book

Unity in Action, Second Edition

by Joseph Hocking

April 2018

Intermediate to advanced

400 pages

11h

English

Manning Publications

Read now

Unlock full access

RoadmapCode conventions, requirements, and downloadsBook forum

1.1 Why is Unity so great?1.1.1 Unity's strengths and advantages1.1.2 Downsides to be aware of1.1.3 Example games built with Unity1.2 How to use Unity1.2.1 Scene view, Game view, and the Toolbar1.2.2 Using the mouse and keyboard1.2.3 The Hierarchy view and the Inspector panel1.2.4 The Project and Console tabs1.3 Getting up and running with Unity programming1.3.1 How code runs in Unity: script components1.3.2 Using MonoDevelop, the cross-platform IDE1.3.3 Printing to the console: Hello World!Summary
2.1 Before you start …2.1.1 Planning the project2.1.2 Understanding 3D coordinate space2.2 Begin the project: place objects in the scene2.2.1 The scenery: floor, outer walls, and inner walls2.2.2 Lights and cameras2.2.3 The player’s collider and viewpoint2.3 Making things move: a script that applies transforms2.3.1 Visualizing how movement is programmed2.3.2 Writing code to implement the diagram2.3.3 Local vs. global coordinate space2.4 Script component for looking around: MouseLook2.4.1 Horizontal rotation that tracks mouse movement2.4.2 Vertical rotation with limits2.4.3 Horizontal and vertical rotation at the same time2.5 Keyboard input component: first-person controls2.5.1 Responding to keypresses2.5.2 Setting a rate of movement independent of the computer’s speed2.5.3 Moving the CharacterController for collision detection2.5.4 Adjusting components for walking instead of flyingSummary
3.1 Shooting via raycasts3.1.1 What is raycasting?3.1.2 Using the ScreenPointToRay command for shooting3.1.3 Adding visual indicators for aiming and hits3.2 Scripting reactive targets3.2.1 Determining what was hit3.2.2 Alert the target that it was hit3.3 Basic wandering AI3.3.1 Diagramming how basic AI works3.3.2 “Seeing” obstacles with a raycast3.3.3 Tracking the character’s state3.4 Spawning enemy prefabs3.4.1 What is a prefab?3.4.2 Creating the enemy prefab3.4.3 Instantiating from an invisible SceneController3.5 Shooting by instantiating objects3.5.1 Creating the projectile prefab3.5.2 Shooting the projectile and colliding with a target3.5.3 Damaging the playerSummary
4.1 Understanding art assets4.2 Building basic 3D scenery: whiteboxing4.2.1 Whiteboxing explained4.2.2 Drawing a floor plan for the level4.2.3 Laying out primitives according to the plan4.3 Texture the scene with 2D images4.3.1 Choosing a file format4.3.2 Importing an image file4.3.3 Applying the image4.4 Generating sky visuals using texture images4.4.1 What is a skybox?4.4.2 Creating a new skybox material4.5 Working with custom 3D models4.5.1 Which file format to choose?4.5.2 Exporting and importing the model4.6 Creating effects using particle systems4.6.1 Adjusting parameters on the default effect4.6.2 Applying a new texture for fire4.6.3 Attaching particle effects to 3D objectsSummary
5.1 Setting everything up for 2D graphics5.1.1 Preparing the project5.1.2 Displaying 2D images (aka sprites)5.1.3 Switching the camera to 2D mode5.2 Building a card object and making it react to clicks5.2.1 Building the object out of sprites5.2.2 Mouse input code5.2.3 Revealing the card on click5.3 Displaying the various card images5.3.1 Loading images programmatically5.3.2 Setting the image from an invisible SceneController5.3.3 Instantiating a grid of cards5.3.4 Shuffling the cards5.4 Making and scoring matches5.4.1 Storing and comparing revealed cards5.4.2 Hiding mismatched cards5.4.3 Text display for the score5.5 Restart button5.5.1 Programming a UIButton component using SendMessage5.5.2 Calling LoadScene from SceneControllerSummary
6.1 Setting up the graphics6.1.1 Placing the walls and floor6.1.2 Importing sprite sheets6.2 Moving the player left and right6.2.1 Writing keyboard controls6.2.2 Colliding with the walls6.3 Playing the sprite’s animation6.3.1 Explaining the Mecanim animation system6.3.2 Triggering animations from code6.4 Adding the ability to jump6.4.1 Falling from gravity6.4.2 Applying an upward impulse6.4.3 Detecting the ground6.5 Additional features for a platform game6.5.1 Unusual floors: slopes and one-way platforms6.5.2 Implementing moving platforms6.5.3 Camera controlSummary
7.1 Before you start writing code …7.1.1 Immediate mode GUI or advanced 2D interface?7.1.2 Planning the layout7.1.3 Importing UI images7.2 Setting up the GUI display7.2.1 Creating a canvas for the interface7.2.2 Buttons, images, and text labels7.2.3 Controlling the position of UI elements7.3 Programming interactivity in the UI7.3.1 Programming an invisible UIController7.3.2 Creating a pop-up window7.3.3 Setting values using sliders and input fields7.4 Updating the game by responding to events7.4.1 Integrating an event system7.4.2 Broadcasting and listening for events from the scene7.4.3 Broadcasting and listening for events from the HUDSummary
8.1 Adjusting the camera view for third-person8.1.1 Importing a character to look at8.1.2 Adding shadows to the scene8.1.3 Orbiting the camera around the player character8.2 Programming camera-relative movement controls8.2.1 Rotating the character to face movement direction8.2.2 Moving forward in that direction8.3 Implementing the jump action8.3.1 Applying vertical speed and acceleration8.3.2 Modifying the ground detection to handle edges and slopes8.4 Setting up animations on the player character8.4.1 Defining animation clips in the imported model8.4.2 Creating the animator controller for these animations8.4.3 Writing code that operates the animatorSummary
9.1 Creating doors and other devices9.1.1 Doors that open and close on a keypress9.1.2 Checking distance and facing before opening the door9.1.3 Operating a color-changing monitor9.2 Interacting with objects by bumping into them9.2.1 Colliding with physics-enabled obstacles9.2.2 Operating the door with a trigger object9.2.3 Collecting items scattered around the level9.3 Managing inventory data and game state9.3.1 Setting up player and inventory managers9.3.2 Programming the game managers9.3.3 Storing inventory in a collection object: List vs. Dictionary9.4 Inventory UI for using and equipping items9.4.1 Displaying inventory items in the UI9.4.2 Equipping a key to use on locked doors9.4.3 Restoring the player’s health by consuming health packsSummary
10.1 Creating an outdoor scene10.1.1 Generating sky visuals using a skybox10.1.2 Setting up an atmosphere that’s controlled by code10.2 Downloading weather data from an internet service10.2.1 Requesting HTTP data using coroutines10.2.2 Parsing XML10.2.3 Parsing JSON10.2.4 Affecting the scene based on weather data10.3 Adding a networked billboard10.3.1 Loading images from the internet10.3.2 Displaying images on the billboard10.3.3 Caching the downloaded image for reuse10.4 Posting data to a web server10.4.1 Tracking current weather: sending post requests10.4.2 Server-side code in PHPSummary
11.1 Importing sound effects11.1.1 Supported file formats 11.1.2 Importing audio files11.2 Playing sound effects11.2.1 Explaining what’s involved: Audio Clip vs. Source vs. Listener11.2.2 Assigning a looping sound11.2.3 Triggering sound effects from code11.3 Audio control interface11.3.1 Setting up the central AudioManager11.3.2 Volume control UI11.3.3 Playing UI sounds11.4 Background music11.4.1 Playing music loops11.4.2 Controlling music volume separately11.4.3 Fading between songsSummary
12.1 Building an action RPG by repurposing projects12.1.1 Assembling assets and code from multiple projects12.1.2 Programming point-and-click controls: movement and devices12.1.3 Replacing the old GUI with a new interface12.2 Developing the overarching game structure12.2.1 Controlling mission flow and multiple levels12.2.2 Completing a level by reaching the exit12.2.3 Losing the level when caught by enemies12.3 Handling the player’s progression through the game12.3.1 Saving and loading the player’s progress12.3.2 Beating the game by completing three levelsSummary
13.1 Start by building for the desktop: Windows, Mac, and Linux13.1.1 Building the application13.1.2 Adjusting Player Settings: setting the game’s name and icon13.1.3 Platform-dependent compilation13.2 Building for the web13.2.1 Unity Player vs. HTML5/WebGL13.2.2 Building the game embedded in a web page13.2.3 Communicating with JavaScript in the browser13.3 Building for mobile: iOS and Android13.3.1 Setting up the build tools13.3.2 Texture compression13.3.3 Developing plug-insSummary
Game designMarketing your game
A.1 Scene navigation using the mouseA.2 Commonly used keyboard shortcuts
B.1 Programming toolsB.1.1 Visual StudioB.1.2 XcodeB.1.3 Android SDKB.1.4 SVN, Git, or MercurialB.2 3D art applicationsB.2.1 MayaB.2.2 3ds MaxB.2.3 BlenderB.2.4 SketchUpB.3 2D image editorsB.3.1 PhotoshopB.3.2 GIMPB.3.3 TexturePackerB.3.4 Aseprite, Pyxel EditB.4 Audio softwareB.4.1 Pro ToolsB.4.2 Audacity
Building the mesh geometryTexture-mapping the model
Additional tutorialsCode libraries

