Game Development Patterns with Unity 2021
Explore practical game development using software design patterns and best practices in Unity and C#, 2nd Edition
David Baron
- 246 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Game Development Patterns with Unity 2021
Explore practical game development using software design patterns and best practices in Unity and C#, 2nd Edition
David Baron
About This Book
Solve your programming woes in Unity with practical design propositions
Key Features
- Gain a comprehensive overview of Unity engine architecture and coding model
- Build a complete racing game using software design patterns and understand how to implement them in Unity
- Download the source code of the complete prototype demonstrating each of the software patterns used
Book Description
This book is written for every game developer ready to tackle the bigger picture and start working with advanced programming techniques and design patterns in Unity.
Game Development Patterns with Unity 2021 is an introduction to the core principles of reusable software patterns and how to employ them to build components efficiently.
In this second edition, you'll tackle design patterns with the help of a practical example; a playable racing game prototype where you'll get to apply all your newfound knowledge. Notable updates also include a game design document (GDD), a Unity programming primer, and the downloadable source code of a complete prototype.
Your journey will start by learning about overall design of the core game mechanics and systems. You'll discover tried-and-tested software patterns to code essential components of a game in a structured manner, and start using classic design patterns to utilize Unity's unique API features.
As you progress, you'll also identify the negative impacts of bad architectural decisions and understand how to overcome them with simple but effective practices.
By the end of this Unity book, the way you develop Unity games will change ā you'll adapt a more structured, scalable, and optimized process that will help you take the next step in your career.
What you will learn
- Structure professional Unity code using industry-standard development patterns
- Identify the right patterns for implementing specific game mechanics or features
- Develop configurable core game mechanics and ingredients that can be modified without writing a single line of code
- Review practical object-oriented programming (OOP) techniques and learn how they're used in the context of a Unity project
- Build unique game development systems such as a level editor
- Explore ways to adapt traditional design patterns for use with the Unity API
Who this book is for
This book is for Unity game developers who want to learn industry standards for building Unity games. Knowledge of the Unity game engine and programming in the C# language is a must, so if you're a beginner, try our Learning C# by Developing Games with Unity 2021 handbook instead.
Frequently asked questions
Information
- Chapter 1, Before We Begin
- Chapter 2, The Game Design Document
- Chapter 3, A Short Primer to Programming in Unity
- Notes about the new edition
- The philosophy of the book
- What are design patterns?
- Which subjects aren't covered in this book?
- The game project
Notes about the new edition
- Game loop and update pattern chapters: These chapters focused too much on theory and didn't align themselves with the book's "hands-on" approach.
- Anti-patterns chapter: Anti-patterns is a complex and deep subject that deserves a book in itself to do it justice.
- The Game Design Document: The beginning of a new game project often starts with writing a GDD. A GDD is a document that will help us understand the design intention behind the game systems and mechanics that we will build throughout the book.
- A Short Primer to Programming in Unity: We will use several advanced Unity engine concepts, C# features, and object-oriented programming (OOP) techniques throughout the book. In this chapter, we will take the time to review them to establish a shared knowledge base.
The philosophy of the book
What are design patterns?
But in this book, I will be avoiding covering the academic side of software design patterns, focusing instead on their practical use for programming game mechanics and systems in Unity. I will present a recurrent game programming problem in each chapter and propose resolving it using a specific design pattern adapted for the Unity application programming interface (API).
Which subjects aren't covered in this book?
- Physics programming: Real-Time Collision Detection, Christer Ericson
- Engine programming: Game Engine Architecture, Jason Gregory
- Three-dimensional (3D) programming: Mathematics for 3D Game Programming and Computer Graphics, Eric Lengyel
- Artificial intelligence (AI) programming: Programming Game AI By Example, Mat Buckland
The game project
- Simplicity: Racing games have a simple premiseāget to the finish line as fast as possible without crashing. Because this book is not about game design but game programming, I wanted a simple type of game that will permit us to focus on learning about software design patterns and not get bogged down with the implementation details of complex game mechanics.
- Fun: I've worked on various games of many different genres, and I always found that racing games are the most fun to develop because they are enjoyable to test. In racing games, you can speed-run to specific parts of the game and quickly reproduce bugs or test new features. Unlike other games with deep game mechanics and large maps, such as RPGs, racing games are usually quicker to debug.
- Performance: The main challenge of programming a racing game is maintaining a consistent frame rate as you add more features and content. So, I find working on racing games forces you to maintain good game-programmer habits by always keeping an eye on how fast your code is running and not just making it more readable.
- Personal: There's also a personal reason for me choosing a racing gameāit's because it's my favorite genre. I love playing racing games and I love making them.