The best apps and programs for creating VR content

Yevhen Kasyanenko and the KISS Software team have gone through this process themselves. We tried a bunch of tools, made mistakes, drew conclusions, and now we are ready to save you time and nerves.

This article covers only proven tools for VR development. We’ll explain in simple terms:

• Which engines and programs are really worth considering;
• What their features are and in which cases they reveal their full potential;
• Where unpleasant surprises may await;
• And how to turn a simple “working” VR project into something that captivates, impresses, and stays in your memory for a long time.

In short, if you want to level up your VR development skills, you’ve come to the right place!

What is VR content and why is it needed?

VR is when you put on a helmet and suddenly you’re no longer in the room, but somewhere completely different. You can walk around, look around, examine objects from any angle, and sometimes even interact with them, almost like in real life. Only you’re in a digital world.

But virtual reality isn’t just about games and 3D zombies. Today, it is used to train doctors, show customers houses that don’t exist yet, test aircraft designs, help people cope with phobias, and just about anything else.

“If you want VR to be perceived not just as something cool, but as something that evokes real excitement, then it’s important to choose the right tools from the very beginning. Engines, shaders, and everything else should work toward one goal: to make the image realistic and the sensations as vivid as possible,” explains Yevhen Kasyanenko.

What tools are needed for this and how not to get confused in your choice will be discussed further.

How to choose a program for creating VR content?

Based on our own experience, choosing software for creating VR content can be compared, for example, to choosing shoes for a long hike. It all depends on the goal, route, and conditions.

Here are a few key points to consider before diving into the world of engines and programs:

• Project type. Are you making an interactive game, an educational simulator, or perhaps an architectural tour? The tools will vary greatly.
• Level of immersion. Do you need photorealism or stylized graphics? This will determine how powerful an engine you should choose.
• Team experience. Some programs are difficult for beginners to learn, and by the time you figure them out, you’ll be exhausted. Other tools allow you to get started in just a couple of days.
• Hardware support. Not all software is equally compatible with different VR headsets. It’s better to understand in advance which devices you are targeting.
• Budget and licenses. Free is not always good, and paid is not always expensive. You need to find a balance between capabilities and cost.

The best programs for creating VR content

From personal experience, we can say that to create cool VR content, you need truly reliable and flexible tools that won’t let you down at the most crucial moment.

Below, we will look at the best programs. Using them will help you realize the boldest ideas that come to mind for a virtual reality developer. Let’s start with the engines.

Unity

Creating a VR game on Unity or any other virtual reality application is very common among developers. Both beginners and pros love it for its flexibility and ability to work on a bunch of platforms. With its help, you can make both simple and very complex virtual reality applications.

“If you are thinking about what to build a VR game on, Unity will be one of the most logical (and popular) options in most cases. Why? Because it works almost everywhere. Oculus, HTC Vive, PSVR, mobile headsets — the engine supports more than 25 platforms,” notes our specialist.

But Unity has both advantages and disadvantages. Let’s take a closer look at them.

Advantages:

1. Intuitive interface and visual editor. They greatly facilitate the development process.
2. A huge amount of training materials – forums, video tutorials. This makes Unity accessible even to beginners.
3. One of Unity’s nice features is the Asset Store. Imagine a supermarket for developers, where the shelves are stocked with ready-made 3D models, scripts, textures, effects, and even entire scenes. Need a dragon? Got it. Need a teleportation script? Easy. You can take all of this, adapt it to your needs, and not spend hours (or days) creating it from scratch. This is especially cool when deadlines are looming and you want to make something beautiful.

Disadvantages:

1. The free version has limitations, especially for commercial use. Some features are locked, and you have to monitor your revenue to stay within the limit. This hinders monetization.
2. Lower performance in large projects compared to Unreal Engine. This is especially critical in terms of graphics and rendering.

Unreal Engine

“Unreal Engine is what developers choose when they need to get the most out of graphics. It allows you to create truly impressive VR projects with realistic effects, just like in the movies,” says Yevhen Kasyanenko.

The Unreal Engine for creating virtual reality applications supports VR and AR development, and ray tracing makes the image so vivid that sometimes you forget that it’s not real.

Let’s note the strengths and weaknesses of this engine.

Advantages:

1. The graphics are photorealistic. Dynamic lighting, cool shaders, and truly realistic physics recreate such a vivid picture that you immediately want to dive into it.
2. Blueprints. A visual constructor that allows you to create complex mechanics without a single line of code. This is very convenient if you are more interested in design and creativity than programming.
3. Free to use. Developers do not pay royalties if the game’s revenue does not exceed $1 million per quarter. This is most beneficial for indie studios and startups.

Disadvantages:

1. Difficulty to learn. Rich functionality and advanced settings take time to learn. This presents an additional difficulty for beginners.
2. High hardware requirements. Powerful hardware is required for comfortable work and testing. This includes top-of-the-line video cards and processors.

