VR 101: Foundations of VR Interaction

Welcome to VR 101!

As the name suggests, this book is all about VR development. Before diving into the chapters, we highly recommend reading the introduction page, as it contains essential information to help you get started.

All content—including articles, illustrations, and code—is completely free to use. However, redistribution in any form requires permission from the author.

This book is currently a work in progress. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to reach out.

Table of Contents

• 0. Introduction
  • 0.00 – Introduction
    Why I’m writing this book, what this book is and isn’t.
    Last Updated: May 18, 2026
  • 0.01 – VR In 2026
    This optional chapter discusses the current (2026) state of VR hardware, their capabilities, design conventions and limitations.
    Last Updated: May 18, 2026
• 1. The Rig
  • 1.00 – The Pawn
    Collisions, gravity, stairs. The VR player’s body is a third-person game character.
    Last Updated: April 15, 2026
  • 1.01 – The Ghost
    The camera passes through walls; the body doesn’t. Why both are correct.
    Last Updated: August 12, 2025
  • 1.02 – The Recenter
    When the camera snaps to the body, and why there’s only one kind of snap.
    Last Updated: May 10, 2026
  • 1.03 – Small and Temporary
    The cam and the body usually stay close. What the rig does when they don’t.
    Last Updated: September 20, 2025
  • 1.04 – The Pursuit
    What happens to your body when your head goes places your body can’t follow.
    Last Updated: February 5, 2026
  • 1.05 – The Eyes
    Cockpits, car seats, desks. Getting the right head height without rewriting the rig.
    Last Updated: September 11, 2025
  • 1.06 – The Scale
    Walking one meter in real life to travel ten in the game. And why scale isn’t a height adjustment.
    Last Updated: March 22, 2026
• 2. Locomotion
  • 2.00 – Comfort and Cost
    Why so many VR locomotion options exist, and what you trade for each.
    Last Updated: April 30, 2026
  • 2.01 – The Smooth Walk
    Pushing the stick to move. The simplest VR locomotion, often the most nauseating.
    Last Updated: December 15, 2025
  • 2.02 – The Turn
    Snap turns and smooth turns. The two main options and what each costs.
    Last Updated: November 12, 2025
  • 2.03 – The Teleport
    Pointing somewhere and arriving there. The locomotion option that skips the motion.
    Last Updated: February 18, 2026
  • 2.04 – The Dash
    Crossing a short distance quickly, when teleporting feels like cheating.
    Last Updated: May 12, 2026
  • 2.05 – The Vault
    Climbing a fence, vaulting a wall, traversing a ladder. When the game takes over the camera for a moment.
    Last Updated: January 8, 2026
  • 2.06 – The Glide
    Slow descent. Why falling slowly feels less nauseating than walking briskly.
    Last Updated: April 8, 2026
• 3. Interaction
  • 3.00 – The Hand
    Why the hand you see isn’t always where the controller is.
    Last Updated: May 15, 2026
  • 3.01 – The Pose
    Buttons, triggers, proximity sensors — how the hand shapes itself when nothing is grabbed.
    Last Updated: February 14, 2026
  • 3.02 – The Grab Point
    What makes a hand wrap around a handle the way the user expects.
    Last Updated: April 22, 2026
  • 3.03 – The Crane Machine
    Light objects, heavy objects, levers. A single physics model covers all three.
    Last Updated: May 8, 2026
  • 3.04 – Grab and Geometry
    When a single grab point isn’t enough: barrels, ropes, anything irregular.
    Last Updated: March 15, 2026
  • 3.05 – Grab and Action
    Pulling the trigger on a held pistol. How actions layer on top of a grab.
    Last Updated: April 18, 2026
  • 3.06 – Hand and Hand
    Both hands on a rifle, a long stick, a steering wheel. What happens when the user turns the object.
    Last Updated: April 29, 2026
  • 3.07 – The Climb
    Pulling yourself up a ledge, hand by hand.
    Last Updated: April 13, 2026
  • 3.08 – The Throw
    What makes a thrown object land where the user wanted.
    Last Updated: May 11, 2026
• 4. The Avatar
  • 4.00 – The Avatar
    The body the player sees, distinct from the body the world reacts to.
    Last Updated: May 17, 2026
  • 4.01 – The Skeleton
    How the spine, arms, and legs are posed when only the head and hands are tracked.
    Last Updated: May 6, 2026
  • 4.02 – The Height
    Why a 5′2″ player and a 6′4″ player can’t share the same avatar.
    Last Updated: May 10, 2026
• 5. UI and HUD (coming soon)
• 6. More Tricks (coming soon)