Over 100 recipes exploring the new and exciting features of Unity 5 to spice up your Unity skillset About This Book * Built on the solid foundation of the popular Unity 4.x Cookbook, the recipes in this edition have been completely updated for Unity 5 * Features recipes for both 2D and 3D games * Provides you with techniques for the new features of Unity 5, including the new UI system, 2D game development, new Standard Shaders, and the new Audio Mixer Who This Book Is For From beginners to advanced users, from artists to coders, this book is for you and everyone in your team! Programmers can explore multimedia features, and multimedia developers can try their hand at scripting. Basic knowledge and understanding of the Unity platform, game design principles, and programming knowledge in C# is essential. What You Will Learn * Immerse players with great audio, utilizing Unity 5's audio features including the new Audio Mixer, ambient sound with Reverb Zones, dynamic soundtracks with Snapshots, and balanced audio via Ducking * Create better materials with Unity's new, physically-based, Standard Shader * Measure and control time, including pausing the game, displaying clocks and countdown timers, and even implementing "bullet time" effects * Improve ambiance through the use of lights and effects such as reflection and light probes * Create stylish user interfaces with the new UI system, including power-bars, clock displays, and an extensible inventory system * Save and load text and media assets from local or remote sources, publish your game via Unity Cloud, and communicate with websites and their databases to create online scoreboards * Discover advanced techniques, including the publisher-subscriber and state patterns, performance bottleneck identification, and methods to maximize game performance and frame rates * Control 2D and 3D character movement, and use NavMeshAgents to write NPC and enemy behaviors such as seek, flee, flock, and waypoint path following In Detail Unity 5 is a flexible and intuitive multiplatform game engine that is becoming the industry's de facto standard. Learn to craft your own 2D and 3D computer games by working through core concepts such as animation, audio, shaders, GUI, lights, cameras, and scripting to create your own games with Unity 5. Completely re-written to cover the new features of Unity 5, this book is a great resource for all Unity game developers, from those who have recently started using Unity right up to Unity professionals. The first half of the book focuses on core concepts of 2D game design while the second half focuses on developing 3D game development skills. In the first half, you will discover the new GUI system, the new Audio Mixer, external files, and animating 2D characters in 2D game development. As you progress further, you will familiarize yourself with the new Standard Shaders, the Mecanim system, Cameras, and the new Lighting features to hone your skills towards building 3D games to perfection. Finally, you will learn non-player character control and explore Unity 5's extra features to enhance your 3D game development skills. Style and approach Each chapter first introduces the topic area and explains how the techniques covered can enhance your games. Every recipe provides step-by-step instructions, followed by an explanation of how it all works, and useful additional refinements or alternative approaches. Every required resource and C# script (fully commented) is available to download, enabling you to follow each recipe yourself.

