PUBLISHED: https://80.lv/articles/the-process-of-mastering-unity-for-vfx-simulation/
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Please introduce yourself. What companies have you worked for in the past? What projects have you been a part of?
Hello! My name is Mirza. First, I'd like to say: thanks for having me :)
Some may be surprised, but my work experience and history are less in video games (for entertainment) and largely in healthcare and science communication via interactive media.
I say ‘interactive media’ because my projects and roles have been diverse, though most have centered on being a programmer.
The vast majority of my professional projects have involved some kind of "special" hardware in one way or another, and most, due to their nature, are behind NDAs.
These have been related to biofeedback, rehabilitation (stroke patients, children with disabilities...), training for virtual surgery, and/or a range of XR and display devices (Kinect, Rift, Quest, Leap Motion, Looking Glass, NeXus, NeuroSky, etc...)
Interactive, XR-compatible ‘AAA’-like water.
You’ve been mastering Unity for years now, I believe. How and when did this journey begin? How did you explore the engine?
I've been using Unity regularly for over a decade now. I still have a post from around the time I started using it!
Posted a full decade later on Twitter.
We can rewind to Autumn, 2013: a project deadline was approaching.
My original plan was to recycle a small framework I had already written for interactive 3D apps using OpenGL, but I quickly realized there wouldn't be enough time.
I had heard of Unity before (during the 2.x and 3.x era), and had worked in teams that used it, but was not -directly- involved with the engine. My only 'hands-on' experience up to that point with Unity was helping port libraries via DLL interfaces.
It was a surprising discovery, seeing how Unity seemed to handle all the aspects of game development I was used to having to assemble 'from scratch'.
Physics, audio, particles, animation, lighting, and sound... it was all just there, it worked, and I could extend the tools as I wished. I watched the Roll-A-Ball tutorial to get started. C# was easy to pick up coming from C++, and within hours, I was finished- maybe to my own surprise.
If it doesn’t exist, you can make it yourself in Unity, like this stylized volumetric fog for URP.