Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter
1
Getting Started with Unity
This is a great time to learn to develop games. Unity has emerged as one of the most popular game
engines for game developers, and Unity Technologies continues to make dramatic changes to make
Unity more accessible to indie developers. There are now more platforms to which Unity games can
be ported (meaning it can be used on many devices), the Asset Store is available for centralized
game resources, and Unity provides outstanding support that has expanded to include professional
assessment and feedback for your game. There is even an entire new (at the time of writing) division
that collaborates with developers and publishes games. Making games is an amazing experience
and provides even more bragging rights than a high score or near-impossible headshot. Welcome
to the fun!
By “games” the folks behind Unity also recognize the expanding field of “serious games”—
simulations and other immersive, interactive experiences developed using Unity3D for a rising
number of different industries and uses. From NASA's Mars exploration and CliniSpace's virtual
medical training environments to CrossPlatform DeSign's animated crime scene reconstructions and
virtual industrial trainers, serious games are appearing in new venues at a rapid rate. If serious game
development is the direction in which you want to go, I believe that Unity is the best tool for it and
this topic is the best place to get started.
This topic assumes you have a computer and that you are familiar enough with using an Internet
browser to download files—and that is all. If you have an interest in game development but no prior
experience in Unity, programming, or digital art/content creation, you are in the right place. If you
have some background in one or the other, you'll find this topic helpful for introducing you to Unity,
programming, or Unity scripting.
You may have a game idea or want to help others bring theirs to life. The best games are those that
provide the best user experience. The user experience comes from both the look and the feel of
the game, which is another way of saying the graphics and the code. The graphics, or artwork, is
vitally important for the obvious reason: this is what the user sees. It sets the mood and engages the
user. The code is what is under the hood and is equally as important. The best graphics in the world
cannot make up for a game that is slow, responds unexpectedly, doesn't flow as the game advances,
or simply crashes. Unity is a powerful, popular tool for game developers because it allows you to
control and smoothly integrate both of these important aspects to create an enjoyable experience.
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