How Virtual Reality Experiences Are Made: A Look Inside The Development Process

Virtual Reality is a technology that has become more mainstream over the years. What was originally linked to the gaming and entertainment industries can now be seen being used in fields like healthcare, automotive, retail, and more. The reason brands are choosing to deliver VR experiences to their audience is that it gives them the freedom to explore the environment, keeps them engaged, and delivers an experience that is memorable. However, for such an experience to be successful, it is important that a well-thought-out virtual reality development process is followed. Thus, here is a quick guide for every business on what VR technology is and the different steps involved when making its experiences.

What is Virtual Reality?

Virtual Reality, or VR, as the name implies, simulates a "virtual" 3D environment for the user to create a level of immersion that makes them feel like they are in a whole different place or "reality". For maximum immersion, most experiences make use of compatible headsets. Thus, despite the user being where they were when wearing the headset, once the experience begins, it takes them to a whole new dimension.

For true VR experiences, a VR headset is a must. However, brands always have the option to go for experiences that make use of mouse or touch controls paired with flat-screen VR ports. Thus, it would work similarly to a game or a 3D application, where users could have full access to the 3D world, and they could even interact with the different objects, just without the use of a headset. In such experiences, the immersion is less, but the users still get to fully explore the virtual environment.

What is the Virtual Reality Development Process?

VR development is a complex process, and the number of steps that go into making an experience differs from project to project. However, generally these are common steps that are used when creating most VR experiences:

Identifying the Objectives

This is the first and one of the most important steps in this process because here is where the experience's objectives are decided. These objectives could include showcasing a product or a property virtually, training students or employees, creating interactive brand activations, or, in general, providing customers with an immersive experience.

Once the main objectives are decided, the next important things that are considered are the technical requirements, target audience, deployment environment, and expected outcome. After these objectives are finalised, the development of the experience can begin.

Conceptualization and Planning

After the main goals of the experience are established, the next step is to outline the scope of the project and all of the contents that will be included in it. Thus, this stage needs answers for questions like:

• How big would the virtual environment be?
• What would it look like?
• What would the user see first?
• The places where the user would be able to go and the things they could interact with?
• How would they receive information?
• What interactions or actions would trigger specific events?

Flow charts, wireframes, storyboards, and more could be used to visualize the user journey while answering the above questions and establishing a structure.

3D Modelling and World Creation

After the concepts and plans are finalized, this step is where the virtual environment is created. Here, 3D artists make everything that will be needed for the virtual experience, like:

• World
• Objects
• Characters
• Architectural Elements
• Landscapes
• Interfaces

For example, when a VR experience is made for real estate agents to market a property. 3D artists would have to make 3D floor plans, furniture, balconies, rooms, amenities, exterior views from outside the flat, and more.

It is also important for the designers to keep performance in mind while making these assets. As such, while realistic or high-quality models are important, they also need to keep the polycount in mind so that the experience or program doesn't crash while the user is in the middle of the virtual tour.

Selecting the Development Engine

The above step helps put in place a visual direction that the design and development team work towards. After which a real-time 3D engine is selected; the most popular examples of them are Unreal or Unity engines. 

What they do is take the above 3D models and make them work. These engines decide how the physics, input, interaction, lighting, animation, and rendering work. As for how these engines are selected comes down to the complexity of the project, the hardware it is meant to run on, visual requirements, and the development expertise.

User Journey and Interaction Design

This step is where the virtual world gets life because here is where how the user's interactions will play out is decided, which also dictates their journey. From character movement and the way they interact with various objects to what triggers certain animations and effects and how information is presented, all of these queries are addressed when deciding the user journey.

For example, if a virtual demo exists of a product like a mixer blender, the user journey would need the answers for: how the user would open the mixer jar, add different vegetables or fruits in it, and different buttons that would control the speed and intensity of the blender.

When all of it works properly, the user would get a virtual experience of how the blender that they plan to buy would work in real life.

Testing, Deployment and Support

This can be considered the final step, or it can be broken down as individual processes depending on how large the VR experience is. However, after the experience is ready, the first thing to do is test it. Here, the tester would check if all of the things in the virtual environment render correctly, if they interact with each other and the different objects in the way that they are intended to, the performance under different conditions, and more.

If the experience meets the necessary quality standards, it is ready to be deployed. Things aren't over just yet once the experience is deployed; after-sales support is equally important to ensure that the business doesn't face any unexpected issues with the experience, despite the initial testing meeting the quality standards.

To sum it up, VR is the future of immersive and interactive experiences. They are great when it comes to keeping your audience engaged while presenting them with all of the information in a fun manner that doesn't overwhelm them. However, all of it is only achieved when the VR content is well planned, and the development process is properly followed.

The best way a business can ensure that the VR development process is taken seriously is by working with a reputable agency. Fortunately, Ink In Caps has been in the experiential marketing sector for more than 8 years. Virtual reality development is one of the many areas we offer our expertise in. Contact us now to book a demo, and together we can create a VR experience that is unforgettable, reaches your target audience, and gives you the results that you are looking for!