Exercise 1.1 🔝

In Class Lecture

• Explore the Unity editor
• Scene & Game View
• Hierarchy
• Inspector
• Project Panel
• Console
• Shortcuts
• Transform Handle Keys (W,E,R,T)
• Focus Key (F)
• Focus Window (Shift+Space)
• Game Objects & Components
• Create new Game Objects
• Identify Components belonging to a Game Object
• Transform Component
• Position of Transform component is in Local space, meaning it is relative to any parent Game Objects. If it has no parent, it's parent is the world, and it's position is also in World space
• ✅ Create a second Game Object and make it a child of the first. Look at how their Transform's properties.
• Creating a Character with the Sprite Renderer Component
• Import a sprite Remember to credit the artist!
• OpenGameArt.org
• Itch.io
• Here is an example sprite I will be using in my demonstration. From Buch on OpenGameArt.org
  
• Create an empty Game Object
• Add a Sprite Renderer component.
• Add your sprite to the Sprite field of the component and see how it now draws your sprite in the game.
• Experiment with the other fields on the component.

Homework

Exercise 1.2 🔝

In Class Lecture

• Data Type
• int: Positive or negative whole numbers (-10, 2)
• float: Positive or negative numbers with decimals (-10.0f, 1f, 123.456f)
• string: Letters, words, or sentences made of letters, numbers, and other symbols. Inside double quotes. ("Hello world!", "abcDEFghi")
• bool: Boolean value, true or false. (true, false)
• Declaring and Initializing Variables and Variable Scope
• int x;
• int x = 4;
• string playerName;
• string playerName = "New Player";
• Variables declared at the class level are accessible to the class, while variables declared inside functions only exist until that function ends.
• Operators
• a + b; // Arithmetic operator
• a == b; // Comparison operator
• a = b; // Assignment operator
• (a == b) && (b == c); // Logic operator
• Conditional Statements

• if (a == b)
  {
    Debug.Log("A equals B!");
  }
  else if (a == c)
  {
    Debug.Log("A equals C!");
  }
  else
  {
    Debug.Log("A doesn't equal B or C!");
  }

• Time and Game Loops in Unity
• Unity games will attempt to run as fast as the machine it's running on can, or at a target frame rate set with Application.targetFrameRate. At 30 frames per second your game will "update" every 1/30 of a second, or 0.03s.
• This frame rate is not consistant, heavy load can cause the frame rate to drop.
• Unity will call Update() on all MonoBehaviour scripts each frame. Remember, because the frame rate is not consistant, the time between Update() calls will vary.
• Time.deltaTime is a value equal to the amount of time since the previous frame ran. This can be used to get a consistant move speed across irregular frame rates:

• private void Update()
  {
    transform.position += new Vector3(1, 0, 0); // This will move the position by 1 every frame.
    // If the frame rate decreases the position will move less distance over time.
  
    transform.position += new Vector3(1 * Time.deltaTime, 0, 0); // This will move the position by delta time every frame.
    // If the frame rate decreases, the position will move farther each frame
    // leading to a consistant distance over time.
  }
                    

• Functions
• MonoBehaviour functions Start() and Update()
• Passing arguments into a function: Debug.Log() takes a string as a parameter, which it prints in the console.
• ✅ Write a function that prints out a number.
• ✅ Write a function that prints out a number we pass into it.
• ✅ Write a function that adds 1 to a number we pass in and returns the new number.
• Getting User Input
• GetKey() function. Returns a bool, true if the key matching the keycode is down.
• Input.GetKey(KeyCode.Space) will return true if Space is pressed/down.
• Input.GetKeyDown(KeyCode.Space) will return true if Space is pressed only in the first frame of it being pressed, then false.
• Input.GetKeyUp(KeyCode.Space) will return true if Space was pressed previously, and was released in the current frame.
• ✅ Write a function that prints out a message for each of the input GetKey types.

Homework

Prompt: Create a game where the player can move a game object using the keyboard. The game object should have a sprite and a script which handles the movement.
The game object's position should wrap around the screen, so if it moves off the screen to the right it should come back in from the left.

Setting and modifying positions:
To change a position of a game object you need to modify the position property of the game object's transform component. The position is a Vector3, a type of variable which has a X, Y, and Z value.
To set the position of a transform use: transform.position = new Vector3(0, 0, 0);
To perform an arithmetic operation on a position you can use: transform.position += new Vector3(1, 0, 0);
Remember to use Time.deltaTime when moving a position across multiple frames in a row.