Overview

Manning's bestselling and highly recommended Unity book has been fully revised! Unity in Action, Second Edition teaches you to write and deploy games with the Unity game development platform. You'll master the Unity toolset from the ground up, adding the skills you need to go from application coder to game developer.

About the Technology

Build your next game without sweating the low-level details. The Unity game development platform handles the heavy lifting, so you can focus on game play, graphics, and user experience. With support for C# programming, a huge ecosystem of production-quality prebuilt assets, and a strong dev community, Unity can get your next great game idea off the drawing board and onto the screen!

About the Book

Unity in Action, Second Edition teaches you to write and deploy games with Unity. As you explore the many interesting examples, you'll get hands-on practice with Unity's intuitive workflow tools and state-of-the-art rendering engine. This practical guide exposes every aspect of the game dev process, from the initial groundwork to creating custom AI scripts and building easy-to-read UIs. And because you asked for it, this totally revised Second Edition includes a new chapter on building 2D platformers with Unity's expanded 2D toolkit.

What's Inside

Revised for new best practices, updates, and more!
2D and 3D games
Characters that run, jump, and bump into things
Connect your games to the internet

About the Reader

You need to know C# or a similar language. No game development knowledge is assumed.

About the Author

Joe Hocking is a software engineer and Unity expert specializing in interactive media development.

Quotes
Joe Hocking wastes none of your time and gets you coding fast.
- From the Foreword by Jesse Schell, author of The Art of Game Design

Useful and to the point! Everything you need to know about Unity in a single resource.
- Dan Kacenjar, Cornerstone Software

Increases the velocity with which you'll go from idea to finished game.
- Christopher Haupt, Sanlam

I've wanted to program in Unity for a long time. The excellent examples in this book gave me the confidence to get started.
- Robin Dewson, Schroders