From Prototype to Production: Scaling Your XR Startup Project

Extended Reality (XR) has broadened the scope of entertainment and social life while also demonstrating enormous potential in the manufacturing industry. Prototyping in XR is the process of creating a sample or model using XR display devices to provide a visual preview or 3D model that allows the designer to test the design concept and usability. However, creating on a small scale is relatively simple, and many developers encounter problems when attempting to scale up their work.

In this article, we’ll look at the pitfalls of transitioning your project from a small scale to a production environment or creating something larger from an initial concept.

The Problem of Size

Although widespread adoption of augmented and virtual reality technologies in many business areas is still in its early stages, many commercial users are already seeing benefits from these systems they have implemented, such as immersive training for frontline employees or engineers who can collaborate on designs using 3D models. There is a huge market for XR apps, so commercial developments are becoming big business.

However, getting these systems up and running can be challenging. Despite evidence of the effectiveness of XR tools, businesses still face a number of technical, cultural, and organisational challenges. The process of taking an XR project from first principles to a commercially-viable product is fairly streamlined but can become overly complex and costly if not carried out in the right way. 

Many see this as the principle of starting right, and everything will fall into place, but while it is frequently not that simple, getting the prototype stage right is key to scaling up. Let’s have a look at prototyping and how you can make it an anchor point for transitioning up.

The XR prototyping process generally follows ideation, low-fidelity prototyping, high-fidelity prototyping, testing, and iterations of these to build and refine immersive experiences. This is a cyclic process that starts with ideation techniques such as storyboarding and body-storming – physically acting out the experience and interactions to better understand user presence and movement – then moves on to building and testing prototypes with XR tools and physical kits, and finally evaluating the findings to make informed modifications. The design team anticipates having a functional model at the end of the prototyping phase, ready for scaling up. But there can be many pitfalls with this notion, and numerous projects have failed because designers didn’t appreciate the potential problems ahead of them.

Moving Up

Provided you have got your prototype right, transitioning to a larger scale or production-level XR development typically means creating a polished, final version of the XR application based on the validated prototype. A move to production is rarely a place to continue development, and if this turns out to be the case, you would be well advised to return to the design studio and finalise the design before moving forward. But even if you do have a fully developed prototype, before you can take it to the production level, you must follow a few clear steps. Broadly, these are:

• Refine the design. Make any final adjustments to the visuals, the user interface, and the app functionality based on feedback from the prototyping phase. This step is not redesigning; you are just adjusting what you have to make it compatible with current devices.
• Secure funding. The project must account for the cost of transitioning from a prototype to a production level. Depending upon the size of the project, this cost could be substantial and often requires extra funding to enable the transition. Funding can have several sources, but with development costs being potentially very high, many development companies do not have access to such funds. In that case, there can be several alternative sources, including:
  • Business loans. Banks are usually more than happy to loan money against a well-presented and thought-out business venture, but you usually have to be able to prove return on investment (ROI) and demonstrate a plausible growth plan.
  • Venture capitalists and angel investors are also potential sources of funding. Wealthy individuals can provide funding for the production phase once a prototype demonstrates commercial potential and offers them the chance of a substantial profit. Angel investors normally want a higher return than banks.
  • Corporate R&D: Many large companies often have dedicated R&D departments that may fund or partner with smaller teams to develop and produce new XR applications. They will expect to be able to profit from this partnership—probably at least as much as an angel investor—but they are more likely to be able to bring specialist expertise to the table, which an angel investor usually won’t.
  • Crowdfunding. This option involves asking the public for donations to fund a growth plan, usually with the promise of early access or reduced-cost production-level products. Crowdfunding: Platforms can also be used to gauge public interest in a project.
• Develop your final assets. Create production-ready 3D models, specialist textures, and other assets, such as sounds and animations. Ensure that they are of the best possible standard before you head to a full launch.
• Test and optimise. Conduct full and rigorous testing on target hardware to ensure performance and stability. This testing should have a strong feedback loop and a means of logging bugs and issues that testers observe. These issues can then be remedied before the official launch.
• Complete certifications and final production launch. Complete any required certifications and documentation that need to be ready and proceed with a full production launch. Certifications may vary considerably in an international market – Europe requires a CE Mark, while the Americas do not require this, you will need to account for significant changes and certification needs. You need to investigate the legislation in your target markets and comply with them.

Each of these stages can take several months to complete, so you need to develop a realistic timeline for launch. It’s certainly not happening in two weeks, so plan carefully and ensure that you have realistic expectations. You will face unforeseen issues that will likely affect the release, so plan for them too.

Even if you are looking at what appears to be a simple iterative design, it is likely that you will still have new features alongside upgraded ones, and for that reason, you need to treat your development as a new design. Even an additional section of code will have a huge impact on the overall functionality of the product and, despite the best planning, can throw some real curveballs 

Testing, testing

We can’t speak enough about the need for testing and understanding the need for a rigorous and well-documented test period, as this plays a crucial role in developing a production-ready package. While initial testing of the prototype will help iron out all of the fundamental issues that may exist, pre-production testing helps establish the sheer usability of an XR package. There is little point in launching a perfectly serviceable XR game or app if it is dull and lacks appeal, so market testing is essential too. This step is where the feedback loop becomes an essential feature of the development. By seeking curated feedback, you gather honest views on the usability, functionality, and user experience, and you are able to make any adjustments before a major release.

Cyberpunk 2077, Battlefield 2042, and SimCity (2013) are just a couple of the games that faced severe problems, such as low performance and unfinished features upon their release, and ended up with an undesirable reputation. Other examples include Superman 64, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing, which were notoriously problematic and negatively reviewed. Security flaws or privacy concerns have also presented significant challenges for some apps, like ToTok. 

These failures have a lasting impact on a development company, as the gaming public have long memories. Software development and XR application users are unforgiving when it comes to the enjoyment of their apps and games, so if you mislead users even once, it will take a significant effort to regain their trust.  Just ask the developers at EA/Dice.

Mainstream testing obviously needs to be carried out by developers, but it is essential that the game or app is fully played by an array of other non-technical users who have not been close to the development and won’t know any possibilities that the developer takes for granted.  The statement ‘Oh yes, we know it does that’ is rarely helpful; just fix it!!

Wrapping it up

A well-executed prototyping stage provides a solid basis for the production phase because the prototypes are already designed with the ultimate production environment in mind. The prototyping phase should establish a solid foundation that supports a strong launch and ensures the final product is not only fit for purpose but also enjoyable to use or play.

To ensure that new developments work on all systems, they must be tested on all intended hardware, not just the market leaders or target release systems. With that said, the introduction of upgraded and iterative software can push the hardware’s limits and must be tested; poor reviews are the single biggest killer of new and updated software, so do all necessary testing to limit any issues.

XR applications represent a vast and expanding market; however, the overwhelming number of products means you must differentiate yourself. If you fail to manage your project effectively or secure adequate funding, you risk standing out for negative reasons instead.

If you have a project that you need help with, come and talk to our professional team at Unity Developers. We have the expertise to ensure that your project is a success.