Top Virtual Reality(VR) online recourses covering game engines, platforms, and 3D visual design softwares

Game Engines

Most popular game engines for VR are: Unity, Unreal, CryEngine.

Unity

Unity is the most popular game engine for Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality applications as it has built-in support for Oculus family of devices, Samsung Gear VR family, and other Head Mounted Displays (HMDs) such as HTC Vive. It also has support for Android, iOS, and Web. Unity allows developers to code in C# or UnityScript.

Below is a compiled list of resources to learn Unity:

Tutorials/Online courses

Tutorial from Unity

Creating Virtual Reality experiences from Udemy

Getting started with VR in Unity from Pluralsight

Your first day with Oculus Rift in Unity from Pluralsight

Make VR games in Unity with C# – Cardboard, Gear VR, Oculus from Udemy

Beginner VR Oculus Rift development with Unity 3D from Udemy

Virtual Reality Nanodegree from Udacity

Unreal

Unreal Engine 4 from Unreal is another popular tool. Similar to Unity it has support for all HMDs manufacturers and mobile platforms. But, Unity has better community support compared to Unreal. Developers need to code in C++.

Below is a list of courses to learn Unreal:

Tutorial from Unreal

Blend into virtual reality with Unreal Engine from Udemy

3ds Max+Unreal Engine 4: Easy VR for Arch Viz from Udemy

CryEngine

Crytek’s CryEngine is another game engines that developers can explore to develop VR for all HMDs and mobile platforms.

Below are some courses to learn CryEngine:

Tutorials from CryEngine

CryEngine game programming essentials from Udemy 

Mobile & Web Platforms

Google VR

Daydream is Google’s platform to build high quality mobile VR. Google VR SDK has support for Android, iOS, Unity, and Unreal. Best way to learn Google VR platform is from its VR documentation.

Samsung Gear VR

GearVR framework is Samsung’s platform to develop mobile VR games and applications for Gear VR and Google Daydream. Samsung has documentation on GearVR framework with tutorials and sample projects.

Oculus VR

Oculus has support for mobile, PC, and webVR. It also has engine integration with Unity and Unreal. Oculus has extensive documentation on its developer site.

Below are some online courses for Oculus VR:

Beginner VR Oculus Rift development with Unity 3D from Udemy

Make VR games in Unity with C# – Cardboard, Gear VR, Oculus from Udemy

WebVR

WebVR is Javascript API providing access to VR devices in the browser.

Some good resources:

https://webvr.info/

https://www.w3.org/community/webvr/

3D Design & Modeling Softwares

Some of the popular 3D design & modeling softwares for VR are: Blender, Maya, and Zbrush.

Blender

Blender is a great free tool to simulate 3D models.

List of resources:

Tutorial from Blender

Blender 3D: Creating an anime style character in Blender from Udemy

Your first day in Blender from Pluralsight

Blender essential training from Lynda

Maya

Maya is a creation from Autodesk and is de facto 3D artists. It allows to build, animate, and render 3D models.

List of resources:

Tutorial

Master Maya – A guide to 3D modeling with Maya

Maya tips and tricks from Lynda 

Zbrush

Zbrush is a great digital sculpting tool combining 3D modeling, texturing, and painting.

List of resources:

Tutorial from Pixologic

Zbrush tips and tricks from Lynda