I’m a bit obsessed with creating things in VR. I am interested in basically any VR platform that allows users to upload content. Some platforms have built in tools, while others require the use of a game engine. Having the tools built into the platform makes it a lot easier for players to make content. Requiring external game development tools gives creators a lot more freedom to build what they want.

Horizon and Rec Room Creator Tools

Horizon and Rec Room are two popular platforms that require creators to use their built in creator tools. Having creator tools built into the platform allows the platform to ensure optimization. Both these games will consistently run smoother than other platforms. This also allows for more social building experiences. On both Horizon and Rec Room, multiple players can work on an environment at the same time. It can completely change the building experience. You are also forced to build while inside of VR, which is different than most game development processes. While working on Horizon worlds, I found building in VR to be a relaxing and fun experience. I get motion sickness a bit more easily than most, so I can only work inside of VR for a few hours before needing a break.

VRChat and Altspace Creator Tools

VRChat and Altspace are two platforms that require players upload using Unity game engine. This means creators can import whatever models and assets they want, as long as they set up their content using the Unity game engine. This makes creating content a bit more difficult for new players, but the tradeoff is worth it. There is extensive documentation for both these platforms. You can find info on creating in Altspace here and you can find VRChat’s documentation here.

Both platforms require a specific unity versions to work. Information on this can be found within the documentation. A good resource, for staying up to date on both these platforms, is Discord. Both platforms have official Discord servers that help players learn how to build content and announces updates to their tools.

The official Altspace discord can be found here and the official VRChat discord can be found here.

Pavlov Creator Tools

Pavlov is similar to VRChat and Altspace because it also uses a game engine to allow players to upload content. They use the Unreal Game Engine instead of Unity. Unreal is a powerful game engine that works a bit differently than Unity. Luckily, just like Unity, there are a ton of tutorial videos and resources to help people learn how to use the game engine. I really enjoy building things for Pavlov. The game engine is fun to work in and being able to run around in a custom FPS map is a ton of fun. You can find documentation on Pavlov here and join their official discord here.

Mozilla Hubs

Mozilla Hubs uses a custom, in browser, game engine called Spoke. If you’re familiar with other game engines, like Unity, then Spoke will be easy to learn. It feels like any other game engine, but it’s much simpler. I think Hubs is a super cool platform because it allows players to visit environments in VR or through the browser on desktop and mobile. This means its really accessible to users. All you need is a link to the space and you can visit it. Because it works on mobile, it means that environments must be simple and optimized, so you are very limited. I found building with Spoke is easy and I enjoy putting spaces together on it. You can learn more about Mozilla Hubs and Spoke here.