Learning C# by Developing Games with Unity: Get to grips with coding in C# and build simple 3D games in Unity 2022 from the ground up, 7th Edition

Description

Learn C# programming from scratch using Unity as a fun and accessible entry point with this updated edition of the bestselling series. Includes invitation to join the online Unity Game Development community to read the book alongside peers, Unity developers/C# programmers and Harrison Ferrone. Key FeaturesDevelop a strong foundation of programming concepts and the C# languageBecome confident with Unity fundamentals and features in line with Unity 2022Build a playable game prototype in Unity―a working first-person shooter game prototypeBook Description It's the ability to write custom C# scripts for behaviors and game mechanics that really takes Unity the extra mile. That's where this book can help you as a new programmer! Harrison Ferrone, in this seventh edition of the bestselling series, will take you through the building blocks of programming and the C# language from scratch while building a fun and playable game prototype in Unity. This book will teach you the fundamentals of OOPs, basic concepts of C#, and Unity engine with lots of code samples, exercises and tips to go beyond the book with your work. You will write C# scripts for simple game mechanics, perform procedural programming, and add complexity to your games by introducing intelligent enemies and damage-dealing projectiles. You will explore the fundamentals of Unity game development, including game design, lighting basics, player movement, camera controls, collisions, and more with every passing chapter. What you will learnUnderstanding programming fundamentals by breaking them down into their basic partsComprehensive explanations with sample codes of object-oriented programming and how it applies to C#Follow simple steps and examples to create and implement C# scripts in UnityDivide your code into pluggable building blocks using interfaces, abstract classes, and class extensionsGrasp the basics of a game design document and then move on to blocking out your level geometry, adding lighting and a simple object animationCreate basic game mechanics such as player controllers and shooting projectiles using C#Become familiar with stacks, queues, exceptions, error handling, and other core C# conceptsLearn how to handle text, XML, and JSON data to save and load your game dataWho this book is for If you're a developer, programmer, hobbyist, or anyone who wants to get started with Unity and C# programming in a fun and engaging manner, this book is for you. You'll still be able to follow along if you don't have programming experience, but knowing the basics will help you get the most out of this book. Table of ContentsGetting to Know Your EnvironmentThe Building Blocks of ProgrammingDiving into Variables, Types, and MethodsControl Flow and Collection TypesWorking with Classes, Structs, and OOPGetting Your Hands Dirty with UnityMovement, Camera Controls, and CollisionsScripting Game MechanicsBasic AI and Enemy BehaviorRevisiting Types, Methods, and ClassesSpecialized Collection Types and LINQSaving, Loading, and Serializing DataExploring Generics, Delegates, and BeyondThe Journey Continues Cover Copyright Contributors Table of Contents Preface Chapter 1: Getting to Know Your Environment Technical requirements Getting started with Unity 2022 Using macOS Creating a new project Navigating the editor Using C# with Unity Working with C# scripts Introducing the Visual Studio editor Opening a C# file Beware of naming mismatches Syncing C# files Exploring the documentation Accessing Unity’s documentation Locating C# resources Summary Pop quiz—dealing with scripts Chapter 2: The Building Blocks of Programming Defining variables Names are important Variables act as placeholders Understanding methods Methods drive actions Methods are placeholders too Introducing classes A common Unity class Classes are blueprints Communication among classes Working with comments Single-line comments Multi-line comments Adding comments Putting the building blocks together Scripts become components A helping hand from MonoBehaviour Hero’s trial—MonoBehaviour in the Scripting API Summary Pop quiz—C# building blocks Chapter 3: Diving into Variables, Types, and Methods Writing proper C# Debugging your code Understanding variables Declaring variables Type and value declarations Type-only declarations Using access modifiers Working with types Common built-in types Type conversions Inferred declarations Custom types Naming variables Understanding variable scope Introducing operators Arithmetic and assignments Defining methods Declaring methods Naming conventions Methods as logic detours Specifying parameters Specifying return values Using return values Hero’s trial—methods as arguments Dissecting common Unity methods The Start() method The Update() method Summary Pop quiz—variables and methods Chapter 4: