A beginners to guide to virtual reality using Unity 3D and C sharp

1. UCHECHUKWU PHILEMON MIRACLE OBIMMA
A Beginners guide to
Virtual Reality (VR) Using Unity
3D and C# scripting
GETTING STARTED WITH IMMERSIVE TCHNOLOGIES

2. CONTENT TABLE
1. INTRODUCTION
2. JDK INSTALLATION
3. ANDROID SDK INSTALLATION
4. INTRODUCTION TO VR / AR SDK’s AND TOOLs
5. INTRODUCTION TO UNITY
6. SETTING UP A VR PROJECT
7. INTRODUCTION TO SCRIPTING USING C#
8. PHYSICS
9. BUILDING FINISHED APPS
10. SUMMARY

3. About Me
Contact info:
Twitter: philshisquare
Email: philshisquare@gmail.com
Phone: +2348108400434
Simply an earthling with an innate holy curiosity.

4. “EVERYONE IS A GENIUS; BUT IF YOU JUDGE A FISH BY ITS ABILITY TO CLIMB A
TREE, IT WILL LIVE THE REST OF ITS LIFE BELIEVING THAT IT IS STUPID”
_ Albert Einstein

5. INTRODUCTION
Immersive technologies are fast growing in relevance. With applications in construction, media, entertainment,
gaming, education and many other areas yet to be fully developed, the future of experience looks immersive. This is
a pointer to the need for people to develop relevant skills in this field. Examples of immersive technologies include;
 Virtual Reality (VR) is an immersive experience that presents you an unreal but not imaginary environment.
Simply put, it is an experience that takes you to an entirely new environment without any connection or contact
with your immediate environment.
 Augmented Reality (AR) is an experience where the real world is enhanced or emphasized by computer
generated graphics. This means that one will see the real world but with overlays of computer generated
graphics.
 Mixed Reality (MR) in simple terms is a system or software that incorporates the two technologies discussed
above. It is however closer in looks and operations to AR.
 Augmented Virtuality (AV) is unlike VR, it is an immersive experience of a real world familiar to a person not any
other imaginary or abstract location. For example, having your room or entire house built into a VR app; but it’s
still the very same thing in reality but just that you now see it in VR.
To create these software, there is need for some frameworks, engines, packages and tools. For the scope of this
study, we will use Unity 3D as game engine, android SDK and JDK as some external tools. In subsequent pages, we
will walk through the installation process of these tools and frameworks.

6. JDK
JAVA DEVELOPMENT KIT

7. 1. Download JDK
the official java site looks like this

8. 2. Access The Installation Folder
Open program files and trace it to the JDK bin folder.
3. Copy The Installation Folder Path
when in the bin folder, copy the entire path.

9. 4. Open Systems Properties
Go to “This PC” right click and select properties.
5. Edit environment variables
Click “Advanced system settings” , >>
“environment variables” >> select “path” under
system variables; a new window opens.

10. A
B
C
D
E
6. Paste the Path Copied
In the “edit environment variable” window, click “New” then paste the link you already copied and click “OK”

11. 7. JRE (Optional)
It is not compulsory but you can copy
the path to the JRE and paste into the
path window by same steps above.
8. Verify Installation with CMD
Open command line. Type; “java -
version” then enter. Also, “javac -
version” then enter.

12. ANDROID
SDK
SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT KIT

13. 1. Download SDK
the official android SDK site looks like this

14. 2. Extract the Downloaded SDK File
Locate the file you downloaded from the
SDK site, extract it in other to gain access to
its content. This is because it comes zipped.
3. Open command line
Locate the bin folder. Once inside, open the
command line (CMD) by pressing Shift +
right click then select “open command
window here”.

15. 4. Running Commands
Once the command line opens,
type “sdkmanager”, press enter.
It opens with few detail about
your SDK. This is a testimony
that everything is working fine.
NB: internet connection is
required.
5. Listing and Installing Packages
Type “sdkmanager --list”. This lists all the
packages available in the SDK. To install a
package, (platform tools for example) type
“sdkmanager platform-tools”. License agreement
comes up; type “y” to accept and wait for
installation to complete. DONE!

16. SUMMARY OF JDK AND SDK CONFIGURATION
When you have successfully set up your JDK and SDK, unity should automatically locate the position of the kits in your
computer. However, if this doesn’t happen automatically, follow these steps to set it up yourself.
Go to Edit >> Preferences…. >> External Tools. Scroll down; under “Android”, you will see SDK, JDK and NDK. For each
of them except NDK (which is optional), click on “Browse”. File explorer opens, then locate the position of the kits in
your computer.