Wrapping Example: wrap the x position of a transform if it goes off the right side of the screen.

float gameWidth = 5f;
if(transform.position.x > gameWidth)
{
    transform.position = new Vector3(-gameWidth, transform.position.y, 0f);
}
                

! For each exercise you will build a simple "game" that displays what you've learned. You will assemble your scene in Unity, build a WEBGL version of the game, upload the build to MyWebspace, and then add a link to that build on your portfolio (which you'll need to re-upload for the changes to take effect).

! When building your exercises, the prompt given is for the bare minimum. You are encouraged to build a more advanced, fun, interesting, scene. These exercises are your chance to explore what you've learned so far, and to try new things.

Exercise 1.3 🔝

In Class Lecture

• Continue practicing with programming basics
• Learn how to reference other game objects and components in the scene
• Sometimes you can assign the reference in the inspector, if both objects are in the scene at the start of the game
• Create a public variable with the same data type as the reference you want. If you want a reference to another Game Object use:
  public GameObject OtherGameObject;
• Other times you need to find the reference at run time. These are a few ways to do that, but they need to be used carefully as sometimes they will find something you weren't expecting, and they can be very resource hungry if used improperly
• Using FindObjectOfType().gameObject; to find a game object with a particular component attached
• Using GameObject.Find("GameObjectName") to find a scene game object by it's name
• Using GameObject.FindGameObjectWithTag("TagName") to find a scene game object tagged with a tag.
! There is almost always a better way to find a reference than using these Find functions, but we'll get to those later. Learn how to use these for now but don't get too attached!
• Learn how to get components using GetComponent();
• GetComponent will look for a component attached to the Game Object that is calling the function:
  

  public SpriteRenderer MySpriteRenderer;
  
  private void Start()
  {
    MySpriteRenderer = GetComponent<SpriteRenderer>(); // This will assign the SpriteRenderer component which is on the same Game Object as this script to MySpriteRenderer
  }
                    

• GetComponent can also be called on a component to get other components on the same GameObject:
  

  public SpriteRenderer EnemySpriteRenderer;
  public Transform EnemyTransform;
  
  private void Start()
  {
    EnemySpriteRenderer = EnemyTransform.GetComponent<SpriteRenderer>(); // This will assign the variable EnemySpriteRenderer to the SpriteRenderer component on the same Game Object as the EnemyTransform component. 
  }
                    

• Once you have a reference to a component, you can access it's public functions and variables:

  private void Start()
  {
    SpriteRenderer sr = GetComponent<SpriteRenderer>(); // Create a variable called "SR", whose type is SpriteRenderer. Initialize the variable with the SpriteRenderer found using GetComponent.
    sr.color = Color.red; // Set the color property of sr to red.
  }
                    

• ✅ Combine the use of the Find functions and GetComponent functions to have one script change the color of the sprite on another Game Object.

Homework

Prompt: Build a game where a script attached to one Game Object references another Game Object and changes something about it.
This could be changing it's position/rotation/scale by modifying it's Transform component. Or you could change a property of the SpriteRenderer component, as in this example:

Project 1 🔝

Your First Game

1. Movement: Changing the position of Transform components creates movement. You can add to a position to create movement in a direction, or just change a position to teleport.
2. Sprites: Add at least two unique sprites to your game.
3. An objective: Give the player something to do. They can move to a position, time an input, rotate shapes, change colors, etc.

Example 1

Click here to play

In this example the player moves left-to-right at an increasing rate as they wrap around the screen. They need to jump over the other character by timing their jump right and hitting Spacebar to clear the jump. The game works by comparing the player's transform.position.x to the other character's to see if they should hit.

Example 2

Click here to play

Example 2 demonstrates a simple method of moving a character around inside a scene, and checking the distance between it and another Game Object.

---

Download the Dog script to see how it works. (Right-Click > Save Link As)

Quiz 1 🔝

Quiz will be unlocked when it is time to take it.

Review the quiz study guide here.

