HTML5 VR / WebXR games on the Oculus Quest 1 & 2 standalone?

[Bonsaiheldin]

Hello.

Let's brainstorm a bit. We can have our HTML5 games on phones using Cordova. But how to do the same for the Oculus Quest 1 & 2 standalone (which runs Android too)?
I haven't tried it but i guess Cordova would make the games run in 2D mode but we would want it to force VR mode somehow so players don't have to do that.

Interesting links i found so far:

• BabylonJS native with future Android export: https://www.babylonjs.com/native/
• General discussion: https://www.reddit.com/r/WebVR/comments/dd8ah6/how_to_publish_webvr_games_as_native_apps/
• Native WebXR browser: https://exokit.org => https://github.com/exokitxr/exokit (looks abandoned, no update since April 2020)

Regards
nora

 

Edited May 31, 2021 by Bonsaiheldin

[b10b]

Interesting.  Does WebVR not solve this?  As HTML5 devs shouldn't we champion web over installables / app stores?  Perhaps, if VR users are early adopters, minor obstacles like web delivery won't massively interfere?  Cordova / PhoneGap aren't limited to 2D so, if an app is important for other reasons, these may achieve the goal for Quest?

[Bonsaiheldin]

6 hours ago, b10b said:

Interesting.  Does WebVR not solve this?  As HTML5 devs shouldn't we champion web over installables / app stores?  Perhaps, if VR users are early adopters, minor obstacles like web delivery won't massively interfere?  Cordova / PhoneGap aren't limited to 2D so, if an app is important for other reasons, these may achieve the goal for Quest?

WebXR (which replaced WebVR) is just the set of browser APIs that let's you build VR games for the browser. It gives you access to VR headsets, controllers and tracking data. Those games can be placed on the Oculus Quest but you have to inconveniently visit the webpage everytime you want to play it, click on a "Enter VR" or goggles button and turn VR mode on, manually. Instead of opening the game and start playing right away, like you do with native games. For example Moon Rider: https://moonrider.xyz If you want to play that on the Oculus Quest you have to visit that webpage. Having it installed as a native app would be much more convenient.

We can have HTML5 games on phones using Cordova, PhoneGap or else. They seem to put your game into an Android wrapper app that contains a browser your game runs in (think of Electron and NW.js for PCs) and that makes it look and behave like a native app. That - but for the Oculus Quest. Any ideas? I'm especially wondering about the need to manually make the game enter VR mode.

I should perhaps fiddle around with that myself. ?

EDIT: There was a WebXR plugin for Cordova but it looks abandoned as well: https://github.com/tzachari/cordova-plugin-webxr

Edited May 10, 2021 by Bonsaiheldin