How to Develop VR Games in 2023? Why Should You Do it?

What is a VR Game?

A VR game is a video game that leverages virtual reality to deliver an immersive experience to its players. It is a video game that is designed to place (immerse) the players into a virtually-rendered environment where they can interact with the elements of the virtual world. A player needs a VR-enabled device like a headset or gaming console to play a VR game.

A Look into the VR Game Development Market

As per Fortune Business Insights, the VR game market will hit $53 billion by 2028 at a CAGR of 31.4%. The VR market is expanding fast, and it is opening avenues for all types of businesses, may it be eCommerce, mobile app development, or video game development.

Making a VR game isn’t an easy feat. Developing a game in virtual reality demands extensive knowledge of computer programming and VR. Furthermore, the amount that one needs to spare depends on the platforms being targeted. At present, building a VR game can cost anywhere from a few thousand dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Things to Know Before Developing a VR Game

Before you get your hands dirty with VR game development, you need to take note of several things. These are:

1.Setting the Scene

It is the setting where all the in-game action will take place. The game setting is also the place where all the assets and objects of the game are available. It is important to understand what you want the players to achieve before starting to develop VR games.

2.Game Assets

These are the elements that will fill your game. It includes everything from characters and lights to props and in-game currency.

3.Game Behavior

This refers to the way in which the various aspects of the game interact with each other, e.g., a playable game character and the environment around it and interaction among the NPCs (non-playable characters).

It is where the knowledge of mathematics and physics is used. They even have a term for it called game physics. It isn’t necessary that the game physics follow the same rules as that of real-world physics. These can be bent to make the game captivating.

4.Game Detailing

Game detailing is the icing on the cake. This aspect of video gaming includes audio and visual effects, bump mapping, meshes, textures, and so on. It is everything that makes the game more enticing.

How to Develop VR Games?

Developing VR games is an intricate process that involves multiple phases. The very first step is to create a video game idea:

Step 1 – Generate a Video Game Idea

Before you could decide on the devices that you need to target and the platform that you will choose to develop your VR video game, you need to think of a solid video game idea.

You also need to get your head wrapped around the targeted audience and the need to use virtual reality for your video game. You need to prepare a game scenario that you can share with the development team in the form of a GDD (game design document) with user stories.

Step 2 – Select the VR Devices You Want to Target

Once you have decided on the game idea, it’s time to pick the VR devices that you need to develop your VR games for. Nowadays, the market is flooded with virtual reality devices.

HTC, Valve, and Oculus (Meta) are the leading manufacturers of virtual reality devices. HTC has Vive Pro 2, Flow, and XR Elite while Oculus offers Quest Pro, Quest 2, and Rift S. Valve has released Index and Index 2 so far. Other popular VR devices are Google Cardboard, Sony PSVR, PSVR2, and HP Reverb G2.

Each one of these devices falls into one of the 4 categories of VR devices that you need to understand well before beginning to develop VR games:

1.Mobile VR

A mobile VR headset allows players to enjoy virtual reality experiences on their mobile devices. Google Cardboard is the simplest (and cheapest) of all. It costs less than $10, which is even less than the price of most VR games. It is a great option if your game doesn’t involve motion and head movements. However, it is very limited in virtual reality capabilities.

Merge VR and Oculus Quest 2 are two premium mobile virtual reality devices. Unlike Google Cardboard, these headsets feature additional sensors for head movements and motion capturing. Google Daydream, Samsung Gear VR, and Mattel View-Master Deluxe are some of the mobile VR headsets that are now discounted.

2.PC VR

A PC VR headset is a VR-enabled device that works in conjunction with a computer. HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Windows Mixed Reality are some of the leading examples of VR headsets for PC. Obviously, VR headsets for PCs are costlier than mobile VR headsets.

Usually, computers have far more powerful processors and bigger screens than mobiles. Thus, the VR experience is also superior. Hence, it is the ideal option if you want to develop an elaborate and complex VR game.

3.Standalone VR

A standalone VR headset doesn’t require a PC, mobile, or anything else to work. It comes with its own processor and memory to deliver an immersive VR experience. Oculus Go, Oculus Quest 2, and HTC Vive Focus 3 are the leading standalone VR headsets.

