Dallas App Developers

How to Make a VR App with Google Cardboard Nick Culbertson

Thursday, Feb. 4th, 2016

Overview

❖ Background of Virtual Reality

❖ Look at Modern VR

❖ Making a Cardboard App

• Setting up the Project

• Optimizations

• Deployment

Background of VR

Sensorama - one of the earliest examplesof immersive, multi-sensory tech

NASA - VR Bowling (not really)

Background of VR

❖ Became popular in the 90s then fell off.

❖ Headset technology has always been the biggest obstacle to VR adoption.

❖ Always been a fixture in Sci-Fi Pop Culture

• Books: Ender’s Game, Snow Crash, Ready Player One

• Movies: Tron, Lawnmower Man, The Matrix

Why Didn’t VR Take Off

❖ Bulky Hardware

❖ Really Expensive

❖ Hardware Lacked the Capability to Run Immersive Environments

❖ Limited Content

What is Different with Today’s VR ?

❖ Uses Existing Hardware

❖ Cheaper

❖ Better Experience

❖ More Content

❖ Easier for Developers

Modern VR Complaints

❖ “Screen Door Effect”

❖ Disorientation

❖ Tech Moving Too Quickly

❖ Lack of Content

Look at Modern VR: Who to Watch ❖ Oculus Rift - Industry Leader, Facebook bought for $2 billion

❖ HTC VIVE - Best current VR experience (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n38gC5xgvBg)

❖ Google Cardboard - Most affordable

❖ Samsung Gear VR - Limited to Latest Samsung phone, great mobile experience

❖ Sony MORPHEUS - Built for Playstation (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdg03GBxQl4)

❖ Microsoft Hololens - Innovative Mapping Tech, AR

❖ Magic Leap - Google invested $500 million (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kw0-JRa9n94)

❖ Razer OSVR - Open Source VR

❖ The Void - VR Theme Park (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cML814JD09g)

❖ Virtuix Omni - VR treadmill

❖ Apple - Filed VR Patent, Acquired Metaio

Making a Cardboard App

❖ Unity: Personal Addition

❖ http://unity3d.com/get-unity/download?ref=personal

❖ Cardboard SDK: 2 Unity Packages & Guides

❖ https://developers.google.com/cardboard/unity/

Making a Cardboard App

❖ Demo!!!

Optimization❖ Test Often with Frame Rate in Mind

❖ Use Low Polygon Assets

❖ Bake Lighting

❖ Fewer Draw Calls (single Spritesheet)

❖ Texture Compression

❖ Blob Shadows

❖ Avoid Transparent and Multi-Material Objects

❖ Asynchronous Scene Loading

❖ Reuse Textures

Thank You!

❖ Nick Culbertson @MobyPixel

❖ Project on Github - https://github.com/NickCulbertson/Google-Cardboard-Rail-Starter-Kit