Holistic Mobile Game Development with Unity

574 Pages·2014·19.48 MB·English

by  Penny de Byl

Holistic Mobile Game
Development with Unity
Master mobile game design and development in this all-in-one guide to creating iOS and Android games
in the cutting-edge game engine, Unity. By using Penny de Byl’s holistic method, you will learn about the
principles of art, design, and code and gain multidisciplinary skills needed to succeed in the independent
mobile games industry. In addition, hands-on exercises will help you throughout the process from design to
publication in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
• Over 70 practical step-by-step exercises recreating the game mechanics of contemporary mobile
games, including Angry Birds, Temple Run , Year Walk , Minecraft, Curiosity Cube, Fruit Ninja , and more.
• Design principles, art, and programming in unison—the one-stop shop for indie developers requiring
interdisciplinary skills in their small teams.
• An introduction to essential two- and three-dimensional mathematics, geometry, and physics concepts.
• A portfolio of royalty-free reusable game mechanics and assets.
• Accompanying website, www.holistic3d.com, features project source code, instructional videos, art
assets, author blog, and teaching resources.
• Challenge questions and lesson plans are available online for an enhanced learning experience.
Penny de Byl is a professor of games and multimedia in Australia. An awardwinning teacher, Penny has
taught computer science, computer graphics and game development at top-ranked universities for nearly
20 years. She is the author of three books on designing and developing artifi cial intelligence and games
including the acclaimed Holistic Game Development with Unity and winner of the 2011 Unity Technologies’
Unity Mobile Generation Great Education Giveaway.
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Holistic
Mobile Game
Development
with Unity
An All-In-One Guide to Implementing
Mechanics, Art Design, and Programming
for iOS and Android Mobile Games
Penny de Byl
First published 2015
by Focal Press
70 Blanchard Road, Suite 402, Burlington, MA 01803
and by Focal Press
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Focal Press is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2015 Taylor & Francis
The right of Penny de Byl to be identifi ed as the author of this work has been asserted by her in
accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form
or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publishers.
Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this fi eld are constantly changing. As new research and
experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices,
or medical treatment may become necessary.
Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in
evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein.
In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the
safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility.
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for
identifi cation and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Baillie-de Byl, Penny.
Holistic mobile game development with Unity : an all-In-one guide to implementing
mechanics, art design, and programming for iOS and Android mobile games / Penny de Byl.
pages cm
1. Computer games—Programming. 2. Mobile games. 3. Unity (Electronic resource) I. Title.
QA76.76.C672B336 2014
794.8'1526—dc23 2014006126
ISBN: 978-0-415-83923-5 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-77372-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Myriad Pro
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi
Chapter 1: Mobile Game Design and Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Chapter 2: Procedural Literacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Chapter 3: Mobile Game Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Chapter 4: Aesthetics and Visual Literacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Chapter 5: Learning from the Masters: Part One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Chapter 6: Learning from the Masters: Part Two . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Chapter 7: Multiplayer Experiences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
Chapter 8: Publishing, Players, and Promotion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559
v
Preface
About This Book
This book presents the theory and practice of mobile game development
art and code for both Apple and Android mobile devices using the Unity
game engine. While the exercises are written exclusively for game design and
development in Unity, the theoretical concepts transcend the entire mobile
game realm.
Four years ago I started teaching mobile game design and development
t o designers and artists with little programming knowledge. The precursor
to this was my idea for a university-level mobile game development
course winning the Unity educational curriculum challenge. Unity kindly
provided my university with Google Nexus One phones and licenses for
Unity’s Android plugin. My passion for developing mobile games grew as
I saw the power that the Apple had given small indie development teams
t o publish their ideas and the ease with which Unity made it possible.
Teaching programming to artists is indeed a challenging task. However, when
it is presented in an exciting, relevant, and visual way I fi nd students start to
push aside their preconceived ideas about writing code. On the fl ip side, a
lot of programmers don’t consider themselves to be designers or artists even
though they have more than enough sound skills to produce a mobile game
on their own. Through the presentation of the design process as an analytical,
rule-based activity, the novice artist can easily achieve many visual elements
of a game.
My motivation for writing this book is to demonstrate the strong bond, in
games and indeed other interactive multimedia, between programming,
art, and design. My aim is to deliver practical and timely lessons to both the
programmer and artist that can empower individuals to explore the realm
of mobile game creation right up to the point of publishing their very
fi rst app.
How This Book is Organized
This book has been written for artists and programmers alike who want to
learn how to make their own mobile games for the Apple App Store and