Other popular engines for creating virtual reality applications

Depending on your needs and goals, Yevhen Kasyanenko also highlights other great virtual reality engines:

• Godot Engine. An excellent option for beginners. It is free, easy to learn, and has its own programming language similar to Python, so it is easy for beginners to use. You can get the hang of it pretty quickly. But there are some nuances—in terms of 3D graphics, it is inferior to Unity and Unreal, and there are fewer training materials, especially for VR. It is not always suitable for large projects.
• CryEngine. A very powerful engine with cool graphics and support for all popular VR headsets. It is used in large games with realistic graphics. But it is difficult to learn, requires a powerful computer, and if the project starts to make money, you have to pay 5% of income over $5,000 per year.
• Amazon Sumerian. A cloud service for creating VR and AR. It is easy to work with and suitable for beginners. It supports various devices, including mobile ones. However, you have to pay for storage space for 3D models and for traffic, so if the project is large, the costs can add up.

The best apps for creating VR content

To create decent VR content, a game engine alone is not enough. You also need to use programs for modeling, animation, and adding interactivity.

We’ve put together a selection of VR apps that Yevhen Kasyanenko personally recommends. Everything has been tested in practice, without theory or marketing hype. These tools work great with Unreal Engine and Unity, helping to speed up development, improve visuals, and make your project way cooler.

Blender

The perfect option for those who want to dive into 3D without breaking the bank. This tool is free, yet surprisingly powerful. For example, you can model characters, build worlds, customize animations, and generally create anything you need for a VR project.

And the best part is that when everything is ready, you can take your creation and easily transfer it to Unity or Unreal. Simple, convenient, and without any unnecessary fuss.

• Pros: free, lots of features, you can sculpt and animate.
• Cons: the interface is not the easiest to understand, it will take some time to figure it out.
• Who it’s for: Suitable for beginners and those who do VR on Unity or Unreal.

Maya and 3ds Max

Professional programs from Autodesk. They are used in movies and games to create complex, high-quality models and textures.

• Pros: Lots of tools for animation and high-quality rendering.
• Cons: the license is expensive, and you need powerful computers.
• Who it’s for: those who create projects with realistic graphics.

Google Tilt Brush

An unusual program where you draw in the air with a VR headset and create 3D images right in the virtual world. A true immersion!

• Pros: simple and convenient for artists.
• Cons: few animations and export formats.
• Who it’s for: those who want to create quick sketches and art projects.

Adobe Aero

A great choice if you want to create interactive scenes in VR and AR without a single line of code. Everything is intuitive, visual, and as clear as possible. It will especially appeal to those who already work with Photoshop or Illustrator (integration with Adobe tools is top-notch here). A familiar environment will mean less stress and faster results.

• Pros: quick to learn, convenient for creatives.
• Cons: few features for complex games and mechanics.
• Who it’s for: developers of simple and beautiful projects, such as presentations, installations, or spectacular scenes for portfolios.

“Choosing tools for VR is not just about ‘what’s cheaper’ or ‘what’s more popular’. Everything should be based on the goals of the project and how well a particular software actually suits your task,” emphasizes Yevhen Kasyanenko.

We would add that without a professional eye, it is easy to miss the mark here. Yes, everything seems fine at first, but then it turns out that half of the features are simply unnecessary, while the ones you need are missing. That is why it is so important to understand the intricacies and not rely solely on advertising or hype.

Conclusion: why should you turn to the experts at KISS Software?

To choose software for VR development, you first need to understand what exactly you want to do, what platform to work on, and what experience your team has. At KISS Software, this path has already been well researched, so Yevhen Kasyanenko shares his final tips for making the right choice:

• Unity is ideal for both beginners and professionals. The program has a user-friendly interface and broad platform support. It’s a great start that will allow you to grow and develop your project without unnecessary delays.
• Unreal Engine is a godsend if you want to get the most vivid and impressive images with effects.
• Godot is a free and open-source engine, which is an excellent choice for those who want to fully control the development process and not be limited by restrictions.
• CryEngine is a great choice if you need rich graphics and want to get the most out of the visuals.
• Amazon Sumerian is a cloud platform for quickly building VR or AR applications without unnecessary hassle.
• Blender, Maya, and 3ds Max are must-haves for 3D modeling, animation, and everything that brings the virtual world to life.
• Google Tilt Brush – want to draw directly in VR? Easy! Great for creative experiments.
• Adobe Aero – for creating interactive AR and VR content that really grabs your attention.

VR is cool, but making it really cool isn’t that easy. You need to think through the design, write the program, and tune the performance so that everything flies and doesn’t slow down. If you do something wrong, instead of a wow effect, you’ll get disappointment.

That’s where we come in. Yevhen Kasyanenko and our entire KISS team are people with extensive experience in virtual reality. We know which engine to choose, how to make the visuals pleasing to the eye, and how to ensure that the final project works without glitches on any device.