17. TOOLS AND SDK’s
VIRTUAL REALITY

18. INTRODUCTION TO VR / AR SDK’s AND TOOLs
Tools: There are tools and software used to building immersive technologies apps.
The two major game engines used are Unity 3D and Unreal. These techs are cool. In
my opinion however, Unity is very popular among developers due to its flexibility and
“compact program coordination”. The programming languages available for writing
apps in Unity include C#, Java Script and Boo. C# a high compact programming
language is widely used for scripting in game development.
To write the code, an IDE (Integrated Development Environment) is needed. In current
versions of unity, Microsoft Visual studio 2017 is the coding environment that comes
stack with Unity. Suffice it to say that Unity used to come with Mono-develop (which
also is an IDE used to write code). One might also use later versions of visual studio for
scripting.

19. SDK’s
To build either an AR, VR or MR apps, you need what is called the SDK (Software Development Kit). Here are some
SDK's for developing for different platforms.
 Vuforia SDK
 ARCore (AR for android from google)
 ARKit (AR for IOS from apple)
 Wikitude SDK
 Oculus SDK (used for gear VR and oculus rift)
 Google VR SDK
It is also important to say that the android SDK and JDK (Java Development Kit) is required to build apps for
android. The list continues...
It is however imperative to know that some other companies like magic leap have their own new SDK and motion
controllers. (Topic for another day). There are also APIs (Application Program Interfaces) that come in handy for AR
apps. Example of which is the google poly API (free and easy to use).

20. UNITY 3D

21. INTRODUCTION TO UNITY
Unity 3D is a game engine; a game engine is a framework for game development. Frameworks
possesses already or pre made attributes required to make games. There are three core areas of
game development engines or frameworks. They are:
Graphics
Audio
Logic
However, modern game engines like Unity have become more specialized and commonly include
frameworks for physics, AI, networking, optimization etc. in simple terms, a framework has all the
assets and properties a game requires to function and optimize operation. This means you don’t
have to reinvent the wheel each time you start a new project. Furthermore, some game companies
build their own game engines to meet their specification but to save time and in other to tap into its
vast community of developers among other reasons, we choose the game engine called Unity 3D.
The makers of this ‘awesome’ game engine is a company called Unity technologies. Its onboard
physics engine; physX is made by another company named Nvidia.

22. OTHER GAME ENGINES

23. ………..INTRODUCTION TO UNITY continued
First use: After downloading and installing unity, ensure that the following packages were also downloaded
and installed.
1. Android or IOS support
2. Vuforia AR support
3. Unity documentation (I strongly recommend this).
Click the unity icon to launch unity. A login or register page comes up, follow the prompt to sign up (this
requires internet connection) or sign in if you already have an account. When you sign in, you can turn off
internet connection. A page as shown below will be displayed.
1

24. ………..INTRODUCTION TO UNITY continued
2 This window opens.
Here, click “new” to
create a new project or
“open” to select from
already existing
projects.
NB: the projects seen
here are my personal
projects. They will not
show up on your screen
when you run unity.
However, if you already
have a unity project,
they will show up here.

25. ………..INTRODUCTION TO UNITY continued
3
4
Immersive technology apps are 3D in nature. Therefore,
choose the 3D template from the drop down menu.
Finally, click on “create project”. This automatically
creates the project and opens the unity environment for
you. NB: this might take few minutes depending on your
computers processing power.

26. ………..INTRODUCTION TO UNITY continued
The Unity Environment and Windows
The
Hierarchy
The Scene
The
Inspector
The Game
The
Project
The
Console

27. VR PROJECT SETUP

28. SETTING UP A VR PROJECT
To start building a VR project, you need to switch your build platform to android or
IOS. For this illustration, we will use android. It is however, the same for iOS.

29. SETTING UP A VR PROJECT continued………
Importing packages: to import packages
e.g. google VR SDK. Right click “Assets”,
select “Import packages” then, “custom
packages”.
A file explorer window opens. Locate the folder
where the SDK is kept, then click “open”.
1 2

30. SETTING UP A VR PROJECT continued………
This window appears. Do not uncheck anything. Click import. This imports
the entire asset into your project in a folder called “Google VR”. However,
when you are sure of your skills, you can uncheck any asset you do not need.

31. SETTING UP A VR PROJECT continued………
To have the VR headset feel in your own scene, you need the “GvrEditorEmulator”. This is the new method after the release
of GoogleVRForUnity_1.40.0 edition. Copy the emulator and paste into the hierarchy of your own project. This turns your
regular camera to VR headset camera. To access the emulator, Go to “Assets” >> GoogleVR >> Demos >> Scenes then double
click “HelloVR”. Select “GvrEditorEmulator”; right click and copy.
Copy this

32. SETTING UP A VR PROJECT continued………
Navigate to your own scene and paste the
emulator in your project hierarchy. It will appear
in blue as shown here.
To fine your scene, go to “Assets”, click “scenes”
then launch (double click) “SampleScene”.