A detailed guide to the complex new animation tools in Unity, packed with clear instructions and illustrated with original content in the context of a next generation zombie apocalypse adventure game About This Book * Create and export models and animation sequences to Unity from 3ds max and Maya * Prepare character models and animation for games using Mecanim's rigging tools * Retarget, adjust, and mix and match motion capture and other animation data * Write and edit scripts compatible with Mecanim Animation Controllers Who This Book Is For If you are a Unity developer looking to get to grips with the character animation specific tools, a 3D software user who is new to Unity, or a beginner game developer who is interested in character animation and interaction, this book is ideal for you. Some experience with either the Unity interface or basic 3D coordinates is recommended, but not required. What You Will Learn * Learn how to prepare a rigged character model to receive animation within Unity * Acquire efficient techniques to refine and optimize motion capture data * Retarget animation sequences between different character rigs * Discover how to rig a humanoid character and export for use in Unity * Script character interaction for a First Person character model * Create dynamic animation sequences from scratch using keyframe techniques, in a variety of 3D software packages * Learn Project Management in Unity * Understand how to set up a complex facial rig for speech * Set up Animation Controllers with masked states and blend trees to create seamless and additive animation transitions * Construct a ragdoll game object and instantiate it in a game * Devise Mecanim animation integration for the player and AI driven animation for enemy characters In Detail Game animation for independent developers has taken a giant leap forward with Unity 5's Mecanim toolset, which streamlines the import/export, retargeting, and many other aspects of the character animation workflow. Unity Character Animation with Mecanim is a great primer for getting to know the nuts and bolts of Mecanim and other character animation related tools in Unity 5. It offers you step-by-step instructions for preparing and exporting rigged models and animation sequences from commonly used 3D packages, such as Maya, 3ds Max and Blender. This book explores the new set of animation tools introduced with Mecanim in Unity 5. Approaching its subject matter through a typical genre-a zombie action game, character animation techniques are explored using real examples of player input and interaction, enemy behavior, and other aspects of game dynamics. As the book progresses, the reader will understand how these elements fit together in a small game development workflow. We will begin with a demonstration of the process of getting a rigged character into Unity 5 and setting it up to use provided animation sequences. We will also consider a few industry standard 3D packages and how these can be used to rig a humanoid character for use in Unity 5. We will demonstrate the retargeting capabilities of Mecanim's Humanoid Animation type by adjusting motion sequences to fit disparate character types in our game. After this, we will look at Ragdoll physics and the implementation of this commonly used technique in a Mecanim workflow. The book culminates with a thorough dissection of the enemy character AI script incorporating the Mecanim elements detailed in the previous chapters. Unity Character Animation with Mecanim will provide you with a detailed exploration of the interaction between game development and character animation, and will broaden your understanding of the rich animation toolset within Unity 5. Style and approach A comprehensive guide, featuring step- by- step practical tutorials using sample assets, showing you how to build fully controllable characters and non-player characters/enemies.

Gain practical knowledge of mathematical and physics concepts in order to design and develop an awesome game world using Unreal Engine 4 About This Book * Use the Physics Asset Tool within Unreal Engine 4 to develop game physics objects for your game world * Explore the Collision mechanics within Unreal Engine 4 to create advanced, real-world physics * A step-by-step guide to implementing the Physics concepts involved in Unreal Engine 4 to create a working Vehicle Blueprint Who This Book Is For This book is intended for beginner to intermediate users of Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4 who want to learn more about how to implement physics within their game-world. No matter what your knowledge base of Unreal Engine 4 is, this book contains valuable information on blueprint scripting, collision generation, materials, and the Physical Asset Tool (PhAT) for all users to create better games. What You Will Learn * Get to know basic to intermediate topics in mathematics and physics * Create assets using the Physics Asset Tool (PhAT) in Unreal Engine 4 * Develop Collision Hulls, which are necessary to take advantage of Unreal Engine 4's physics and collision events * Use constraints to create advanced physics-based assets for your game-world * Working knowledge of physics bodies, physics damping, and friction within Unreal Engine 4 * Develop physical materials to recreate real-world friction for substances such as glass and ice * Create a working vehicle blueprint from scratch using assets provided by Unreal Engine 4 * Gain knowledge about implementing advanced physics in Unreal Engine 4 using C++ programming In Detail Unreal Engine 4 is one of the leading game development tools used by both AAA and independent developers alike to create breathe-taking games. One of the key features of this tool is the use of Physics to create a believable game-world for players to explore. This book gives readers practical insight into the mathematical and physics principles necessary to properly implement physics within Unreal Engine 4. Discover how to manipulate physics within Unreal Engine 4 by learning basic real-world mathematical and physics concepts that assist in the implementation of physics-based objects in your game world. Then, you'll be introduced to PhAT (Physics Asset Tool) within Unreal Engine 4 to learn more about developing game physics objects for your game world. Next, dive into Unreal Engine 4's collision generation, physical materials, blueprints, constraints, and more to get hands-on experience with the tools provided by Epic to create real-world physics in Unreal Engine 4. Lastly, you will create a working Vehicle Blueprint that uses all the concepts covered in this book, as well as covering advanced physics-based topics. Style and approach An easy-to-follow reference text filled with working examples of physics within Unreal Engine 4. Each topic is broken down to easily explain how to implement physics and physical objects in your game-world using the tools provided by Epic Games Unreal Engine 4.

A pragmatic guide for developing your own games with Python About This Book * Strengthen your fundamentals of game programming with Python language * Seven hands-on games to create 2D and 3D games rapidly from scratch * Illustrative guide to explore the different GUI libraries for building your games Who This Book Is For If you have ever wanted to create casual games in Python and you would like to explore various GUI technologies that this language offers, this is the book for you. This title is intended for beginners to Python with little or no knowledge of game development, and it covers step by step how to build seven different games, from the well-known Space Invaders to a classical 3D platformer. What You Will Learn * Take advantage of Python's clean syntax to build games quickly * Discover distinct frameworks for developing graphical applications * Implement non-player characters (NPCs) with autonomous and seemingly intelligent behaviors * Design and code some popular games like Pong and tower defense * Compose maps and levels for your sprite-based games in an easy manner * Modularize and apply object-oriented principles during the design of your games * Exploit libraries like Chimpunk2D, cocos2d, and Tkinter * Create natural user interfaces (NUIs), using a camera and computer vision algorithms to interpret the player's real-world actions In Detail With a growing interest in learning to program, game development is an appealing topic for getting started with coding. From geometry to basic Artificial Intelligence algorithms, there are plenty of concepts that can be applied in almost every game. Python is a widely used general-purpose, high-level programming language. It provides constructs intended to enable clear programs on both a small and large scale. It is the third most popular language whose grammatical syntax is not predominantly based on C. Python is also very easy to code and is also highly flexible, which is exactly what is required for game development. The user-friendliness of this language allows beginners to code games without too much effort or training. Python also works with very little code and in most cases uses the "use cases" approach, reserving lengthy explicit coding for outliers and exceptions, making game development an achievable feat. Python Game Programming by Example enables readers to develop cool and popular games in Python without having in-depth programming knowledge of Python. The book includes seven hands-on projects developed with several well-known Python packages, as well as a comprehensive explanation about the theory and design of each game. It will teach readers about the techniques of game design and coding of some popular games like Pong and tower defense. Thereafter, it will allow readers to add levels of complexities to make the games more fun and realistic using 3D. At the end of the book, you will have added several GUI libraries like Chimpunk2D, cocos2d, and Tkinter in your tool belt, as well as a handful of recipes and algorithms for developing games with Python. Style and approach This book is an example-based guide that will teach you to build games using Python. This book follows a step-by-step approach as it is aimed at beginners who would like to get started with basic game development. By the end of this book you will be competent game developers with good knowledge of programming in Python.

