It’s easy to create virtual reality with CoSpaces, a new tool from a German company called Delightex. This brief tutorial will go through the basics of VR creation, including getting you familiar with the interface and how to make interesting spaces quickly.
Time: 30-40 minutes Difficulty: Easy
Getting Started
- Create an account at www.cospaces.io
- Click on “Create space.” This will open up the main space that you can edit. The stage starts off mostly empty, except for a moveable camera. This camera provides the perspective for the space — you can move it in various ways to change the way the user sees the space.
- Let’s explore the menu on the bottom row. There are menu options for Library, Upload, Marketplace, and Environment. The Library has many objects that we can drag and drop, such as 3D animals and people. Upload allows you to add your own items. Environment changes the background image.
- Let’s add a 3D person to the space. In the Library menu, let’s drag and drop a “3D low poly object” to the middle of the stage (or anywhere you like).
- Double click on the man to edit its properties. We can rotate the man and edit his color, shape, name, rotation, etc. We can also make it say or think some words, like “Hello!”
- In the lower left menu, choose Environment.
Notice you can also change the mood, stage image, and add background sounds for the stage. You can add 360 degree photos as well (see our CoSpaces 360 degree image tutorial on this), making it easy to customize. For now, let’s choose a different environment, like this outdoor scene.
- Add various other items to your space, including 3D walls, signs with text, animals, building blocks, images from the web, etc. Feel free to create and customize your space any way you like!
- Try out your VR creation and share it with others. In the upper right corner, click “Play.” This will bring you into the space you just created. Note that you can view spaces online on your laptop or tablet just fine, or if you view your scene on your smartphone, it gives you the option to view it in virtual reality mode if you wish (i.e., Google Cardboard VR mode). Click “Share” to generate a QR code and a hyperlink to share with others online.
This is just the beginning — the very basics of VR creation! CoSpaces is a very powerful tool once you start to discover what is possible. As next steps, we recommend that you take a look at related tutorials, including how to add 360 degree images to the VR space, basic coding in CoSpaces, and how to activate objects to make them interactive.
There are many ideas for interesting VR creations for education, including VR for language learning, art exhibits, science models, literature expression, history lessons, etc. Enjoy!
For another tutorial that covers some of the basics, Dan Klumper has a nice video tutorial on Youtube:
