August 16th - Field of view with gizmos combined with Linear algebra

Here's a short video on a NPC character changing their head direction to face the VR player when they enter their field of view. 

One of my main focus for the last week and a half has been on gaining a better understanding of linear algebra and learning how to use Unity's Gizmos/Handles for visualization. This was a short little exercise to put it all together.

Linear Algebra

The best resource I've found that has been the most helpful is a math series for game developers by Freya Holmer. The video series provides a great breakdown of math concepts such as vectors, vector normalization, dot-product/cross-product, local vs world space, trigonometry and more. I've also been supplementing what I learned during this series with the free linear algebra online courses at khan academy. 

I've been no means mastered the math but I now have a basic understanding of the concepts and most importantly know what to look up if I need it.

Design Patterns

I've also been learning/reviewing design patterns. The best resource for this has been Refactoring Guru. It's explanations are very clear with great examples in a variety of different programming languages. I can see myself revisiting this website again in the future for when I need a refresher on a specific pattern or looking for information.

Animation Rigging

I really like Unity's new animation rigging package. The ability to override an existing animation creates an endless opportunity for unique custom emergent animation in my opinion. This is especially the case for VR. I've played around with it quite a bit and its not too hard to use as well. 

I also did an older but still good course on Unity's Animator and animation controller. I'm not planning to specialize in character animation but at the moment I feel like I could do the basic work of setting up animations in Unity.

August 3rd 2021 - VR Game Jam 2021

 

This was my first game jam and it was an intense 3 days of programming. It was announced by two prominent VR YouTube channels, VR with Andrew and Valem, so I scheduled time specifically to be able to participate. I joined their discord channels to see if there were any people open to collaborating as a part of a team but ultimately ended up doing this jam solo. 

This blog post is going to be about my strategy for the game jam, the challenges I faced and what I learned from the experience.

My Strategy - Scope Restriction and MVG

My strategy for tackling this game jam was that I would keep the scope restricted by trying to utilize what I've done in the past and interactive elements I'm familiar with. Basically, it was to make sure that my project scope didn't include too many new things I would have to learn for the first time. 

I didn't jump into coding right away and spent a good half to full hour just brainstorming and trying to get a project concept before starting. 

My final idea was a VR game where you created small worlds like a cook in a kitchen. You sprinkle the right elements in a specific order to create the completed worlds. 

Here's some pics from the brainstorming. I never really meant for others to see it so its a bit of a mess.