Control Flow and Collection Types Selection statements The if-else statement Using the NOT operator Nesting statements Evaluating multiple conditions The switch statement Pattern matching Fall-through cases Pop Quiz 1—if, and, or but Collections at a glance Arrays Indexing and subscripts Multidimensional arrays Range exceptions Lists Accessing and modifying lists Dictionaries Working with dictionary pairs Pop Quiz 2—all about collections Iteration statements for loops foreach loops Looping through key-value pairs while loops To infinity and beyond Summary Chapter 5: Working with Classes, Structs, and OOP Introducing OOP Defining classes Instantiating class objects Adding class fields Using constructors Declaring class methods Declaring structs Understanding reference and value types Reference types Value types Integrating the object-oriented mindset Encapsulation Inheritance Base constructors Composition Polymorphism Applying OOP in Unity Objects are a class act Accessing components Accessing components in code Drag and drop Summary Pop quiz—all things OOP Chapter 6: Getting Your Hands Dirty with Unity A game design primer Game design documents The Hero Born one-pager Building a level Creating primitives Thinking in 3D Materials White-boxing Editor tools Hero’s trial—putting up drywall Keeping the hierarchy clean Working with Prefabs Lighting basics Creating lights Light component properties Animating in Unity Creating animations in code Creating animations in the Unity Animation window Recording keyframes Curves and tangents Summary Pop quiz—basic Unity features Chapter 7: Movement, Camera Controls, and Collisions Managing player movement Moving the player with the Transform component Understanding vectors Getting player input Moving the player Scripting camera behavior Working with the Unity physics system Rigidbody components in motion Colliders and collisions Picking up an item Using Collider triggers Creating an enemy Hero’s trial—all the Prefabs! Physics roundup Summary Pop quiz—player controls and physics Chapter 8: Scripting Game Mechanics Adding jumps Introducing enumerations Underlying types Working with layer masks Shooting projectiles Instantiating objects Adding the shooting mechanic Managing object build-up Creating a game manager Tracking player properties The get and set properties Updating item collection Creating a GUI Displaying player stats Win and loss conditions Pausing and restarting the game with using directives and namespaces Summary Pop quiz – working with mechanics Chapter 9: Basic AI and Enemy Behavior Navigating 3D space in Unity Navigation components Setting up enemy agents Moving enemy agents Procedural programming Referencing the patrol locations Moving the enemy Enemy game mechanics Seek and destroy: changing the agent’s destination Lowering player health Detecting bullet collisions Updating the game manager Refactoring and keeping it DRY Summary Pop quiz—AI and navigation Chapter 10: Revisiting Types, Methods, and Classes Access modifiers Constant and read-only properties Using the static keyword Revisiting methods Overloading methods ref parameters out parameters Intermediate OOP Interfaces Abstract classes Class extensions Namespace conflicts and type aliasing Summary Pop quiz—leveling up Chapter 11: Specialized Collection Types and LINQ Introducing stacks Popping and peeking Common methods Working with queues Adding, removing, and peeking Using HashSets Performing operations Intermediate collections roundup Querying data with LINQ LINQ basics Lambda expressions Chaining queries Transforming data into new types Simplifying with optional syntax Summary Pop quiz—intermediate collections Chapter 12: Saving, Loading, and Serializing Data Introducing data formats Breaking down XML Breaking down JSON Understanding the filesystem Working with asset paths Creating and deleting directories Creating, updating, and deleting files Working with streams Managing your Stream resources Using StreamWriter and StreamReader Creating an XMLWriter Automatically closing streams Serializing data Serializing and deserializing XML Serializing and deserializing JSON Data roundup Summary Pop quiz—data management Chapter 13: Exploring Generics, Delegates, and Beyond Introducing generics Generic classes Generic methods Constraint type parameters Adding generics to Unity objects Delegating actions Creating a debug delegate Delegates as parameter types Firing events Creating and invoking events Handling event subscriptions Cleaning up event subscriptions Handling exceptions Throwing exceptions Using try-catch Summary Pop quiz—intermediate C# Chapter 14: The Journey Continues Diving deeper Remembering your object-oriented programming Design patterns primer Approaching Unity projects Unity features we didn’t cover Next steps C# resources Unity resources Unity certifications Hero’s trial—putting something out into the world Summary Pop Quiz Answers Other Books You May Enjoy Index