■ INTRODUCTION
xix
quite motivated with all of the design decisions and logic involved. As there were no existing tutorials at
the time on this genre, we created the game from the ground up, borrowing scripts from the previous
projects, creating several of our own, and drawing heavily on the knowledge base of the Unity
community. This book grew out of that experience, both to fill a need and to share the adventure with
others.
Classic Adventure Game
For this project you will be creating a variation on the classic point and click adventure game. The
adventure genre, of which there are many variations, is an ideal starting place for artists and others with
little or no scripting experience. The story, art assets, and animation are major components of this type
of game, and the slower pace allows more freedom from script optimization as split-second player
reaction time is not required.
One of the most enjoyable components of the adventure game is the collection and usage of an odd
assortment of objects. Because of the importance of inventory and state management, several chapters
are dedicated to their design and implementation. Neophyte Unity developers often ask how to
implement these features in community forums, but they rarely receive answers due to the scope of the
topic. By the end of this book, you will be armed with the scripts, concepts, and experience to be able to
take the knowledge beyond this genre.
Interactive adventure games are also ideal for indie developers, and they appeal to a broad range of
players. Tell Tale Games’ Tales of Monkey Island was one of the top selling casual games of the year,
proving once again their appeal, established by the original LucasArts series.
About the Unity Game Engine
Unity is the perfect choice for small studios, indie developers, and those of us who have always wanted
to make our own games. Its large user base (over 400,000 as of April 2011) and extremely active user
community allows everyone from newbies to seasoned veterans to get answers and share information
quickly.
Unity provides an excellent entry point into game development, balancing features and
functionality with price point. The free version of Unity allows people to experiment, learn, develop, and
sell games before committing any of their hard-earned cash. Unity’s very affordable, feature-packed Pro
version is royalty free, allowing people to make and sell games with the very low overhead essential to
the casual games market.
The market for multi-platform games—especially casual games for iPhone—is extremely popular at
the moment, and Unity’s commitment to cross platform delivery is well proven. Originally a Mac-based
authoring application that could publish to Mac and Windows, Unity unveiled its Windows version in
the spring of 2009. As expected, it has opened up opportunities for PC-based developers and artists.
Since that time, Unity has continued to add support for iPhone, Android, iPad, and Wii and is developing
support for Xbox 360 and PS3. The free Unity Web Player has surpassed 35 million installations.
Early adapters of the Unity engine tended to migrate from Flash and Director, making the scripting
environment easily adoptable. While many Unity users have an ActionScript background in making
Flash games, it is by no means a prerequisite. There is a lot of material for creating games in Unity,
including first person shooters, racing games, platform jumpers, and the like. Even if your interest lies
elsewhere, there are plenty of helpful tips and tricks to be gleaned from even the most unlikely sources.
Don’t be afraid to take advantage of the resources available on the Unity web site (www.Unity3D.com), the
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