Build exciting games with Unity on iOS and publish them on the App Store About This Book * Take advantage of Unity 5's new tools to create a fully interactive mobile game * Learn how to connect your iTunes developer account and use Unity 5 to communicate with it * Use your Macintosh computer to publish your game to the App Store Who This Book Is For This book is for iOS developers who want to learn how to build games with Unity for the iOS platform. Some prior experience in game development would be useful. What You Will Learn * Create your own iTunes Connect Developer account and create an app within it * Set up iTunes Game Center features in iTunes Connect so you can use them within Unity 5 * Construct a game using C# that allows users to interactively control the game character * Use Unity 5's editor window to create a custom editor tool specific for the game made in the book * Store and keep track of data so the player is able to collect in-game pick-ups that can be used to purchase in-game goods * Use all game features so the player is able to fully navigate menus between the front menu and in the game state * Make, test, and finally release builds so you can play on your device and then submit the game to Apple for review In Detail Over recent years, the market for mobile game development using Unity has grown multi-fold with an overwhelming 600 million gamers playing games developed using Unity engine. The newly launched Unity 5 offers a wide range of dedicated and powerful tools for iOS developers who intend to follow the basics and gradually elevate their skills to revolutionize the way they design and publish games for the App Store. From beginners, to those who are experienced making video games, this book goes through the steps of using Unity 5 to make a game from the ground up and setting the game up with iTunes Game Center features. The book begins with an introduction to setting up an iTunes Connect developer account, this will allow you to use Unity to its full potential with iOS. You will create a new app in iTunes Connect with the settings for Apple approval. You will learn, in detail, how to use Unity 5 and the programming language C# to make a fully interactive game that keeps track of player progress, Game Center Leaderboards, and Achievements, as well as displaying iAds and offering In-App purchases. Moving on, you'll discover how to create development and release builds, enabling you to test the game on your device before finally submitting the game for Apple's approval. By the end of the book, you will have a complete understanding of how iTunes and Unity can be used in combination to build and publish a fully interactive and reliable game to the App Store. Style and approach This is a step-by-step guide that covers the fundamentals of gaming and reveals the secrets of building and monetizing games for the iOS platform.

Put Unity to use for your video games by creating your own custom tools with editor scripting About This Book * Acquire a good understanding of extending Unity's editor capabilities for a platformer game by using Gizmos, custom inspectors, editor windows, scriptable objects, and more * Learn to configure and get control over your asset import pipeline using asset preprocessors * A step-by-step, comprehensible guide to creating and customizing a build pipeline that fits the necessities of your video game development team Who This Book Is For This book is for anyone who has a basic knowledge of Unity programming using C# and wants to learn how to extend and create custom tools using Unity editor scripting to improve the development workflow and make video game development easier. What You Will Learn * Use Gizmos to create visual aids for debugging * Extend the editor capabilities using custom inspectors, property and decorator drawers, editor windows, and handles * Save your video game data in a persistent way using scriptable objects * Improve the look and feel of your custom tools using GUIStyles and GUISkins * Configure and control the asset import pipeline * Improve the build creation pipeline * Distribute the custom tools in your team or publish them in the Asset Store In Detail One of Unity's most powerful features is the extensible editor it has. With editor scripting, it is possible to extend or create functionalities to make video game development easier. For a Unity developer, this is an important topic to know and understand because adapting Unity editor scripting to video games saves a great deal of time and resources. This book is designed to cover all the basic concepts of Unity editor scripting using a functional platformer video game that requires workflow improvement. You will commence with the basics of editor scripting, exploring its implementation with the help of an example project, a level editor, before moving on to the usage of visual cues for debugging with Gizmos in the scene view. Next, you will learn how to create custom inspectors and editor windows and implement custom GUI. Furthermore, you will discover how to change the look and feel of the editor using editor GUIStyles and editor GUISkins. You will then explore the usage of editor scripting in order to improve the development pipeline of a video game in Unity by designing ad hoc editor tools, customizing the way the editor imports assets, and getting control over the build creation process. Step by step, you will use and learn all the key concepts while creating and developing a pipeline for a simple platform video game. As a bonus, the final chapter will help you to understand how to share content in the Asset Store that shows the creation of custom tools as a possible new business. By the end of the book, you will easily be able to extend all the concepts to other projects. Style and approach This book uses a step-by-step approach that will help you finish with a level editor tool, a custom configuration for the asset import pipeline, and a build pipeline totally adjusted to the video game.

