Unity and Oculus offer a free VR developer course

VR has started to become more popular in recent years as the cost of the hardware becomes more affordable, and more content is released.

Those who already have some basic game developing experience may want to turn their attention to VR since it might become even more popular in the future. Oculus and Unity decided to create and offer a free intermediate-level developer course that teaches you the basics of VR games developing.

The course will guide you through all the aspects which have to be taken into account for the development of a VR game by offering the chance to craft your escape the room experience. It is split between 11 units, and approximately 20 hours will be needed to finish it.

It is also important to note that the skills that, in the course can also be used for the creation of consumer or business-grade products. After the course is completed you will have to submit the vertical slice to Oculus, and the company will offer feedback.

Basic knowledge about Unity development and some VR basics are needed before the course begins, but they can, by completing the excellent tutorials that are offered by Unity.

Below you can find a summary of what can be learned from the course:

Units 1-3: the essentials

The first three lessons focus on teaching base principles like healthy practices, how to create a press kit and game design document and how to install the software that is needed for the rest of the units.

Units 4-8: design and implementation

Valuable game design and implementation advice can be found in these units. You will learn how to create and customize hand interactions, design a proper UI, pick the right sounds, and tackle what you want versus the system requirements.

Units 9-11

Learn how to optimize the game for best performance, test and look for bugs, and submitting a game to the Oculus Store.