Google has announced Blocks, a free VR app for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive that allows users to create colorful 3D models. The goal of Blocks is to be simple enough for newcomers to easily start creating 3D objects while also allowing advanced users to make more visually complex creations. Google reasons that our brains aren't specifically wired to create 3D objects on a 2D plane, therefore virtual reality can help with fully realizing 3D content.
Once you're done creating your masterpiece, you can export the design as an OBJ and import it into other VR/AR applications. For example, you could create an all-white 3D model in Blocks then import that OBJ into Google's own Tilt Brush 3D painting app and paint your Blocks creation. The sample models that Google shows are pretty impressive with designs ranging from a horse, piano, teddy bear, and a fighter jet mech Transformer looking thing.
Blocks is simple enough for anyone to use, even those without any prior modeling experience. It's designed to feel more like playing with children's blocks than working with traditional 3D modeling software. Starting with a simple set of shapes, a color palette, and an intuitive set of tools, you're able to naturally and quickly create almost anything you can imagine, from a piece of watermelon to a whole forest scene.
What's interesting is that Google isn't releasing this for its own Daydream VR platform... at least not yet. Blocks remains exclusive to high-end VR headsets, likely due to the precise movements needed with the hand controllers and ability to walk around the creations. However, with Google also working with Lenovo and HTC to make standalone Daydream headsets, it probably won't be long until we see Blocks on Google's own VR platform.