Learn how to create your very own game using the libGDX cross-platform framework About This Book * Learn the core features of libGDX to develop your own exciting games * Explore game development concepts through example projects * Target games for major app stores quickly and easily with libGDX's cross-platform functionality Who This Book Is For This book is intended for those who wish to learn the concepts of game development using libGDX. An understanding of Java and other programming languages would definitely be helpful, although it is not a must. What You Will Learn * Create and configure a libGDX project to get started with making games * Get to grips with a simple game loop that will drive your games * Manage game assets to reduce code duplication and speed up development * Pack game assets together into single assets to increase your game's performance * Display textures on the screen and manipulate them with play input * Play various types of sounds that a game can generate * Design and modify a game user interface with libGDX's built-in tools * Develop a game that will run across various platforms In Detail LibGDX is a cross-platform game development framework in Java that makes game programming easier and fun to do. It currently supports Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Android, and HTML5. With a vast feature set on offer, there isn't a game that can't be made using libGDX. It allows you to write your code once and deploy it to multiple platforms without modification. With cross-platform delivery at its heart, a game can be made to target the major markets quickly and cost effectively. This book starts with a simple game through which the game update cycle is explained, including loading textures onto your screen, moving them around, and responding to input. From there you'll move on to more advanced concepts such as creating a formal game structure with a menu screen, adding a game screen and loading screen, sprite sheets, and animations. You'll explore how to introduce a font to optimize text, and with the help of a game that you'll create, you'll familiarise yourself with the 2D tile map API to create worlds that scroll as the characters move. In the final sample game of the book, you'll implement a basic version of an Angry Birds clone, which will allow you to use the physic library box2D that libGDX provides access to. An overview of exporting games to different platforms is then provided. Finally, you will discover how to integrate third-party services into games and take a sneak peak at the Social Media API to get a basic understanding of how it fits into the libGDX ecosystem. Style and approach With this book you'll learn game development with libGDX through example game projects. You'll finish the book with a thorough understanding of libGDX game development, along with completed games that you'll have built yourself.

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About This Book Explore the powerful features of Cocos2d-x and use them to your advantage Tackle commonly faced problems while creating popular 2D games A step-by-step guide to help you understand and develop some of the most popular games of the industry such as Angry Bird Who This Book Is For If you are a proficient Cocos2d game developer who wants to enhance his or her game development skill set using Cocos2d-x to build different types of games, this book is for you. What You Will Learn Take advantage of the open source nature of Cocos2d-x by extending the engine to customize and add your own features to it Design games with level-based and time-based difficulty progression, which are very addictive and keeps users engaged Maximize user interaction by implementing intuitive gestures and tilt controls Implement advanced physics engine features such as PreSolve and PostSolve events Add realism to your game by using a touch event, and use it to control a game Implement circle-to-circle collision detection in your games Build the same project on multiple platforms, such as Android and Windows, effortlessly In DetailPacked with comprehensive projects, this book takes a detailed look at a few of the industry's most popular games. This book will show you how to use Cocos2d-x to build games using its core components. You will learn how to incorporate game physics, and import custom models and animations. Next, you will see how to include effects such as particles and sounds. With a brief introduction to the upcoming HTML5 platform using Cocos2d-html5, the book goes on to tackle the many different concepts that comprise game development today. You will learn how to build worlds with meshes, a terrain, user interaction, physics, and more. You will start by developing a puzzle game, and then progress on to games that are increasingly complex. Along the way, you'll learn how to build gaming favorites similar to games such as Flappy Bird, Tilt to Live, Jumpy Clown, Angry Birds, and Tower Defense.

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In Mondo Nano Colin Milburn takes his readers on a playful expedition through the emerging landscape of nanotechnology, offering a light-hearted yet critical account of our high-tech world of fun and games. This expedition ventures into discussions of the first nanocars, the popular video games Second Life, Crysis, and BioShock, international nanosoccer tournaments, and utopian nano cities. Along the way, Milburn shows how the methods, dispositions, and goals of nanotechnology research converge with video game culture. With an emphasis on play, scientists and gamers alike are building a new world atom by atom, transforming scientific speculations and video game fantasies into reality. Milburn suggests that the closing of the gap between bits and atoms entices scientists, geeks, and gamers to dream of a completely programmable future. Welcome to the wild world of Mondo Nano.

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