33. INTRODUCTION TO SCRIPTING USING C#

34. CREATING A C SHARP SCRIPT
To create a C# script, right click on “Assets” or any folder of your choice, select “Create” then click on “C# Script”. This
brings a new file into your Assets folder. Name the file based on the function you want the script to perform (the name
becomes the class name); click enter, then double click the file, automatically it opens Microsoft visual studio (or
Monodevelop); an environment where you write your code.
In the coming pages, we
will learn about the best
naming practices.

35. THE IDE; VISUAL STUDIO
DEFAULT LOOK OF THE CODE
WINDOW ONCE OPEN
Name spaces
Class declaration
and inheritance
Default function called once
the game starts.
Default function called
once every frame

36. VARIABLES AND NAMING
As shown in the given picture, variables are used to
hold values to be used in other places or at a later
time. In C#, a variable is declared by putting the
type, followed by the variable name then the
assignment sign, assigned value and the compulsory
semi-colon. However, as we will see later, the
assignment sign and values must not always be
present at every variable declaration.
Examples of data types;
 Integer = int
 Float
 String
 Boolean = bool etc.
Naming: the proper way of naming involves the
use of camel casing and the art of calling the
variable or function name by the function it is to
perform. E.g ; TimeOfStart, PlayerScore, etc. Notice
that every first later of each word is capital.

37. FUNCTIONS OR METHODS
Functions AKA methods are somewhat
a special kind of variables.
They are like variables in that they hold
values and can be used in other places
within the code. However, functions
are not variables.
In simple terms, functions are
mechanisms that store lines of code
(instructions) so that they have more
flexibility and generic use.
Making a function: “Void” or a data
type starts, it is followed by the desired
function name, a pair of parenthesis
and curry braces. The code is written
inside the braces
This is an example of a
function that has just the
void keyword. It is not
expected to return any
“tangible” data such
integer, float or Boolean.
An example of a function
with a data type. This
example is expected to
return a string data type.
Another example might
return any other data
type. Note the keyword
“Return”.

38. CLASSES
In game development or any other app
development which uses the unity engine
name space, every script created is a class
which inherits from MonoBehaviour. This
makes it possible for one to access all the
built in methods and properties of the
MonoBehaviour class. In addition, no matter
the number of scripts in a game, the source
script must inherit from MonoBehaviour.
A class however, offers a way to group
functions and variables of different operations
but same overall goal such that any content of
the class can be called from any other script
which inherits from it or which gets its script
component.

39. OPERATORS
NB: “=” (single equality sign) is an assignment symbol

40. OPERATORS AND CONDITIONALS
The figure by the right shows the structure of if, else if and else
statements.
If statement: the “if” keyword is followed by a pair of brackets (which
contain the conditions), a pair of curry brace, inside which the code is
written.
Else if: same structure as if statement. However, it has to come under if
statements when it is needed; as it is only called if the if statement’s
condition fails.
Else: contains no conditions. It holds instructions to be done when if or
else if or both fails.

41. VECTORS
Every object in the world is defined by
all or one of its location, scale or
rotation. These transform component
as it is identified in unity, is found in
axes. In 2D world, objects are in x and y
axes while in 3D, they are in x, y and z
axes. These parameters are stored in
unity C# as Vector2 and Vector3
respectively. Since we are focused on
3D, we will learn more about Vector3.
The figure above illustrates how the three transform
component in unity interacts with vector3.
Notice that we used localScale instead of scale and
eulerAngles instead of rotation. This is because;
 The keyword scale exists in unity for a different
purpose.
 In the case of rotation, it is a quaternion therefore,
unity created eulerAngles to convert a Vector3 to
quaternion.

42. VECTORS Continued…….
Values can be assigned to
the various axes (.x, .y, .z) of
vectors.
Vector Arithmetic
Creating a vector3
NB: Unity also have provision for Vector4

43. PUBLIC AND PRIVATE VARIABLES
As shown in the two images below, when variables are declared with the public
keyword, they show inside unity in the inspector and can be edited even at run time.
When a public
variables is not
wanted to show
in unity, it is
hidden as shown
in the image by
the left
Also, a private
variable can be
made to show in
inspector as
shown in this
code.;

44. INPUT METHOD
The input property is used in unity C
sharp scripting to receive commands
from the user. Once the keyword input
is entered followed by a full stop, a list
of the users input modes are
automatically displayed. However, in
building for VR, google cardboard
especially, we use the
“GetMouseButton….” input modes
shown on the screen.
GetMouseButton: concerned with the
first button press.
GetMouseButtonDown: concerned
with when the button is pressed down
and held.
GetMouseButtonUp: concerned with
when the button is released.

