In just 24 sessions of one hour or less, Sams Teach Yourself Unity Game Development in 24 Hours will help you master the Unity 4 game engine at the heart of Temple Run and many other sizzling-hot mobile games! You’ll learn everything from the absolute basics through sophisticated game physics, animation, and mobile device deployment techniques. Every lesson builds on what you’ve already learned, giving you a rock-solid foundation for real-world success!   Step-by-step instructions carefully walk you through the most common Unity 4 game development tasks. Quizzes and Exercises at the end of each chapter help you test your knowledge. Notes present interesting information related to the discussion. Tips offer advice or show you easier ways to perform tasks. Cautions alert you to possible problems and give you advice on how to avoid them. Learn how to… Create and work with game objects, Unity’s fundamental building blocks Work efficiently with Unity’s graphical asset pipeline Apply shaders and textures to any 3D object Sculpt stunning game worlds with Unity’s terrain and environmental toolsets Script tasks ranging from capturing input to building complex behaviors Quickly create repeatable, reusable game objects with prefabs Implement easy, intuitive game user interfaces Create amazing effects with Unity’s new Shuriken particle system Leverage the full power of Unity’s new Mecanim animation system Integrate ambient 2D/3D audio into your games Use mobile device accelerometers and multi-touch displays Modify a desktop game for mobile platforms Apply the “finishing touches” and deploy your game  

Table of Contents:
Preface    xi HOUR 1: Introduction to Unity    1 Installing Unity    1 Getting to Know the Unity Editor    5 Navigating the Unity Scene View    18 Summary    20 Q&A    20 Workshop    21 Exercise    21 HOUR 2: Game Objects    23 Dimensions and Coordinate Systems    23 Game Objects    27 Transforms    28 Summary    34 Q&A    34 Workshop    35 Exercise    35 HOUR 3: Models, Materials, and Textures    37 The Basics of Models    37 Textures, Shaders, and Materials    42 Summary    48 Q&A    48 Workshop    49 Exercise    49 HOUR 4: Terrain    51 Terrain Generation    51 Terrain Textures    59 Summary    62 Q&A    62 Workshop    63 Exercise    63 HOUR 5: Environments    65 Generating Trees and Grass    65 Environment Effects    72 Character Controllers    77 Summary    79 Q&A    79 Workshop    79 Exercise    80 HOUR 6: Lights and Cameras    81 Lights    81 Cameras    90 Layers    94 Summary    98 Q&A    98 Workshop    98 Exercise    99 HOUR 7: Game 1: Amazing Racer    101 Design    101 Creating the Game World    104 Gamification    106 Playtesting    113 Summary    114 Q&A    114 Workshop    114 Exercise    115 HOUR 8: Scripting Part 1    117 Scripts    118 Variables    125 Operators    127 Conditionals    130 Iteration    133 Summary    135 Q&A    135 Workshop    136 Exercise    136 HOUR 9: Scripting Part 2    137 Methods    137 Input    142 Accessing Local Components    147 Accessing Other Objects    148 Summary    152 Q&A    152 Workshop    152 Exercise    153 HOUR 10: Collision    155 Rigidbodies    155 Collision    157 Triggers    161 Raycasting    163 Summary    165 Q&A    165 Workshop    165 Exercise    166 HOUR 11: Game 2: Chaos Ball    167 Design    167 The Arena    169 Game Entities    173 The Control Objects    178 Improving the Game    182 Summary    183 Q&A    183 Workshop    183 Exercise    184 HOUR 12: Prefabs    185 Prefab Basics    185 Working with Prefabs    188 Instantiating Prefabs Through Code    194 Summary    194 Q&A    195 Workshop    195 Exercise    195 HOUR 13: Graphical User Interfaces    197 GUI Basics    197 GUI Controls    199 Customization    205 Summary    211 Q&A    211 Workshop    211 Exercise    212 HOUR 14: Character Controllers    213 The Character Controller    213 Scripting for Character Controllers    216 Building a Controller    219 Summary    225 Q&A    225 Workshop    225 Exercise    226 HOUR 15: Game 3: Captain Blaster    227 Design    227 The World    229 Controls    234 Improvements    242 Summary    242 Q&A    242 Workshop    243 Exercise    244 HOUR 16: Particle Systems    245 Particle Systems    245 Particle System Modules    247 The Curve Editor    257 Summary    259 Q&A    259 Workshop    259 Exercise    259 HOUR 17: Animations    261 Animation Basics    262 Preparing a Model for Animation    263 Applying Animations    269 Scripting Animations    272 Summary    273 Q&A    273 Workshop    274 Exercise    274 HOUR 18: Animators    277 Animator Basics    278 Creating an Animator    287 Scripting Animators    294 Summary    296 Q&A    296 Workshop    296 Exercise    296 HOUR 19: Game 4: Gauntlet Runner    297 Design    297 The World    298 The Entities    300 The Controls    307 Room for Improvement    314 Summary    315 Q&A    315 Workshop    315 Exercise    316 HOUR 20: Audio    317 Audio Basics    317 Audio Sources    319 Audio Scripting    324 Summary    326 Q&A    326 Workshop    327 Exercise    327 HOUR 21: Mobile Development    329 Preparing for Mobile    329 Accelerometers    333 Summary    338 Q&A    338 Workshop    338 Exercise    339 HOUR 22: Game Revisions    341 Amazing Racer    341 Chaos Ball    345 Captain Blaster    346 Gauntlet Runner    349 Summary    350 Q&A    351 Workshop    351 Exercise    351 HOUR 23: Polish and Deploy    353 Managing Scenes    353 Persisting Data and Objects    356 Unity Player Settings    359 Building Your Game    362 Summary    365 Q&A    365 Workshop    365 Exercise    366 HOUR 24: Wrap Up    367 Accomplishments    367 Where to Go from Here    370 Resources Available to You    371 Summary    371 Q&A    371 Workshop    372 Exercise    372 Index    373