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Art direction for immersive experiences

Updated: Dec 13, 2024

When developing immersive experiences for Meta Quest devices, art direction and style is an important decision that needs to be made early in the design stage. Early in the design stage, ask yourself: will a realistic or stylized art direction better serve your user’s experience?

Choose a focus

When selecting an art direction, collaborate with your development and art teams to focus on the desired user experience and the necessary style trade-offs. Identify core aspects of your experience early and concentrate your efforts where you want the user’s attention. Over-detailing unimportant non-focus or background elements can detract from the experience and drain hardware resources.

Note: If an asset or effect is difficult to optimize or creates technical challenges, assess its importance. If not crucial, make aggressive cuts.

Deciding where to focus resources can be challenging, especially if you’re unsure of costs or return on investment. Consider the following before committing to an art direction:

Market considerations: Check the Meta Horizon Store for art style choices in similar published apps to the immersive experience you would like to create.
Stay updated on industry trends: Understand your potential users. Consider starting or joining a Facebook group to gauge user preferences.
Performance considerations: Be aware of performance challenges and plan to address them. See Art and performance for more details.

Realistic vs stylistic

Realistic art assets

Some experiences aim for maximum realism, which can be challenging due to the high level of detail and processing power required on the Meta Quest headset. However, it is achievable. The key is to understand the performance and technical challenges of a realistic style and to plan accordingly throughout development if this style is essential. See Art and performance for more details.

Stylistic art assets

Other experiences use a stylized approach. This can enhance the experience by providing unique visuals and reduce technical pressure, allowing you to allocate development resources to other features that may better serve your users’ enjoyment. While many stylized titles are cartoony in nature, it is by no means the only non-realistic style available. Examples of stylized art assets include:

Low-Poly: Experiences that use simple shapes and a limited number of polygons to create 3D models.
Voxel Art: Experiences that use small, cube-shaped pixels (voxels) to create 3D models and environments.
Cel-Shading: Experiences that mimic the look of hand-drawn animation by using bold lines, flat colors, and no shading or gradients.
Watercolor: A style that mimics the look of watercolor painting by using soft, blended colors and subtle texture.
Abstract: A style that uses non-representational shapes, colors, and patterns to create a unique and immersive environment.

When choosing an art direction, first determine if it is essential to your experience. Ensure you have the technical and financial resources to support it. Select a style that matches your vision and capabilities to create a cohesive and engaging user experience.