Google Play by dissecting contemporary mobile games such as Angry Birds ,
Temple Run , Year Walk , Bejeweled , Minecraft , and more. It approaches mobile
game development using a unique combination of lessons on programming
and design theory in unison.
vi
All chapters are structured with theory and practice. There are more than
70 practical exercises that lead the reader through a wide variety of game
mechanics, physics, user interfaces and networking examples:
• Chapter 1 , “Mobile Game Design and Development,” examines the history
of mobile gaming technology, provides an introduction to Unity, and
steps the reader through practical exercises to get a simple app built to
an iPhone/iPad and Android phone/tablet. Most importantly advice for
optimizing game art and code to run smoothly on mobile devices is given.
• Chapter 2 , “Procedural Literacy,” reveals the intricate relationship that
exists between art and code with a step-by-step Minecraft landscape
recreation. It explains the fundamentals of programming and covers
the more important mathematics of game environments that all game
developers should know.
• Chapter 3 , “Mobile Game Interfaces,” presents the principles of mobile
game interface design and steps the reader through the creation of
apps that demonstrate mobile specifi c interactivity including touch,
pinch to zoom, thumbsticks, tilt, and GPS. In addition, tips and tricks are
presented for making game interfaces look good on all screen sizes and
resolutions.
• Chapter 4 , “Aesthetics and Visual Literacy,” provides the fl ip-side to Chapter 2,
examining design theory with respect to mobile game creation. It presents
the essential visual and audio aspects required to develop a game including
static textures, animated sprites, special eff ects, and fi nishing touches.
• Chapter 5 , “Learning from the Masters: Part One,” closely dissects a
multitude of contemporary and successful mobile games including
Bejeweled , Year Walk , Fruit Ninja , Harbor Master , and S uper Monkey Ball . The
reader is taken, step by step, through recreations of specifi c elements of
each game that makes them unique.
• Chapter 6 , “Learning from the Masters: Part Two,” examines the use
of physics, procedurally generated content, and artifi cial intelligence
through hands-on recreations of A ngry Birds , Catapult King , Temple Run ,
and Curiosity – What’s Inside the Cube?
• Chapter 7 , “Multiplayer Experiences,” examines asynchronous and
synchronous games through the development of multiplayer games on
a single device and over a network. Fundamental computer networking
theory is explained to equip the reader with knowledge for sending
messages between mobile devices connected to the Internet.
• Chapter 8 , “Publishing, Players, and Promotion,” reveals the challenges
game developers face in getting their game noticed in the app stores. It
provides numerous tips for monetizing and publishing games including
the deployment of in-game advertising, in-app purchasing, and social
networking with Facebook and Twitter. In addition, step-by-step
instructions are given for building and distributing games from Unity via
the Apple App Store and Google Play.
vii
The Companion Website
The web site accompanying this book is www.holistic3d.com. It contains all
the fi les referred to in the hands-on exercises herein, fi nished examples, and
many other teaching and learning resources including instructional videos
and PowerPoint slides.
Acknowledgements
First I would like to thank the reviewers, Mike Daly and Mark Backler. I must
say their feedback has been some of the most encouraging and constructive
feedback received in the ten years I have been writing. No doubt their
thorough revision of my material and advice has made this book all the better.
Next, I acknowledge Unity3d for their fantastic game engine. The types
of games developers are making with it is truly inspirational and I hope
together with the content of this book and my previous one, Holistic Game
Development , a new generation of game designers feel empowered to
continue providing high quality, unique mobile gaming experiences. I also
greatly appreciate all members of the Unity community who regularly
contribute to the forums at http://forums.unity3d.com as they are an
invaluable knowledge base.
I’d also like to thank my games design students at Bond University who’ve
acted as guinea pigs for all the exercises contained herein. Observing the use
of the step-by-step activities in a classroom environment has helped to iron
out any issues as well as pick up coding typos.
My friends James, Kayleen, Sian, Mark, and Jeff likewise deserve a big thanks
for their continued encouragement and belief in my abilities, acting as
shoulders to cry on and providing a touch of reality when required. Special
thanks to James for his exception abilities and help with Adobe Illustrator,
Photoshop, and Maya, and Kayleen’s enthusiasm for contributing the
accompanying PowerPoint slides.
Finally, the biggest thanks go to my family, Daniel, Tabytha, and Merlin the
Labrador. They have all been so supportive and understanding during the
times I’ve locked myself in the offi ce cursing at code and furiously writing to
meet deadlines. Daniel has been a massive support throughout this project.
His partnership in editing and testing all the exercises is always invaluable.
This book would not have made it to the shelves without him. He is an
absolute wiz with Microsoft Word and has an uncanny knack for fi nding logic
errors in code. Tabytha (aged ten) has been perfect at keeping me grounded,
bringing me out of my workaholic habits with games of Monopoly, Uno,
and getting me to fi nd her cheat codes for T he Sims or fi guring out why her
Minecraft world has gone missing. There are more important things in life
than constantly working and in her own way she is teaching me to relax. As
viii
always, Merlin has provided daily emotional support as a foot-warmer
evidenced by the dog-shaped silhouette in the carpet under my desk.
As a programmer and artist, nothing excites me more than being about to use
code to produce art. To me games are the perfect medium through which one
can really express one’s creative urges. If you are reading this, I shall assume
you feel the same. I sincerely hope you enjoy reading this book and learn
something new and useful with each page.
ix