Leverage the power of the Unity 2018 game engine to create games with brilliant gameplay and high replayability.

Key Features

• Develop different types of games from scratch with Unity 2018
• Discover the secrets of creating AAA quality shaders without writing long algorithms
• Script intelligent game characters and agents using Artificial Intelligence techniques and algorithms

Book Description

Through this Learning Path, you’ll learn how to leverage the features of Unity and create amazing games, ranging from action shooters and mind-bending puzzle games to adventure and Virtual Reality(VR) games. If you have no prior experience of using Unity, you can still benefit from this Learning Path, which easily explains the complete working of the Unity toolset.

You’ll start by learning how to create compelling shaders using Unity and understanding everything you need to know about vectors. This includes useful inputs on how lighting is constructed with vectors and how textures are used to create complex effects without the need for advanced math. In the succeeding chapters, you’ll also be able to use popular AI techniques, such as A* and A*mbush to develop intelligent pathfinding agents for your games. The book will also guide you through different algorithms for creating decision-making agents that go beyond simple behaviors and movement.

By the end of this Learning Path, you will have developed all the basic skills to create highly engaging and replayable games.

This Learning Path includes content from the following Packt products:

• Unity 2018 By Example - Second Edition by Alan Thorn
• Unity 2018 Shaders and Effects Cookbook - Third Edition by John P. Doran, Alan Zucconi
• Unity 2018 Artificial Intelligence Cookbook - Second Edition by Jorge Palacios

What you will learn

• Understand concepts such as game objects, components, and scenes
• Create functional games with C# scripting
• Write shaders from scratch in ShaderLab and HLSL/Cg
• Develop intelligent pathfinding agents with A and Ambush
• Work with terrains and world-creation tools
• Simulate senses for agents to make decisions based on the environment
• Implement waypoints by creating a manual selector
• Enhance games with volumetric explosions, special effects, and visuals

Who this book is for

If you are a game developer who wants to learn tools that can transform your gameplay, this beginner-level Learning Path is ideal for you. Having basic knowledge of C# will help you grasp the concepts explained in the book easily.

Alan Thorn is an educator, author, and multidisciplinary games-developer with 18 years of tech-industry experience. He is currently Head of Department for the Games Design and Development MA degree at the BAFTA-winning National Film and Television School, London. He has written 27 technical books on game development and presented 29 online training courses. He founded the game-studio Wax Lyrical Games and created the award-winning game Baron Wittard: Nemesis of Ragnarok. John P. Doran is a passionate and seasoned technical game designer, software engineer, and author who is based in Redmond, Washington. For over a decade, John has built games in roles ranging from game designer to lead UI programmer. Additionally, John has taught game development in Singapore, South Korea, and the United States. To date, he has authored over 10 books pertaining to game development. Alan Zucconi is a passionate developer, author, and lecturer, recognized as one of Develop's 30 under 30. His expertise has been built over the past 10 years, working in the intersection between creativity and education. Starting in 2015, he published a series of educational tutorials for other developers and machine learning enthusiasts. Jorge Palacios is a software and game developer with a BS in computer science and eight years of professional experience. He's been developing games for the last five years in different roles, from tool developer to lead programmer. Mainly focused on artificial intelligence and gameplay programming, he is currently working with Unity and HTML5. He's also a game-programming instructor, speaker, and game-jam organizer.