Immersive Experience Designer (AR/VR/MR/Metaverse) Developer Salary in 2024

Immersive Experience Designer (AR/VR/MR/Metaverse)

Immersive Experience Design

Virtual Reality (VR) Design

Virtual Reality (VR) design is one of the fastest growing fields in the world today. It mainly refers to the designing of immersive computer-simulated environments. This could be:

• Matchless gaming worlds
• Entertaining hologram characters in the entertainment industry
• Pioneering visual demonstrations in university curriculum or learnings

An avid VR worker’s day might be filled with:

• Designing scenes for games
• Treating or training patients
• Reviewing animation sets
• Creating custom hardware
• Developing interactive tools
• Solving VR communication issues

Augmented reality (AR) is a subfield in which real-world situations merge with virtual elements.

Meaning and Definitions of Virtual Reality and AR

AR is defined as ‘a technology consisting of the superposition of a computer-generated image on a user’s view of the real world, thus providing a composite view’.

VR is defined as ‘a computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional environment, facilitating interaction with that world through sensors, which particularly provide a user with appropriate auditory and visual feedback.’ (‘Virtual reality’ and ‘augmented reality – their definitions’, June 2017)

Although VR and AR both seek to increase a user’s immersion, VR involves entirely virtual environments, while AR aims to add layers to the real world.

Evolution of Virtual Reality Design

The concept of VR was developed in the 1960s, but the first VR headsets from the 1990s and the rise of VR gaming in the early 2000s (e.g., Second Life and World of Warcraft) meant that this area had been around for about 40 years before many people started to experience it. Since then, VR has evolved beyond gaming and is now used in other areas such as architecture, product design, and healthcare.

Nature and Features of Interior Designing

Interior designing involves designing interiors efficiently to fulfill a specific function and meet the aesthetic criteria and requirements of individuals living or working in the space. It involves planning, supervision, and coordination of construction works to ensure quality work. Initially, interior designing was limited to providing efficient and good-looking living spaces, but with the evolving times and the increasing use of modern construction materials, the scope of this field has expanded. Now, interior designers can create completely immersive experiences using virtual reality for their clients.

Using this technology, a designer may mimic all the nuances of rendering a space: walls, windows, furnishings, even the texture and hue of carpet and light on the floor. This interaction may lead to an unexpected modification of the production world, with the client saying: ‘Just move the window over towards the garden please.’

Scope of Designing in Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality

The creative possibilities of VR and AR are huge and diverse:

• Architecture: VR provides a way to develop immersive, walk-through models of buildings and spaces that are extremely detailed, allowing clients to explore buildings that exist only as ideas.
• Product Design: VR makes it possible for designers to create prototypes that can be tested and refined before being made.
• Healthcare: VR is used to recreate therapeutic environments for people suffering from anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Other Critical Application Areas for Designing in VR and AR

• Virtual Reality Home Design: Techniques for creating and modeling homes and interiors using VR technology, allowing users to see and interact with their space in detail and in a natural way in advance.
• Virtual Reality Prototype Design: Prototyping products or systems in a virtual space, where they can be tested and developed without being physically made.
• VR Interior Applications: Using VR technologies to design interiors, allowing designers and clients to interact with a virtual version of the space.
• Multimedia: Using VR in design for animation, computer games, and films to create 3D environments with sound, motion, and feedback.
• Tools for VR and AR: Software and hardware tools that enable design in VR and AR, including headsets, controllers, cameras, game engines, 3D tools, and animation tools.
• Virtual Reality Room Design: Designing and creating rooms and spaces using VR technology, allowing users to ‘decorate’ their rooms with preferred furniture, accessories, colors, and textures.
• Virtual Reality Experience Designer: Responsible for designing content, interface, interaction, feedback, and immersion in VR and AR applications across various fields like entertainment, training, marketing, and education.

Major Innovations in VR and AR Designing

Breakthroughs in VR and AR technologies include affordable VR headsets like Oculus Go and Google Daydream, and the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning models to better simulate realistic interactions.

How to Make a Career in VR and AR Designing

Making a career in VR and AR designing is competitive, requiring a combination of technical and creative skills:

• Technical skills: C++, Java, Python, 3D Modeling Software (Blender, Maya), game engines (Unity, Unreal Engine)
• Literacy in human-computer interaction and user experience design

Various courses and training programs exist for aspiring designers, including several online courses.