I have been using the Unity engine for a few years now. We have made a couple of 2D games, but this year we are focusing on 3D. There are many differences between 3D game development and 2D development in regards to the Unity game engine. In Unity 3D, you have a 3D plane instead of a 2D plane. I feel that it's easier to move around in 2D because there's not as much space to go. You can see the whole arena at once. A big difference in 2D is that the camera is orthographic. A cool thing about Unity is "You can swap between 2D or 3D mode at any time regardless of the mode you set when you created your project"(Unity Doc). In 2D mode, you have sprites and in 3D you have textures.
I've noticed some similarities between the modes. The layout of the interface is the same in both 2D and 3D mode. Both modes have the same components, but each has a specific type for the mode. For example, you have Physics2D specifically for 2D mode and Physics for 3D. I have had many ups and downs using the Unity engine. Lately, I have been following tutorials and I do everything as shown in the video and then it doesn’t work; however, it does in the tutorial. I think this problem is more to do with the version of the tutorial. It’s very hard to find tutorials with the most current version of unity which is 2018. I think that Unity is easy to use and that the more complex part of creating a game is the coding involved. I have a lot more to learn about Unity. I think that 2D games are easier to make. 2D versus 3D
Works Cited Technologies, Unity. “2D Or 3D Projects.” Unity, docs.unity3d.com/Manual/2Dor3D.html. ValiVali. “Unity 2D vs 3D Differences.” Stack Overflow, stackoverflow.com/questions/24228895/unity-2d-vs-3d-differences.
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While working on the flappy bird tutorial, I noticed that we used the rigidbody2D component many times. I’ve mentioned Rigidbodies briefly in my colliders post, but thought it would be more beneficial to further learn the specifics of the Rigidbody2D component, since we used it the most. It is important to learn about each part of the rigidbody, so you can properly use it.
I went to the Unity documentation and found an article specifically on Rigidbody 2D called Rigidbody 2D. I learned that many of the concepts in the regular Rigidbody component are found in the Rigidbody2D component. The component takes over the Transform component and reprograms it based off of what is defined in the Rigidbody component. Any Collider2D added to the GameObject that has your Rigidbody attached will be connected to the Rigidbody2D. According to the article, if you need to move your collider, you need to move the Rigidbody 2D. The reason for this is because it makes sure your collision detection is good and give you the best performance. A good thing to know is that all the Collider2D is added to your Rigidbody won’t collide with each other. As I previously mentioned there are 3 body types for the Rigidbody2D: kinematic, dynamic, and static. Each type defines the movement behavior and interaction with the collider 2D. Any Collider2D attached will receive the body type of the Rigidbody2D it is attached to. You need a collider for the Rigidbody 2D to collide with another Rigidbody 2D. Rigidbody2D:
Technologies, Unity. “Rigidbody 2D.” Unity - Scripting API: Physics.Raycast, docs.unity3d.com/Manual/class-Rigidbody2D.html. While I was working on the Flappy Bird game, I had to make a prefab of the column obstacles. I didn’t know that a prefab was or what it did. Prefabs also came up in the UFO game, which made me curious. I figured out that they must be very important when using multiple objects, so I looked it up.
I researched prefabs and found an article in the Unity documentation called Prefabs. According to the article, a prefab is basically a template of a object in a game. Using prefabs allows you to edit one specific object and then make copies that have that same change. Even though the edits in a prefab copy over, you can override some things for a certain object. If you go to assets and then click create prefab, you can make a prefab. After you do that, you drag the object onto the prefab. You can also just drag the prefab from the project to the scene view. After reading that article, I learned that prefabs are very easy to use and make creating a game easier. Prefabs:
Technologies, Unity. “Prefabs.” Unity - Manual: Prefabs, docs.unity3d.com/Manual/Prefabs.html. Spring break was great and all, but now I have to get back in the school mood. Before break I had just started the tutorials to make a 2D ufo game in Unity. The skills learned in the tutorials will help in the future and for the final project where we make a game all by ourselves. One topic that was covered in the tutorials was colliders. Colliders are very important to understand if you want your game objects to interact. I had a little trouble, so I researched colliders so that I could refresh before class and make sure I understood them.
I researched colliders and found an article in the Unity documentation called Colliders. According to the article, colliders are invisible. The components of a collider determine the shape of an object. I learned that their are different types of primitive colliders for 3D and 2D. For 2D, there are two different colliders, the Circle Collider 2D and the Box Collider 2D. For 3D, there are three different colliders: Capsule, Sphere, and Box. Colliders have different configurations of their rigidbodies that determine how it interacts with an object. They are rigidbody, static, and kinematic rigidbody colliders. The static rigidbody collider doesn’t have a rigidbody, while the rigidbody collider has a non kinematic rigidbody. The Kinematic rigidbody collider has a kinematic rigidbody attached. Knowing the how the colliders interact is very important. Colliders:
Works Cited “Colliders.” Unity - Manual: Colliders, docs.unity3d.com/Manual/CollidersOverview.html. A few years ago I tried to make a game using Unity. I wasn’t successful because I didn’t know the interface or the program. But know I’m determined to increase my skill in Unity. I have access and more knowledge into the program after following some tutorials and researching. Knowing how to use Unity is very important, because many companies use Unity to create their games. To be able to make a functional game, I need to know the interface inside and out.
And to do that I went to the Unity site to find specific information about the interface. There are multiple components that make up the interface, which include the toolbar, multiple windows, and the scene view. The toolbar had tools to let you change the scene view, control the animation, manage layers visibility, edit menu, and access your Unity account. The one difference between the toolbar and the windows is that you can’t move the toolbar like you can the windows. There are three different windows: inspector, hierarchy, and project. The project window shows you the assets that you have available and or imported for your project. The hierarchy window lists all the objects currently in the scene. It also shows how objects are related to each other, specifically if its a “child” or “parent” of each other. The last window is the inspector window, which lets you edit and view the object that is currently selected. You are able to see the different properties. Since not every object is the same, the inspector window may look different depending on the object. The scene view is the last part of the interface. The scene view lets you both edit and move around your scene. Depending on the project, the view will be either 2D or 3D. As you can see, Unity makes it interface very simple and easy to navigate. After learning this information, I will be able to increase my skill using Unity in a more efficient way. Unity:
Technologies, Unity. “Learning the Interface.” Unity - Manual: Learning the Interface, docs.unity3d.com/Manual/LearningtheInterface.html. “Unity.” Unity, unity3d.com/. |
AuthorI'm a student at Durham School of the Arts, and currently in the Game Art Design pathway. I like playing the Sims 4, playing with dogs, and riding horses. This blog will reflect my learning and discoveries. Archives
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