45. OBJECT INTERACTION
Used to cause a trigger on an object. This
makes it possible for an object to go
through another without destroying it.
Used to interact or rub against another
object. Collision is same as the word
implies but there must be a collider and
a Rigidbody component (which we will
see later) for this to work.
GetComponent as the name implies
is a property used to get the
component of other game objects
which must be referenced to it by
script.

46. ARRAYS
Arrays are data structures that are used to
store multiple information such as
variables, game objects, etc. One of the
methods of creating an array is shown
below
A ray cast is used to sight and communicate with a
distant object. It is like the human vision. The ray
is your line of sight. The RayCastHit is a datatype
used to store the information of your view. E.g.. A
wall, car, etc. The code above is an example for ray
casting. It can be under its own function or in side
the update or start function directly.

47. CONDITIONALS
A for loop is a conditional that executes its instruction as long as its condition is true.
Structure Example

48. CONDITIONALS
While loop
Do… while
foreach

49. SUMMARY OF CONDITIONALS

50. COROUTINES
At times we might want to call a
given function but after a given
period of time. This is what the
Coroutine property is used for. It
allows you the liberty to call a
function after few time units of
delay.
It is important to know that this
property is not a member of the
standard C# library. It is only present
due the unity engine namespace
and MonoBehaviour.
The code in the picture shows the
syntax for writing coroutines.

51. PHYSICS

52. COLLIDERS AND RIGIDBODY
These are the main members of the unity physics engine. The box
collider is used to handle collision. Every game object in unity has one of
the numerous colliders in unity. Examples of colliders include: box, mesh,
sphere, capsule collider etc.
Rigidbody refers to the physics interaction of a game object. It has some
features as shown in the picture.
Mass: the total weight (earth pull of gravity) of a body
Drag: the associated air resistance a body experiences
Angular drag: same as drag but from an angle
Use gravity: this makes it possible for a body or game object to be
affected by gravity. When unchecked, a body will not fall under the
influence of gravity.
Other components are essential but we will limit our discussion to these.
The constraints are used to lock rotation or position at any given axis.
New components can be added using the “Add Component” button.

53. CREATING PHYSICS MATERIALS
Select a folder of choice,
right click then select
“Physic Material”. A
material icon comes up;
name it a double click on
it to launch it. The
window by the right
opens, edit the
parameters as it would
reflect the type of
material you want to
create. When finished,
select the game object to
carry the material; under
its collider component,
drag and drop the
created material in the
material port.
These parameters can be used to
produce any kind of material one can
possibly think of. However, these
words have same meaning as they
have in physics.

54. BUILDING FINISHED APPS

55. Open build settings (as
explained before). Click on
Player Settings. The player
settings window opens in the
inspector. Affect the changes as
will be shown in the next slide.
BUILDING FINISHED APPS

56. Edit company name.
it can be your
business name or any
other name of your
own choosing. The
product name should
be your app name.
Import an image to be
used as app icon and
select it.
Under XR settings
check the VR
supported box, then
use the plus sign to
add either cardboard
or any other as SDK,
depending on the VR
system you will use
the app on
Here, choose the
minimum API
(which is API 19 for
VR apps). Set up
your package name.
Use your company
name (the one you
already used at the
beginning) and
product name. Your
package name is
your unique
identifier in the play
store among all
other apps. You
must set it, failure
to do so, your app
will not build
BUILDING FINISHED APPS

57. BUILDING FINISHED APPS
When you have finished the player settings, click Build; a file explorer window opens for
you to save your app as APK. If you click “Build And Run”, ensure you have your phone
connected via USB. The app is built and launched in your phone immediately.

58. SUMMARY
I honestly hope that this document has been of tremendous in getting you started with virtual
reality in C# and Unity. However, the topics and concepts captured here are as insignificant as
a cup of water in the ocean. By this, I encourage you to expand your knowledge. Try your
hands on other concepts, use other materials and most importantly, practice on your own.
There are some concepts that were left out of this study because we aimed at pushing a pure
novice to a beginners level of understanding in VR development with the above explained
concepts. Be not afraid to try new things. We hope to produce a more advanced edition of
this presentation in its second volume.

59. REFERENCES
Introduction to game development using unity and C# by Sebastian Lague
URL: www.patreon.com/SebastianLague
Google.com and youtube.com

60. THANK YOU