Unity is a game-creating software that allows the user to create virtual realities with (relative) ease.
The Workshop/My Results
I think that I have come to accept that me and computer softwares (particularly anything involving the third dimension) just don't get along. Don't get me wrong, this technology is really cool, especially since a lot of the features are easy to navigate and add. For example, shadows are automatically added to all objects even though normal 3D softwares will make you add them yourself. You can also customize the software through the use of the extra packages or by coding them yourself.
The only thing is that it does take a while to get used to. For example, it's not super obvious what buttons you press when you want to change colors or shapes, and sometimes those things are hidden. It's also hard getting the camera in the right spot. For some reason, I kept either zooming too far in or too far out and it really made it hard to know what I was doing. I definitely feel like this was because it was my first time using this type of software. After a couple of tries playing around with it I should be okay. Though... there is so much content that I don't even know if I'll ever be able to learn it all on my own.
In the workshop, I was able to create the ball and have it drop and bounce. I then created a new Unity project and made the landscape you see above. I added a nice hill on my terrain and changed the image/color to a fluffy cat. I also got to explore the Unity store and see the packages available. I figured out how to make a tree; however it was so hard to get all the individual branches and leaves so I gave that one up.
I will note that my final image seen above is very plain looking. It really is not indicative of all of the things I got to play around with on Unity. I kept having to restart new projects because I fell behind and things just weren't working out. I even had a really nice mountainy terrain, but that got deleted.
Overall, this was a really cool workshop, but I honestly did not like it that much. I can see there being a lot of applications in virtual reality games and platforms, but that stuff just does not really interest me. I give major props to anyone who knows how to use this well because its really tricky... at least for me.
Applications
I feel like the most obvious application of this type of software is in virtual reality games and experiences.
When thinking about VR technology, the Oculus Go Virtual Reality Headset immediately came to mind. This headset is a portable stand-alone headset (meaning you don't need to connect it to a PC). It syncs to your phone and allows you to buy games/apps to play/experience.
Source: ebay.com
What's cool about this is that it enables the user to have a 3D experience with their games. This is something that could even be used with something designed in Unity for the user to experience/play with. However, I don't really see any benefit with using this fancy headset over just getting (or even making) one of the headsets that you can attach your phone to.
A really cool application of virtual reality allows the user to feel what it's like to fly as a bird. I feel like almost everyone has wished to do such a thing, and Birdly at The Natinal Aviary in Pittsburgh allows people to do just that. I've inserted a clip of this below.
What is really cool is that you get to even feel the wings move like a bird does, and th also blow air at you so that you feel fully immersed.
I know for sure that next time I go to Pittsburgh I will check this out!
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