Google open-sources virtual reality modeling app Blocks
Google has open-sourced Blocks, its free virtual reality modeling tool.
Development of the open-source version, Open Blocks, will be overseen by the Icosa Foundation, which also maintains Open Brush, the open-source version of Tilt Brush.
An intuitive free tool for creating low-poly 3D models in virtual reality
Released in 2017, Blocks is an intuitive virtual reality modeling tool.
Designed to feel “more like playing with children’s blocks than working with traditional 3D modeling software”, it lets users build up low-poly assets using a set of simple base shapes.
The base forms can be combined and manipulated with an equally simple set of tools – Shape, Stroke, Paint, Modify, Grab and Ease – and assigned solid surface colors.
The original version is still available on Steam and the Meta store, but is no longer being actively developed.
Now available as a community-run open-source successor
The new open-source version, Open Blocks, is being developed by the Icosa Foundation, which has maintained Open Brush, the open-source version of another former Google project, VR sketching tool Tilt Brush, since 2022.
The current public release, Open Brush 0.2, includes the key tools from the original, but does not currently support Oculus VR mode, or background reference images.
Licensing and system requirements
Open Blocks is compatible with Windows 7+. Compiled builds are available free on GitHub, and will eventually be available on Steam.
To use it in VR mode, you will a SteamVR-compatible headset, which includes HTC and Windows Mixed Reality headsets.
The source code is available under an Apache 2.0 licence.
Download Open Blocks from Icosa Foundation’s GitHub repository
Read more about Open Blocks in the online documentation
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