Every VR app literally transports users to new places to experience things they may never have the opportunity to otherwise. Additionally, all of these opportunities amount to a wealth of experiences which immediately leads to a better understanding of the world.
The true start of the new era of VR didn’t begin until 2015 and even by then, people were still on the fence about the legitimacy of the technology.
The VR industry is a fast-growing powerhouse of entertainment as millions slowly make the leap to altered reality systems. For startups especially, there is a myriad of growing tools that are specifically built to make the development process for VR project apps as simple as possible.
Some Essential Tools to Start Your VR Project
Through the use of a few tools, startups can make incredible VR project experiences that enraptured audiences and drive sales. The Unreal Engine is one such tool that makes it much simpler for a startup and builds VR project apps and deploys them to PC and beyond.
Unreal Engine
Creating virtual reality applications may seem like an impossible feat. Alas — it is quite possible! Huzzah, a game engine like Unreal Engine can help you design a VR project app with only some coding knowledge.
The Unreal Engine, created and distributed by Epic Games, provides users with a triple-A game engine used by large studios to create multi-million dollar games. It can be acquired for the low, low price of gratis. That’s right, an enterprise engine is completely free to use and comes pre-packaged with VR components and level design goodies. The only catch: a small royalty fee placed on your VR project app’s revenue.
If you don’t have any artistic or coding skills, no worries. The Unreal Engine comes with a no-code editor as well as a Marketplace replete with custom-made models, meshes, and logic.
Unity
The Unreal Engine is quite powerful but requires a lot of tweaking and fine-tuning to be properly utilized. Unity, however, is open-source. Having been on the scene for much longer, there are plenty of free components, templates, and APIs you can easily drag, drop, and stitch together.
Unity offers the same powerful game engine features, from 3D VR and AR kits to prepackaged objects, cameras, and levels. Opening up an AR or VR project is simple and provides you with a pre-calibrated level. Exporting your work onto iOS, Android, Windows, and Linux systems requires only a simple click. Importing assets like sprites, character designs, and musical accompaniment are also quite simple, allowing developers and designers to work in tandem.
APIs and VR project kits are available everywhere online and since Unity is widely used there are always several ways to accomplish your VR goals in Unity. For the project management side of development, there are tools like Trello that help to manage teams and organize workflows.
Trello
Trello is a project management platform based loosely on Agile, Lean, and Kanban principles. Essentially, members of the team define a goal on the platform, then break those goals into tiny chunks, or tasks. These tasks are then organized based on state. The states being, “to do,” “in progress,” and “completed.”
This style of project collaboration is based on lean product management styles originating from Japanese factories. Managing complexity without micromanaging minutiae, and planning for setbacks and bottlenecks required a dynamic yet structured approach known as Kanban.
Trello is essentially a factored version of Kanban that works for several different industries and working environments.
Unreal makes it simple to create VR apps with prepackaged assets and tools that do most of the work without requiring hardcore coding skills. The Unreal marketplace allows even nontechnical artists to create full-fledged games with all of the power of a normal games studio. The use of a no-code editor makes it much simpler to program and its extensive marketplace means that you can find your assets without coding experience at all.
Unity is another such engine that creates spectacular VR apps without delay. Unity makes it easy to deploy your VR project apps once completed and offers a wide range of plug and play features thanks to its open-source nature.
Trello allows the developers to set up an end goal and then divvy up the tasks based on the skill sets represented. Using Trello allows startups to understand the basics of communication and cooperation without weighing down the process with incessant meetings or checkups.
The best tools for VR project are the ones that make life easier for your development team without skimping on power or features. Luckily for startups, there has never been a better time to join the VR industry as there are apps and services to make the process a cinch.
About the guest author:
Romy Toma-Catauta works in the marketing field and is passionate about writing on web design, freelance hiring, business, and psychology.