Assignment Set 1 Code Snippets🔝

private void Start()
{
  Debug.Log("Start"); // Start is called when this component is activated. If it's active when the game starts, it will be called when the game starts.
}

private void Update()
{
  Debug.Log($"Update {Time.time}"); // This lets us print a variable inline with our Debug.Log string. Time.time is the total number of seconds since the game began.
}
              

private void Update()
{
  transform.position += new Vector3(1f * Time.deltaTime, 0f, 0f); // Remember to multiply by deltaTime if moving across multiple frames.
}
              

public float groundposition = -1f;
public float gravity = -9.8f;

void Update()
{
  // Apply gravity
  transform.position += new Vector3(0f, gravity * Time.deltaTime, 0f);
  if(transform.position.y < groundposition)
  {
    transform.position = new Vector3(transform.position.x, groundposition, transform.position.z); // Snap to the ground instead of going through it
  }
}
              

Exercise 2.1 🔝

In Class Lecture

• GitHub - We will learn how to use GitHub to clone a repository.
• I have made a Unity project with examples to use for AS2.
  
• I used Git to create a copy of the project and upload it to GitHub, the website.
• You can download the example project from GitHub so that we all have the same Unity project.
• ✅ Create a GitHub account.
• ✅ Download and install GitHub Desktop. Make sure you choose Windows/Mac accordingly.
• ✅ Go to the AS2 GitHub Repository. Click < > Code then select Open With GitHub Desktop.
• ✅ Choose a path to save the project to on your computer. Make sure the path is not a OneDrive folder, and contains no spaces or special characters (underscores and dashes are okay)
  
• Congratulations! You now have a copy of the project on your computer. Open it by going into Unity Hub and selecting Open.
• Physics in Unity
• We will discuss the physics engine and some of the core components of a physics object, Rigidbody2D and Collider2D

Homework

Exercise 2.2 🔝

In Class Lecture

• Physics in 3D
• Create 3D physics objects using Unity primitives (Sphere, Cube, etc.)
• Controlling RigidBody2D Components
• Applying impulses
• Applying constant forces in FixedUpdate
• Prefabs
• Prefabs are blueprints for Game Objects that you can create copies of
• Instantiate / Destroy
• Instantiate GameObjects to spawn prefabs into your scene
• Destroy GameObjects to remove them from your scene
• Lists
• A List is a collection that lets you easily add and remove items.
• Use a list to store references to instantiated Game Objects, so that you can reference them later.

Homework

Exercise 2.3 🔝

In Class Lecture

• Collisions occur when a GameObject has a RigidBody and Collider (or RigidBody2D and Collider2D)
• Triggers occur when a GameObject has a RigidBody and Collider with IsTrigger checked
• Learn how to call functions on scripts when a collision event or trigger event occurs on a GameObject
• Remember: These events will be called on other components attached to the same GameObject as the RigidBody

private void OnCollisionEnter2D(Collision2D collision)
{

}

private void OnTriggerEnter2D(Collider2D collision)
{

}
              

private void OnCollisionEnter2D(Collision2D collision)
{
  SpriteRenderer hitSprRend = collision.gameObject.GetComponent();
    if(hitSprRend != null)
    {
      mySprRend.color = hitSprRend.color;
    }
}

private void OnTriggerEnter2D(Collider2D collision)
{
  HealthItem item = collision.gameObject.GetComponent();
    if (item != null)
    {
      myHealth += item.healingValue;
    }
}
                

Homework

Project 2 🔝

Physics Game

1. RigidBodys: Your physics objects need to have RigidBody components to use the physics engine.
2. Collisions/Triggers: Your physics objects should be able to detect what they are contacting and it should affect the gameplay. (Take damage, collect item, open door, etc.)
3. An objective: Give the player something to do.

Example

Click here to play

Game by James Russo 2022

In this game the player moves a GameObject around by adding forces with the arrow keys. They can change to level 2, and then attack the enemy by hitting it with the ball.

