Complete Unity 2018 Game Development

by Alan Thorn (Author), John P. Doran (Author), Alan Zucconi (Author), Jorge Palacios (Author)

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.

Table of Contents

1. Unity Fundamentals
2. Creating a Collection Game
3. Post Processing Stack
4. Creating Your First Shader
5. Surface Shaders and Texture Mapping
6. Understanding Lighting Models
7. Physically-Based Rendering
8. Vertex Functions
9. Fragment Shaders and Grab Passes
10. Mobile Shader Adjustment
11. Screen Effects with Unity Render Textures
12. Behaviors – Intelligent Movement
13. Navigation
14. Decision Making
15. The New NavMesh API
16. Coordination and Tactics
17. Agent Awareness
18. Board Games and Applied Search AI
19. Learning Techniques

Product details