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The Alternative Realities of Our Time

Why learn how to make a VR game? If you've ever experienced a virtual reality -- or VR -- game, I don't need to tell you that it's something of a life changer. The first time I stood on the prow of a sunken ship and watched a blue whale swim by, I knew that VR was something special that I wanted to be a part of. Don't you want to give people experiences like that?

VR was an unattainable dream until 2012, when the Oculus Rift made that dream a reality. In the seven years since then, VR has exploded, and the audience for these games will continue to grow. Fortunately, you don't have to watch — you can be a part of it. Learn how to make a VR game, and you'll be in a whole new world you created yourself.

Why You Should Make A VR Game Today

Virtual reality lets you experience worlds that don't exist or that you couldn't otherwise. A VR game enables you to be someone beyond what you thought possible. Traditional video games let you control a character, but in VR, you can be them.

But VR games are still remarkably new, which is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the experience you're looking for may not exist in VR yet.

On the other hand, there's a big push to get people making games for VR. A lot of development software for VR games is open source. Some companies, like Google, are trying to make development as streamlined as possible.

All of this points towards one thing: This is the best time to learn how to make a VR game.

Whether you want to go all in and make the next Halo or just want to play in a virtual model of your house, learning how to make a VR game will open up endless digital worlds to you.

How To Make A VR Game On Any Platform

Making a VR game doesn't have to be a daunting task. There are plenty of programs that streamline the process and make learning how to make a VR game easy and fun.

There are a few different engines and a few different platforms to think about when planning out how to make a VR game.

Unreal Engine and Unity are two game development engines popular with VR designers. Both offer an array of assets and licenses for development. Choosing which one of these engines you want to make VR games in will affect a lot about your final game.

You should also think about what platform you want to make your game for. Oculus Rift and HTC Vive are the two big names in VR headsets right now. But there are some others, such as Google Cardboard and PlayStation VR, that give their own VR experiences. Your chosen audience, and perhaps your personal VR headset, will help you pick what platform to put your game on.

Unreal Engine And Unity

The battle between Unreal and Unity game engines is one that has been considered and commented on all over the internet. Much has been said about each engine and its strengths. But which will be the best to use when learning how to make a VR game?

You may want to picture what you want your game to be like beforehand. That process might make your choice a little easier.

Strength in Unity

Unreal virtual reality

Oculus Rift And HTC Vive Square Off

If you know enough about VR to want to learn how to make a VR game, you've likely heard of the two most prominent names in virtual reality headsets: the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive.

These headsets were some of the first to come out, and have been pioneers in modern virtual reality. Oculus Rift was the first mass-market VR headset since the ambitious but failed Nintendo Virtual Boy in 1995.

The Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive are far and away the most popular systems to develop for. They work with any PC that can run the hardware, rather than a specific phone or game system. But which one should you design for?

Eyeing the Oculus

Vibing with the HTC Vive

Other VR options

Making The Game Itself

man game coder

Once you've done the legwork of learning what you should develop for, you need to learn how to make a VR game properly.

But don't worry! As we said, it's not difficult to make games in VR. A lot of programs will guide you through the process. If you don't want to go this route, it's still relatively simple to go it alone.

Use a guide or a program

DIY in VR

Fleshing out your virtual world

After The First Game

Once you've learned how to make a VR game for the first time, infinite virtual worlds are open to you! Whether you build for mobile or PC, with simple or complex visuals, you'll have the tools you need to create them.

Virtual reality games are a whole new path of entertainment. As VR technology gets more advanced, more and more people will hop onto this fantastic medium. You'll be happy you learned how to make a VR game when you did.

What was your first VR experience? What kind of game do you want to create? Drop a comment below and let us know!

Featured Image: Photo by Eugene Capon from Pexels

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