VR prototyping and iteration can be challenging across different platforms, such as PC, mobile, or standalone headsets. You want to test your VR concepts quickly and efficiently, without compromising on quality or functionality. How do you achieve this goal? In this article, we will share some tips and tools that can help you iterate VR prototypes across platforms.
The first step is to choose a VR framework that supports multiple platforms and devices. A VR framework is a software library that provides common features and functions for VR development, such as rendering, input, audio, physics, and networking. Some examples of cross-platform VR frameworks are Unity, Unreal Engine, A-Frame, and WebXR. These frameworks allow you to create VR prototypes that can run on various platforms with minimal changes, saving you time and resources.
The second step is to use a cloud-based VR prototyping tool that lets you create and share VR prototypes online. A cloud-based VR prototyping tool is a web application that enables you to design, build, and test VR prototypes without installing any software or hardware. Some examples of cloud-based VR prototyping tools are Figma, Miro, and Sketchbox. These tools allow you to collaborate with your team and stakeholders, get feedback, and iterate your VR prototypes in real time.
The third step is to test your VR prototypes on different devices and platforms. This is essential to guarantee that they function as intended and deliver a consistent and immersive user experience. To do this, you can employ a variety of methods, such as a VR emulator or simulator on your PC or mobile device, a remote device testing service to access and control a real VR device remotely, or a VR streaming service to stream your prototype from your PC to your VR device over a local or cloud network.
It's easy to develop your application on a desktop computer, and being able to jump quickly in and out of VR significantly speeds up iteration time. However you should have a habit of regularly deploying builds to your target device. Performance is the biggest trigger for VR sickness, and needs to be accounted throughout development. While standalone headsets get more and more capable, they can't compete with desktop level hardware.
The fourth step is to optimize your VR prototypes for performance. Performance optimization is the process of improving the speed, efficiency, and quality of your VR prototypes, which is essential for ensuring a good user experience, battery life, and compatibility across different platforms. To optimize your VR prototypes for performance, try reducing the complexity and size of your assets, such as models, textures, animations, and sounds. Additionally, adjust the resolution, frame rate, and field of view to the capabilities of your target platforms. Lastly, consider implementing techniques such as occlusion culling, level of detail, and batching to reduce the rendering load.
An engine like Unity gives you a lot of tools out of the box, but it's up to you to make use of many of them. An example of this is culling - Unity automatically removes geometry outside of your field of vision, which means geometry should be split up smartly to accommodate this. Occlusion culling however, requires manual setup but allows you to design your experience so that content is loaded and unloaded progressively. This can have major gains on mobile hardware. Also consider using Unity's own LOD system, which allow you to crank up the details with a LOD0 on desktop VR, but limits Android headsets to LOD1, for example.
The fifth step is to use analytics and feedback tools to measure and improve your VR prototypes. Analytics and feedback tools are software applications that collect and analyze data and feedback from your VR prototypes. These tools can help you understand how your users interact with your VR prototypes, what they like and dislike, and how you can improve your VR prototypes. Some examples of analytics and feedback tools are Google Analytics, Firebase, and UserTesting. These tools allow you to track and visualize metrics such as user behavior, engagement, retention, and satisfaction.
The sixth step is to iterate your VR prototypes based on data and feedback. Iteration is an essential process of making changes and improvements to refine your VR prototypes, making them more user-friendly, functional, and appealing. You can do this by identifying and prioritizing the problems and opportunities that arise from your data and feedback, generating and testing possible solutions and alternatives for your VR prototypes, as well as implementing and evaluating the changes and improvements made.
Think about your target audience, are they familiar with VR, your genre of game/experience, or have they never put on a headset before? You can make assumptions all you want, but you need to perform user testing with external people that can give you an outside perspective.