Skills required to become a successful VR app developer

Successful AR/VR app developers are more in demand in today’s world than ever before, in the past couple of years, we have seen the quality of applicants we have received reflect more relevant skills and experience. However, it is still a niche market in India and may take time for fresh graduates and professionals to match the industry requirements for VR app development. This could be also because the expectation is an amalgamation of skills like 3D modelling, object-oriented programming, game development, UI/UX designing, and an innovative outlook towards problem statements. 

There are three things that we need to pay attention to while deep diving into VR app development.  

Environment

Creation of an environment for the virtual world would mean developing assets and objects that you can import into a game engine to create a scene. This involves modelling textures, layers, and taking assets through the production pipeline. Ability to balance the 3D aesthetic with real-time performance and optimization is important. Being well versed with softwares like 3Ds Max, Blender, or Maya is a plus in the longer run.

3D environment artists on a game engine like Unreal engine would add an edge owing to its wider acceptance due to better graphics and power or platform like Unity which is easier to learn and has more resources.  

Design Sense and Visualization 

We are not merely putting design principles to test here, context is everything. To create a virtual environment which resembles the real world, skills like attention to detail is vital, which is utilized to eliminate any kind of dissonance that the user would experience while looking at the objects in the virtual environment. UI/UX designers would find it easier to bring that skill to the development and could work towards picking up platform-based skills required.  

Interactivity 

Learning about C# scripting and script optimization helps create a seamless experience by eliminating unnecessary slowdowns and an impact on performance. C, C++ and C# coders with skills in game engines like Unity and Unreal would be an ideal choice in the industry.   

The VR industry is still fragmented with non-availability of device-agnostic VR experiences and far from providing immersive Web VR experience. SDKs for the Oculus Rift, PS4 VR, HTC Vive, Gear VR, and Cardboard/Daydream are available at present. The developers need to focus on which SDK to choose from to develop their skills in it. The technology still has limitations in terms of hardware, cost, and standard best practices, however, it is a growing community and skills like C# programming can be utilized in other areas of software development and game development in the future. 

Ritesh Ranjan, Director, Partner, Flipspaces

Also Read: 

https://www.pcquest.com/will-immersive-tech-become-breakout-stars-post-pandemic-world/