Getting Started with Unity 5.x 2D Game Development by Francesco Sapio

Key FeaturesBuild a complete and exciting 2D Tower Defense game from scratch.Understand and learn to perform each phase of the game development pipelineHomework and exercises to improve your skills and take them to the next levelBook DescriptionWant to get started in the world of 2D game development with Unity? This book will take your hand and guide you through this amazing journey to let you know exactly what you need to build the games you want to build, without sacrificing quality. You will build a solid understanding of Unity 5.x, by focusing with the embedded tools to develop 2D games. In learning about these, along with accurate explanations and practical examples, you will design, develop, learn how to market and publish a delectable Tower Defense game about cupcakes versus pandas.Each chapter in this book is structured to give you a full understanding on a specific aspect of the workflow pipeline. Each of these aspects are essential for developing games in Unity. In a step-by-step approach, you will learn about each of the following phases: Game Design, Asset Importing, Scripting, User Interfaces, Animations, Physics, Artificial Intelligence, Gameplay Programming, Polishing and Improving, Marketing, Publishing and much more.This book provides you with exercises and homework at the end of each chapter so that you can level up your skills as a Unity game developer. In addition, each of these parts are centered on a common point of discussion with other learners just like you. Therefore, by sharing your ideas with other people you will not only develop your skills but you will also build a network.What you will learnImport and set up assets for 2D game developmentDesign and implement dynamic and responsive User InterfacesCreate and handle complex animation systemsUnlock all the potentiality of the physics engineImplement Artificial Intelligence algorithms to give intelligence to your NPCsScript gameplay and overall bring your ideas to lifeAbout the AuthorFrancesco Sapio obtained his computer science and controls engineering degree from Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, with a couple of semesters in advance, graduating summa cum laude; he is currently studying there for a masters of science and engineering degree in artificial intelligence and robotics.He is a Unity 3D and Unreal expert, skilled game designer, and experienced user of major graphics programs. He developed Game@School (Sapienza University of Rome), an educational game for high-school students to learn concepts of physics, and the Sticker Book series (Dataware Games), a cross-platform series of games for kids. In addition, he worked as consultant for the (successfully funded by Kickstarter) game Prosperity – Italy 1434 (Entertainment Game Apps, Inc) and for the open online collaborative ideation system titled Innovoice (Sapienza University of Rome). Moreover, he has been involved in different research projects such as Belief-Driven Pathfinding (Sapienza University of Rome), which is a new technique of path finding in video games that was presented as a paper at the DiGRA-FDG Conference 2016; and perfekt.ID (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology), which included developing a recommendation system for games.Francesco is an active writer on the topic of game development. Recently, he authored the book Unity UI Cookbook, Packt Publishing. It teaches readers how to develop exciting and practical user interfaces for games within Unity, and he wrote a short e-guide, What do you need to know about Unity, Packt Publishing. In addition, he co-authored the book Unity 5.x 2D Game Development Blueprints, Packt Publishing, which has also been transformed in the video course Unity 5.x Game Development Projects, Pack Publishing. He has also been a reviewer for the following books: Game Physics Cookbook, Packt Publishing, Unity 5.x by Example, Packt Publishing, and Unity Game Development Scripting, Packt Publishing.Francesco is also a musician and a composer, especially of soundtracks for short films and video games. For several years, he worked as an actor and dancer, where he was a guest of honor at the Teatro Brancaccio in Rome. In addition, he has volunteered as a childrens entertainer at the Associazione Culturale Torraccia in Rome. Finally, Francesco loves math, philosophy, logic, and puzzle solving, but most of all, creating video games—thanks to his passion for game designing and programming.You can contact him at www.francescosapio.com.Table of ContentsA Flat World in UnityBaking Cupcake TowersCommunicating with the Player – the User InterfaceNo Longer Alone – Sweet-Toothed Pandas StrikeThe Secret Ingredient Is a Dash of PhysicsThrough a Sea of Sprinkles – Navigation in Artificial IntelligenceTrading Cupcakes and the Ultimate Battle for the Cake – Gameplay ProgrammingWhat Is beyond the Cake?