Creating Your First AR Game/Scene with Unity’s AR Foundation
Have you ever wondered how those cool augmented reality (AR) apps work? Imagine placing virtual objects in the real world through your phone’s camera. If you’re excited to make your own AR scenes, this guide will help you get started using Unity’s AR Foundation. Let’s dive in and make some magic happen!
Step 1: Getting Started
First things first, open up Unity and create a new 3D project. It’s like opening a brand new canvas to paint your AR masterpiece on.
Step 2: Bringing in the Tools
Unity is like a toolbox, and the Package Manager is where you grab your tools. Go to “Windows” and select “Package Manager.”
Make sure you’re in the Unity Registry.
Type “AR” in the search box and install “AR Foundation.”
Now, search for “XR” and get the “Google AR Core XR Plugin.” This is like getting a supercharger for your AR engine.
Step 3: Setting Up the Basics
Time to prep your project! Close everything and go to “File” > “Build Settings.”
Pick “Android” as your target Platform— this is where your AR scene will come to life.
Click on “Player Settings.”
Choose a portrait orientation for the app.
Step 4: Making Things Compatible
In the “Other Settings” section, uncheck “Auto Graphics API.”
Note: This step is important to ensure compatibility with AR code, as AR Core does not support Vulkan. If Vulkan is already included in your project, it can cause errors with AR Core integration. Remove Vulkan by clicking the minus button.
Specify your phone’s API version as the minimum API level.
Additionally, select the 64-bit architecture, as AR Core doesn’t support 32-bit.
Choose the scripting backend as IL2CPP and enable the ARM64 target architecture.
Step 5: Power Up AR Core
Now, it’s time to solidify AR Core integration. In the XR Plugin Management section, tick the box beside “Google AR Core.” This step fortifies your project’s foundation with the capabilities of AR Core.
In the XR Plugin Management section, check “Google AR Core” to enable AR Core integration.
Step 6: Building Your Scene
Close all windows and delete the “Main Camera” in the sample scene.
Right-click in the hierarchy and select XR > AR Session to add an AR Session to your scene.
The AR Session controls the AR experience’s lifecycle on the target platform.
Step 7: Centering Your World
Also, add an “XR Origin” to your scene. This is like the heart of your AR world. It puts everything in the right place and makes sure it fits well in the real world.
The XR Origin represents the center of the world space in your XR scene. It transforms objects and trackable features to their final position, orientation, and scale in the Unity scene.
Step 8: New and Improved
If you’ve watched older tutorials, you might have seen “AR Session Origin.” However, in version 5.0 and above, “AR Session Origin” is deprecated and should be replaced with “XR Origin.”
Step 9: Adding Some Fun
Time to drop in some cool stuff! Add a cube to your scene. Oh, and remember, Unity’s world is a bit different — scale your cube down to 0.1 to make it a good size.
Step 10: Showtime!
Your AR creation is ready for the spotlight. Click “Build” in “File” > “Build Settings.” Choose where to save your creation. Once it’s ready, install it on your phone.
Need help? There’s a video to guide you through this part.
Step 11: Oops, Errors? No Biggie!
Running into issues is normal in the world of coding. If your build hits some roadblocks, don’t worry! It might be a bit of Android confusion. Check out the troubleshooting video for some fixes.
Awesome Job! You’ve just unlocked the door to the fantastic world of AR creation. Your imagination’s the limit — create AR scenes that mix the real and virtual, and have a blast coding!
