR platform and you will be required to tell Unity you are making it for the Android platform and create the scene VR enabled.
First, go to File>Build and then select Android.
You can also easily select Landscape Left and then click the Switch Platform at the bottom and close the window.
It is the right time to enable VR settings. And if you try to play the game before doing these above, you will have errors in your programs.
So, Go to Edit>Project settings>Player, and after that, select on the right-hand side under XR settings, then click Virtual Reality supported. And, also choose SDK
Environment
In starting, you should use GVR Demo Scene and open up your assets in the Project Lab, after going to scenes>GVRDemo. After opening the file, you will be changing the environment. You have to delete the following elements in the hierarchy-
CubeRoom
Demo Scene Manger
Demo Input Manager
Cube
Floor Canvas
Keep everything else complete to develop games like pubg game development at GoogleSDK.
GvrControllerVisual offers visual feedback for the daydream controller.
GvrEditorEmulator offers mouse-controlled head-tracking imitation in the Unity editor.
GVR controller provides the keyboard Input to users.
Save your scenes and use GameObject for adding terrain. Select a grass surface in projects and drag it onto the scene. For adding some elements, add some hills. For the hierarchy that is under the terrain, select the button with the hill and the arrow will be pointed upwards. Now, select a brush, it will be good to alternate for making the environment look real. You can choose a smooth button for removing points at hills. For finding the right asset for your project, the Unity Asset Store is a great source for developers.
Get Move
Choose Players first and then add a component, after that capsule collider and Rigidboy. You also require to freeze the X and Y rotation of Rigidboy.
Beginner developers can also make a 3D game in Unity as it has imported libraries and a large volume of existing code. The same thing goes for video game engines but having a license to a whole video game engine would be very costly. So, the solution to this problem is the Unity 3D game engine which is free of cost and is used for making VR games in Unity with purchasable game assets and built-in libraries.
Now add the script to the player and save the file in the Unity folder and press and drag it into the project.
After that, add a component>new script. Then type Autowalk and the script would show up. You may require to save your project and refresh it. And, after adding the script, you will have the option to configure it. Add a speed of 2 and check walk at the time of trigger
It’s time to test your developed game on the phone, the process is as follows-
File>Build Setting>Android>Build & Run.
Then type an identifier and have an Android SDK that you can use freely. Save your game and transfer it to your phone by using a USB card and once the game starts, you may require to hit settings>cardboard, if it is off. In Unity, many objects will help you with Video game development and will provide you with better skills.
To develop a perfect game, game developers use different kinds of free and paid tools to upgrade their skills and knowledge about game development. Here we have described some gaming tools that will help VR game developers to develop an interactive and cutting-edge game for people.
Unity3D
For VR Development in Unity, the VR headsets don’t come with a controller, so you have to add an Autowalk code to it. If you are satisfied with the environment, hit play and you will be able to look around the world just by holding the Alt button. For moving a VR character, you need to add a script and have to change some specific settings on the player.
Unity 3D is a famous commercially available game engine for multiple platforms that are also used for developing 2D and 3D video games and non-game interactive visualization and simulations. It is one of the most popular game engines that is available because of its flexibility, power combination, and ease to use.
Lumberyard
It is an open-source AAA game engine by Amazon that comes with Twitch and AWS integration. It is free of cost to download, for subscribing, and for revenue sharing. You only have to pay just for AWS services for developing your VR Games.
Unreal Engine 4
Unreal Engine 4 and Unity 3D are the same high-end game engines and have huge fan bases. However, Unity is a perfect product for Video game development but unreal is also worth mentioning. It is freely available and only asks for 5%of gross revenue. It is easy to use, VR-readiness, and Heavily-optimized, and it is not only limited to PC gaming either but can be used for iOS and android games too.
Sketchup
It has 3D modelling software programs but it is more expensive than others. It is known for built-in tutorials, a low-learning curve, and a massive free 3D model library. It will cost you $700 for one year and has user-friendliness and beneficial startup guides that accomplishes your modelling needs.
Blender
Although, it is harder to use than famous 3D modeling programs like Maya and 3D max that are completely open-source and free too. For having immersive and beautiful worlds for your VR game development, create custom assets and objects into it. However, this 3D modelling software is expensive but it will provide you with some art fair as various objects you will see in the game are sculpted carefully.
Final Words
Making VR games in Unity 3D by using advanced technologies is not an easy task as the VR gaming industry is the fastest growing industry nowadays with many powerful assets. The idea behind Video game development using VR technology is so fantastic and fascinating in every sense. Because of its popularity and these reasons, many game development companies have started using this technology and building video games based on it.
BR Softech is a leading game development company that also offers services to its customers in the gaming field by accomplishing all needs of clients as per their specifications. Similar to this, VR is helping many companies to boost their revenue!
Making a 3D game in Unity with VR technologies is an arduous and time-taking task. Your best bet is to hire a Unity game development company to help you with the development process.
Q.2 What are the benefits of VR Development in Unity?
VR Development in Unity has many benefits- 1. Easy to Use 2. Better Cross-platform integration 3. Rich Asset Store 4. Active Community
Q.3 How long does it take to develop a VR game in Unity?
It takes around 3 to 6 months to completely develop a VR game in Unity.
I am Nitin Garg, founder of BR Softech PVT LTD - an award-winning mobile game development company known for its excellence in the gaming domain. We have a team of 180+ exceptional professionals & we have a satisfied clientele of 2.7k+ globally. Driven by an entrepreneurial spirit, I aim to elevate BR Softech to a billion-dollar company.