Oculus’ forthcoming Connect 2 conference is a resolutely developer focused event and these events, offering 1:1 face-time with experts in both Unity and Unreal engines, specifically on the mechanics of building a VR project, may just be the ticket for developers looking to get into the VR industry.
The technical bar for developers to enter game development today is almost unfathomably lower that it was 20 years ago. Today’s engines and tooling offer drag and drop project creation and instant preview functionality along with visual scripting tools which mean you might never even have to write a line of raw code.
However, developing for virtual reality comes along with its own specific and unique set of challenges and constraints that rookie devs embarking on their first VR project would be wise to seek advice, in fact VR is so new, that advice applies to hardened veterans too.
If you’re attending Oculus Connect 2, held at Hollywood’s Loews Hotel on September 23rd-25th, you now have the opportunity to go straight to the source for advice on developing virtual reality applications in your engine of choice – assuming you choose Epic’s Unreal Engine or Unity that is. Two sessions towards the end of the Connect schedule allow developers to sign and talk 1:1 with representatives for both engines, offering them face to face, skilled, expert advice to help guide them through their VR woes. The sessions will also be guided by Oculus engineers present at the sessions, meaning you’re really getting the VIP developer treatment.
The Connect 2 schedule highlights two sessions, both 3 hours long, each focusing on respective game engines. Both require that you sign up to the sessions whilst at Connect later in the month.
Hands on Workshop with Unreal Engine
VR Engineering | Ray Davis (Epic Games), Nick Donaldson (Epic Games), Nick Whiting (Epic Games)
Sign-up for 1:1 consultations to review your Unreal Engine projects with Oculus and Epic engineers who will be on hand to assist with performance optimization and VR design. By the end of the consultation, developers will be on a stronger footing for their journey into VR publishing, and will have established contacts with an Oculus publishing team devoted to their success. Developers interested in participating are required to bring their project, demo, or build. Sign-ups will take place onsite at the Information Desk.
Duration: 3-hours
Hands on Workshop with Unity
VR Engineering | Carl Calleweart (Unity), Mark Schoennagel (Unity), Peter Kuhn (Unity)
Sign-up for 1:1 consultations to review your projects with Oculus and Unity engineers who will be on hand to assist with performance optimization and VR design. By the end of the consultation, developers will be on a stronger footing for their journey into VR publishing, and will have established contacts with an Oculus publishing team devoted to their success. Developers interested in participating are required to bring their project, demo, or build. Sign-ups will take place onsite at the Information Desk.
Duration: 3-hours
Registration for Connect 2 is now closed with all spots filled, however Palmer Luckey, founder of Oculus recently posted a note on subreddit /r/oculus stating that they had a “tiny number” of places for Connect that had just become available. Head here to make your plea right now.