Unity in Action - Intro book for programming games!

jhocking · Post by **jhocking** » Thu Aug 13, 2015 3:22 am

Unity in Action teaches you how to write and deploy games! You'll master the Unity toolset from the ground up, adding the skills you need to go from application coder to game developer. Based on Unity version 5.

You get both the print book and e-book downloads with your purchase!

This book helps readers build successful games with the Unity game development platform. You will use the powerful C# language, Unity's intuitive workflow tools, and a state-of-the-art rendering engine to build and deploy mobile, desktop, and console games. Unity's single codebase approach minimizes inefficient switching among development tools and concentrates your attention on making great interactive experiences.

Jesse Schell, author of The Art of Game Design, was good enough to write the foreword for my book. I know a lot of game developers are fans of his book on game design!

To get a sense of what the writing's like, here's Chapter 10 that explains how to program audio. You'll need to know how to program, in C# or a similar OO language. No previous Unity experience or game development knowledge is assumed.

Oh and about the author: I'm a software engineer specializing in interactive media development. I work for Synapse Games and teach classes in game development at Columbia College Chicago.

Froginator · Post by **Froginator** » Thu Aug 13, 2015 7:47 pm

Cool thing

Spoonweaver · Post by **Spoonweaver** » Thu Aug 13, 2015 7:48 pm

Isn't this just spam?

Post by **Bob the Hamster** » Thu Aug 13, 2015 8:27 pm

Welcome, jhocking

This post does look a little spammy, but I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, especially if you drop back by later on and discuss unity game-making a little more.

Can you tells us a little more about the game-making class you teach?

jhocking · Post by **jhocking** » Thu Aug 13, 2015 11:53 pm

In the past they've had me teaching a couple different things, but I work professionally as a game programmer using Unity, so I wouldn't be surprised if they assign me to more classes about that material. At Synapse Games I program stuff like Tyrant Unleashed:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tyrant- ... 28191?mt=8
https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... ant.google

Mostly I wrote the book I wish had existed back when I was first learning Unity. It's a resource for programmers and I get the sense this forum is more about game design, but those topics are closely related so I figured some of you might be interested!

Spoonweaver wrote:Isn't this just spam?

I tend to think of spam as being off-topic and this is a resource for developing games, but then I'm not familiar with the norms here. Like, sometimes forums are strictly non-commercial, and I'm promoting a book for sale.

Post by **TMC** » Fri Aug 14, 2015 1:13 pm

There are a few people here interested in Unity. I never got around to trying it.

Are the courses on game development multidisciplinary, or do the students specialise in 3D modelling, non-3D art, programming, etc? I wonder to what degree things like game design or marketing are covered.

jhocking · Post by **jhocking** » Sun Aug 16, 2015 6:36 pm

Game Design is definitely a big topic here, not sure if any classes cover marketing though.

kylekrack · Post by **kylekrack** » Sun Aug 16, 2015 10:23 pm

Having looked at the courses in Computer Science bachelor degrees lately, marketing appears to be a subject they focus very little on. CSU Monterey Bay and UC Santa Cruz in California both have "Game Design" emphasized majors, but looking through the paths, they don't consider marketing a part of design, because it's not directly a part of making video games. I was disappointed by this because marketing is an important skill in game design, especially as an indie developer. So I can't speak for all learning institutions, of course, but from what I've seen they don't cover that skill.

Post by **TMC** » Mon Aug 17, 2015 12:24 pm

What it takes to make it as an indie game dev is quite different to what it takes to enter an existing company. I don't really know, but i wouldn't expect courses like that to cater to indie game developers at all.

jhocking · Post by **jhocking** » Mon Aug 17, 2015 3:53 pm

Schools don't cater to indie devs much right now, but I wouldn't be surprised if they do in the future. Already there is a lot of interest in that direction.

Post by **Mogri** » Mon Aug 17, 2015 6:50 pm

jhocking wrote:
Spoonweaver wrote:Isn't this just spam?
I tend to think of spam as being off-topic and this is a resource for developing games, but then I'm not familiar with the norms here. Like, sometimes forums are strictly non-commercial, and I'm promoting a book for sale.

It does set off a few red flags, but it's topical. Actual spambots aren't so considerate.

Spoonweaver · Post by **Spoonweaver** » Mon Aug 17, 2015 7:06 pm

Yes, the fact that he's still posting seems to hint at him not being a spam bot.
Here's the thing though. When your first post on a forum is a post where you're trying to sell your wares, people tend to be turned off.
That said, welcome to the community.[s] I'd love to see some of the games you've worked on/developed.[/s] I clicked your links. Your games seem to run the gambit. Very nice.