Building VR experience on phone

Virtual reality (VR) is no longer the distant future. It has come true. VR apps may still be in their infancy, but the market is still very active today, with Google, Facebook, and Samsung developing their own platforms for mobile devices and PCs.

To lead further projects, lecturer Prasanth wanted the class to set up a Unity to mobile VR basic build. This would allow us to create and test VR builds on our Android phones and a cardboard headset setup. Following his instructions, I fell over some technical problems with Unity being unable to activate the Android switch which frustrated me since it was a real-time lecture so I was falling behind the class. Luckily, Prasanth has some time at the last lecture to fix our problem and I got the chance to have help from the Unity wizard himself.

While setting up my phone, I encountered a problem where the Mobile VR application would start, but wouldn't show anything. Then it would crash after about 5 seconds. I put this question into the Discord, where Prasanth recommended a series of steps. I removed a graphics API titled 'Vulkan' in the settings. After doing this, it worked perfectly. According to him, Vulkan is a great graphics API that allows you to do more with fewer hardware requirements. However, it is not yet compatible with all devices.

Google (20th Jan 2016). Google's Cardboard viewer [Image] https://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/gadgets/76330032/google-sells-5-million-cardboard-virtual-reality-devices

Sadly even though the cardboard is nonexpensive and easier to make. I did not have it currently in my possession so I can not test it out myself on the simple creation I made through Unity. But it was surely a great way to learn more about VR and take a step into the world of the real VR world that we create on our own. It feels like being a mighty creator to be at least for the vision.

In the end, I was feeling overwhelmed by what I can do with the technology nowadays, I did not know that things could be so easy to create with just some simple click and drop. Furthermore, there are even some of the free creation from others that I could use to put into my "world". I can tell that this is one of the most amazing learning about creation I have ever studied. In the future, I hope that I can create the VRMMORPG that has been animated throughout the last decade and developing in idealization in novels and books. It will be a magnificent thing to hold on to.

#DES241 #UNITY #VR