Google Launched A New VR Tool: Blocks

Google just launched a platform for creating 3D objects in virtual reality (VR) called Blocks, similar to Google’s immersive painting offering Tilt Brush. The tool is available on the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, and it’s an opportunity for marketers when creating content for virtual reality experiences. “Blocks is simple enough for anyone to use, even those without any prior modeling experience” Jason Toff, VR Group Product Manager at Google wrote in a blog post about the app. “It’s designed to feel more like playing with children’s blocks than working with traditional 3D modeling software.” Google Blocks is supposed to be intuitive enough for newcomers to use, but full-featured enough to support making artistically compelling models, like the ones Google has collected in an online gallery. Users can export objects and make them viewable online, or they can put them in 3D scenes inside and outside virtual reality. On Google’s site, visitors can even spin objects around to create downloadable animated GIFs. However, some experts have said that the object files themselves are not optimized the same way as files designed in desktop 3D modeling applications, and that VR experiences developed with multiple objects made in Blocks would be impossible in some cases due to the computing power required to display the objects. So, the best use of this tool would be during early stages of the production pipeline for immersive experiences.