Assignment Set 2 Code Snippets🔝

Exercise 3.1 🔝

In Class Lecture

• Clone Assignment Set 3 Repository
• ✅ Go to the AS3 GitHub Repository. Click < > Code then select Open With GitHub Desktop.
• Prefab Refresher
• How to create and edit prefabs
• How to reference prefabs after creating them

•   GameObject newGameObj = Instantiate(BallPrefab, transform.position, Quaternion.identity);
    Rigidbody2D ballrb = newGameObj.GetComponent<Rigidbody2D>();
    ballrb.AddForce(new Vector2(1, 0.5f) * 10f);
                      

Homework

Exercise 3.2 🔝

In Class Lecture

• float r = Random.value; //Random.value will return a float between 0.0 - 1.0

• Random.Range(0, 5);   // Returns a random int 0,1,2,3,4
  Random.Range(1f, 5f); // Returns a random float 1.0 - 5.0

• For Loop

• for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++)
  {
    Debug.Log(i);
  }
  
  string[] names = new string[3] { "Alice", "Bob", "Charlie" };
  for (int i = 0; i < names.Length; i++)
  {
    Debug.Log(names[i]);
  }
                  

• Foreach Loop

• string[] names = new string[3] { "Alice", "Bob", "Charlie" };
  foreach(string s in names)
  {
    Debug.Log(s);
  }
                  

• Contains - Check to see if an item is in a list

• List names = new List() { "Alice", "Bob", "Charlie" };
  if (names.Contains("Bob"))
  {
    Debug.Log("Bob is here.");
  }
  else
  {
    Debug.Log("Bob is absent.");
  }
                  

• Find - Look for a coin that has moved off the screen and remove it

• List coins = new List();
  GameObject removeCoin = coins.Find(x => x.transform.position.x < 5);
  if(removeCoin != null)
  {
    coins.Remove(removeCoin);
    Destroy(removeCoin);
  }
                  

Homework

Exercise 3.3 🔝

In Class Lecture

• Time class controls in game time
• Time.deltaTime is the total number of real-world seconds since the last time Update() was called. This is usually a very small number.
• Time.timeScale refers to a time multiplier. Time properties like Time.deltaTime are affected by this number so decreasing the timeScale will decrease your deltaTimes. If a timer is using deltaTime to countdown, it will take longer to count because smaller numbers are being subtracted.
  Movement that is multiplied by deltaTime will also be slower

Project 3 🔝

Random Game

1. Use Random.value and/or Random.Range() to make your game different with each play.
2. Include a way to restart the level/game, you can use SceneManager.LoadScene(0); to reload the first scene of your build. Remember to include using UnityEngine.SceneManagement;
3. An objective: Give the player something to do.

Example

Click here to play

Game by Som Sing 2022

In Som's game, the souls spawn in random positions so that the player has be sure to avoid red souls while collecting the blue souls.

Exercise 4.1 🔝

In Class Lecture

• Clone Assignment Set 4 Repository
• ✅ Go to the AS4 GitHub Repository. Click < > Code then select Open With GitHub Desktop.
• Understanding the Game View
• Creating a Game View Preview Resolution
• Creating a Canvas
• Render Modes
• Scaling
• Anchoring
• Adding support for Text Mesh Pro
• Rendering text on the UI
• Creating a font asset (Find fonts at DAFont)
• To create a Text Mesh Pro Font Asset from your font file: Right Click on the font file > Create > TMP > Font Asset. This will generate a new TMP Font asset that can be used to set the font of your TMP Text.
  
• Setting TMP Text from a script
• Add the TMP library to your script. This allows your script to use the TMP components like TMP Text.
  

    using System.Collections;
    using System.Collections.Generic;
    using UnityEngine;
    using TMPro;  // Add this
                    

• Create a variable to store a reference to the Text Mesh Pro Text component that you want to set. Then, set the .text property of that component to change the text it's showing.

  using System.Collections;
  using System.Collections.Generic;
  using UnityEngine;
  using TMPro;
  
  public class MyClass : MonoBehaviour
  {
      public TMP_Text myText;  // This is the TMP Text component on a GameObject in your scene
  
      private void Start()
      {
          myText.text = "Hello world!";
      }
  }
                    

Homework

Exercise 4.2 🔝

In Class Lecture

• Visual UI Components
• Add the UI library to your script. This allows your script to use the UI components like Image.
  

    using System.Collections;
    using System.Collections.Generic;
    using UnityEngine;
    using UnityEngine.UI;  // Add this
                    

• Text: Display text within a RectTransform. Always use Text Mesh Pro Text instead of the legacy text component!
• Image: Display an image on the canvas. Much like a SpriteRenderer component, you can set the Sprite property to display a sprite.
• Image Type can be used to modify the output of the image component. Slicing will let you scale an image without stretching the border. Tile will let you repeat your sprite in a pattern. Fill will show a portion of the image based on the fillValue.
• Interactive UI Components: These components are configured to perform common functions like handling clicks, moving sliders, and accepting user input.
• Button
• Buttons can call a function when clicked. Set the OnClick event to call a function on a GameObject's component or change a variable. Here's an example for a function called OnPressed()
  

    public TMP_Text myText;
  
    public void OnPressed()
    {
      myText.text = "You pressed the button!";
    }
                    

