In just 24 lessons of one hour or less, Sams Teach Yourself Unity Game Development in 24 Hours will help you master the Unity 5 game engine at the heart of Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, Kerbal Space Program, and many other sizzling-hot games!   This book’s straightforward, step-by-step approach teaches you 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 game development tasks. Practical, hands-on examples show you how to apply what you learn. Quizzes and exercises help you test your knowledge and stretch your skills. Notes and tips point out shortcuts and solutions. Learn how to… Get up and running fast with the Unity 5 game engine and editor Work efficiently with Unity’s graphical asset pipeline Make the most of lights and cameras Sculpt stunning worlds with Unity’s terrain and environmental tools Script tasks ranging from capturing input to building complex behaviors Quickly create repeatable, reusable game objects with prefabs Implement easy, intuitive game user interfaces Control players through built-in and custom character controllers Build realistic physical and trigger collisions Leverage the full power of Unity’s Mecanim animation system Integrate complex audio into your games Use mobile device accelerometers and multi-touch displays Modify desktop games for mobile platforms Apply the “finishing touches” and deploy your games  

Table of Contents:
Preface xiii HOUR 1: Introduction to Unity 1 Installing Unity 1 Getting to Know the Unity Editor 4 Navigating the Unity Scene View 17 Summary 19 Q&A 19 Workshop 19 Exercise 20 HOUR 2: Game Objects 21 Dimensions and Coordinate Systems 21 Game Objects 25 Transforms 26 Summary 33 Q&A 33 Workshop 33 Exercise 34 HOUR 3: Models, Materials, and Textures 35 The Basics of Models 35 Textures, Shaders, and Materials 41 Summary 46 Q&A 46 Workshop 47 Exercise 47 HOUR 4: Terrain 49 Terrain Generation 49 Terrain Textures 57 Summary 61 Q&A 61 Workshop 61 Exercise 62 HOUR 5: Environments 63 Generating Trees and Grass 63 Environment Effects 71 Character Controllers 75 Summary 78 Q&A 78 Workshop 79 Exercise 79 HOUR 6: Lights and Cameras 81 Lights 81 Cameras 91 Layers 95 Summary 100 Q&A 100 Workshop 100 Exercise 101 HOUR 7: Game 1: Amazing Racer 103 Design 103 Creating the Game World 106 Gamification 108 Playtesting 114 Summary 116 Q&A 116 Workshop 116 Exercise 117 HOUR 8: Scripting—Part 1 119 Scripts 120 Variables 128 Operators 130 Conditionals 133 Iteration 136 Summary 137 Q&A 137 Workshop 138 Exercise 138 HOUR 9: Scripting—Part 2 141 Methods 141 Input 146 Accessing Local Components 151 Accessing Other Objects 153 Summary 158 Q&A 158 Workshop 158 Exercise 159 HOUR 10: Collision 161 Rigidbodies 161 Collision 163 Triggers 167 Raycasting 169 Summary 171 Q&A 171 Workshop 172 Exercise 172 HOUR 11: Game 2: Chaos Ball 173 Design 173 The Arena 175 Game Entities 179 The Control Objects 183 Improving the Game 187 Summary 187 Q&A 187 Workshop 188 Exercise 188 HOUR 12: Prefabs 189 Prefab Basics 189 Working with Prefabs 192 Summary 198 Q&A 198 Workshop 198 Exercise 199 HOUR 13: 2D Games Tools 201 The Basics of 2D Games 201 Orthographic Cameras 204 Adding Sprites 205 Draw Order 209 2D Physics 212 Summary 214 Q&A 215 Workshop 215 Exercise 215 HOUR 14: User Interfaces 217 Basic UI Principles 217 The Canvas 218 UI Elements 223 Canvas Render Modes 230 Summary 232 Q&A 233 Workshop 233 Exercise 233 HOUR 15: Game 3: Captain Blaster 237 Design 237 The World 238 Controls 247 Improvements 255 Summary 255 Q&A 255 Workshop 256 Exercise 256 HOUR 16: Particle Systems 257 Particle Systems 257 Particle System Modules 259 The Curve Editor 270 Summary 273 Q&A 273 Workshop 273 Exercise 273 HOUR 17: Animations 275 Animation Basics 275 Animation Types 277 Animation Tools 281 Summary 288 Q&A 288 Workshop 289 Exercise 289 HOUR 18: Animators 291 Animator Basics 291 Configuring Your Assets 296 Creating an Animator 305 Scripting Animators 314 Summary 315 Q&A 315 Workshop 316 Exercise 316 HOUR 19: Game 4: Gauntlet Runner 317 Design 317 The World 318 The Entities 321 The Controls 329 Room for Improvement 336 Summary 336 Q&A 336 Workshop 336 Exercise 337 HOUR 20: Audio 339 Audio Basics 339 Audio Sources 341 Audio Scripting 346 Summary 349 Q&A 349 Workshop 349 Exercise 350 HOUR 21: Mobile Development 353 Preparing for Mobile 353 Accelerometers 357 Summary 361 Q&A 362 Workshop 362 Exercise 362 HOUR 22: Game Revisions 365 Cross-Platform Input 365 Amazing Racer 368 Chaos Ball 372 Captain Blaster 374 Gauntlet Runner 375 Summary 376 Q&A 376 Workshop 376 Exercise 377 HOUR 23: Polish and Deploy 379 Managing Scenes 379 Persisting Data and Objects 381 Unity Player Settings 384 Building Your Game 387 Summary 391 Q&A 391 Workshop 391 Exercise 392 HOUR 24: Wrap Up 393 Accomplishments 393 Where to Go from Here 395 Resources Available to You 396 Summary 397 Q&A 397 Workshop 397 Exercise 398 Index 399