4.Console VR

While Nintendo and Microsoft have yet to release a VR version of their gaming consoles, Sony is geared up to release the successor to its PlayStation VR headset – the PSVR2 – in February 2023.

While PSVR is compatible with both PS4 and PS5, PSVR2 is compatible with PlayStation 5. In addition to the gaming console, the console VR is designed to work with the PlayStation Eye camera, DualShock controllers, and Move controllers.

Step 3 – Graphics Style Selection

The next step to develop VR games is to choose the type of graphics. The overall development cost of a VR game depends significantly on the game design. Four options available for graphics are:

1.2D

Although 2D might sound dated it is still widely used. There are several reasons for this, including lower costs and better replayability. When executed right, 2D graphics can provide a look and feel that is captivating and complex even though it is only in 2 dimensions and a flat view.

You can either go for in-house editors (low-cost option) or outsource professional services (more cost) for creating complex designs.

2.3D

3D graphics are more mesmerizing than 2D, and in some cases, they might be cheaper. Autodesk Maya, Unity, and Unreal Engine are some of the most popular gaming engines for developing 3D video games.

3.Photorealistic Graphics

Photorealistic graphics take cues from photorealism, which is the genre of art in which the artist tries to imitate a photograph. Choosing this type of graphics significantly uplifts the visual appeal of your game, however, it also increases the time and money required for developing the same.

4.360-degree Panorama Video

Although adding a 360-degree video to a game isn’t an expensive affair, adding interactive elements to the video is both costly and challenging. Such graphics provide players with six degrees of freedom (6DOF).

Step 4 – Choose the VR Development Platform

There are a galore of development platforms available to build VR games. Unity and Unreal Engine are the leading names when it comes to game development. Other good options to develop VR games include Amazon Lumberyard, Autodesk Maya, Blender, Cara VR, CryEngine, and OpenVR.

Unity brings a galore of features to the table, including support for both 2D and 3D graphics, the ability to develop video games for console, mobile, PC, and the web, and a gigantic community. Beat Saber, Breaking Boundaries, Fruit Ninja VR, and Job Simulator are some of the most popular VR games developed with Unity.

Unreal Engine is suitable for developing video games for gaming consoles. Unlike Unity, Unreal Engine is a free and open-source game development software. It is written completely in C++ while Unity is written in C# and C++.

Step 5 – Decide Your Budget and Choose a VR Developer

The success of your project greatly depends on the game developer you choose. An experienced VR game developer who is well-versed in the intricacies of VR game development will minimize mistakes and at the same time speed up the development process.

You need to choose a VR game development company based on your budget. Choosing a new developer might cost you additional money in the best case and put your game in development hell in the worst case. Therefore, you need to opt for an experienced VR developer.

The overall sum that you need to invest to realize your VR game idea depends on multiple factors. These include targeted platforms, graphics chosen, and feature complexity.

Step 6 – Build an MVP

Developing a game straightforwardly might not be a good idea. You might end up redoing everything from scratch just to implement user feedback.

Thus, it’s a far better practice to develop the game in parts and test it at every iteration. The best approach is to prepare a minimum viable product. The feedback collected from it can be used in successive iterations to make the game better.

Step 7 – Pushing it Live

The final step in developing a VR game is publishing. It is time when you need to release your VR game and let the players get their hands on it.

Understand that different video game publishing platforms have their own distinct set of requirements that a game title must meet. Following are some of the top choices to publish your VR game:

• App Store
• Oculus Quest Store
• Oculus Rift Store
• Play Store
• Steampowered Store
• Viveport

Another way to push your video game live is by opting for self-publishing. Alternatively, you can also choose a third-party to publish your game independently. Astrea, Beyond Frames Entertainment, Chuhai Labs, Things3D, and Vertigo Games are some of the best options presently available.

Conclusion

The VR market is growing fast thanks to immense developments in AI, metaverse, blockchain, and other technologies that are interdependent on virtual reality.

VR gaming is becoming increasingly popular thanks to the immersive experience it delivers to gamers of all types. Developing a VR game in these times is a profitable business endeavor and there are zero reasons to not go for it if you can.