• 
• Other UI Components
• Toggle
• Slider
• Input Field

Homework

Exercise 4.3 🔝

In Class Lecture

• Creating a dialog system
• There are various ways you might make a dialog system in a game. We'll explore a simple but effective method.
• First, let's identify what exactly we want this system to do:
• 1. When a character walks up to an NPC a dialog window should appear.
• 2. While the window is showing, parts of the dialog should appear.
• 3. When the player presses SPACEBAR the messages should cycle through the conversation.
• 4. After the last message, the window should close.
• Potential options: Typing Text, Proximity Trigger, Dialog Options

Homework

Project 4 🔝

UI Game

Example

Click here to play

Game by James Ruso 2022

In James' game you must avoid the sea creatures for as long as possible using WASD to move.

Exercise 5.1 🔝

In Class Lecture

• Clone Assignment Set 5 Repository
• ✅ Go to the AS5 GitHub Repository. Click < > Code then select Open With GitHub Desktop.
• Drawing a spritesheet - A spritesheet is a series of sprites all drawn to a single image. These can be massive images containing all of the images from an entire game or smaller images containing just the sprites for a single character and their animations.
  
  Spritesheet by Bluch
• Spritesheets can be created in any art program, raster or vector based. For pixel art we will use a raster art program:
• GIMP free PhotoShop-like image editor
• Aseprite is a paid sprite editing tool
• Piskel< is an online raster art program.

Homework

Exercise 5.2 🔝

In Class Lecture

• Animation Events - Animation Events allow you to trigger an function call from a specific frame of an animation. This can be used to play particle effects, set a variable, trigger an animation on another gameobject, etc. Here are some examples of when you might use And Animation Event:
• Reload: If your player needs to reload a weapon in order to continue using it, there needs to be a specific moment at which their ammunition variable is reset. It is often the case that this variable doesn't reset as soon as the animation starts, but at a moment in the animation that makes sense. An Animation Event can be used to reset this variable at the right moment.
• Trigger Hitbox: In a fighting game, where a character has an animated melee attack, there might only be a few specific moments within that animation that should trigger a hit. An Animation Event can be used to enable and disable the hitbox at those exact moments.
• To create an Animation Event
• Create your animation.
• In a script attached to the same gameobject as the Animator component create a function you wish to call.
• In the Animation window, on the Timeline, navigate to the frame you wish to trigger the event.
• Select the event tab you just created and in the Inspector select your function.

Homework

Exercise 5.3 🔝

In Class Lecture

• Tweened Animation - Animations are changes in properties of a GameObject's components over time, as we've seen with the SpriteRenderer - Sprite based animation. You can also create animations using changes to the transform of a GameObject, or a series of GameObjects, in order to create smooth movement.
• Tweened animations require the use of key frames in an animation to smoothly move between positions over time.
  To create a tweened animation:
1. Select the GameObject you want to animate, and ensure the Animation window is recording.
2. At the start of the animation (frame 0) set the position/rotation/scale you want the animation to start at. Make sure the settings are added as a keyframe to the timeline.
   
3. Navigate to the time in the animation where you want the next keyframe, and manipulate the transform to where you want it to go.
4. If you want a smooth looping animation, copy the first frame into another keyframe at the end of the animation. This will allow your animation to ease back into the starting frame.
• Curves control the easing of a tween. A linear curve will transition at a constant rate from A to B. An "S" curve will slowly accelerate it's rate of change, then decelerate to ease in and out of A to B. To edit an animations curves, select the Curves tab at the bottom on the Animation window.
  

Homework

Prompt:Create an animation that uses tweened animations. Does not need to be a game but can be something more artistic if you'd like.

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Project 5 🔝

Animation Game

Create a game that uses animation in an interesting way. There should be at least one GameObject that has at least two animations it changes between (player idle/run, elevator doors opening/closing, car idling/driving, etc.)

Example

Click here to play

Game by Anthony Ruso 2022

In Anthony's game you walk around collecting easter eggs.There are animations for walking left/right, up, and down.