What is Unity?

Hey everyone welcome back to another blog written by the angry game dev girl! WHOOOOH! Ok so today I will be discussing Unity, ( No I'm not talking about the type of Unity with it's togetherness that most people are familiar with I'm talking about the game engine Unity). Now Unity, created by (the wonderful company) Unity Technologies, is a multi-platform game creation system that  includes a ready to go game engine and an integrated development environment. Originally Unity was primarily developed for Mac OS however it now supports over 15 different platforms and is also the default software development kit for the Nintendo Wii U.

Overview:

Unity's slogan is Create. Connect. Succeed is completely accurate considering this system is created to allow developers the ability to almost effortlessly create and build successful prototypes and games through its multi-platform and interactive content capabilities. It's ability to target games to multiple platforms is one of things Unity is most notable for. While developing, game creators have complete control over building for mobile devices, web browsers, desktops and consoles. Currently there are two versions of Unity, Unity Pro, which is available for a fee and used in high commercial uses, and Unity Free, which is a free to use software used for noncommercial and low-end use.

Supported Platforms:

Currently Unity supports over 15 different platforms which allows developers to easily transition between platforms with little to no changes to the game. The following are the most notable supported platforms:

• IOS & Mac
• Android
• Windows, Windows Store Apps  & Windows Mobile
• Blackberry
• Web Browser
• Oculus Rift
• PS3, PS4, PSVITA, & Playstation Mobile
• XBox & Xbox One
• Wii U

While Unity was originally developed for IOS and MAC OS use it has grown to support so many different platforms, most notable being Nintendo's Wii U, given that is included as a part of the standard development kit for that console. 

Features:

The main thing that separates Unity from other game engines is not only its multi-platform capabilities and its user friendly interface but also the numerous features that it provides its users in order to provide such usability. The following lists some of Unity's key features and what these features include:

• The Rendering System:
• This system allows for developers to easily implement lighting, lightmapping, which uses the Beast Lightmapping engine, Screen Space Ambient Occlusion, Shaders, post-processing, Substances, Graphics API Support, among others.
  
• Physics:
• Unity's Physics engine utilizes the NVIDIA PhysX physics engine in order to allow developers the ability to do physics on cloth, soft and rigid-body interactions, ragdolls, joint systems and wheel collision.
  
• Terrain:
•  This features allows for terrain painting, detail texture painting and tree creation.
  
• Networking:
•   Unity includes features such as state synchronization, real-time networking, remote procedure calls, backend connectivity, web integration and massive multiplayer online in order to allow for the facilitation of standard multiplayer games.

•  Audio:
•  The inclusion of one of the most used sound engines, FMOD, allows for easy addition of sounds and music. This features includes the ability to live preview, curve-based sound attenuation editing and audio filter support.
  
• Preview Functionality:
•  This feature allows developers to quickly test features and mechanics of their games in order to check that everything is in working order.
  
•  Scripting:
• Unity allows developers to create specialized scripts using JavaScript, C# and Boo in order to create unique features and add in artificial intelligence to NPCs.
  
  
•  Development & Editor Tools:
  
   
   
• Unity supports Debugger integration, profiling, particles, Animation, Shaders, Visual Scripting, UV Unwrapping, Beast lightmap baking, Pathfinding, External Package and TrueType font support in order to allow easy development and editing.
  
• Asset Store:
• Unity has a unique feature in its Asset Store which is a unified marketplace for acquiring additions to the engine as well as assets for use in development purposes either for free or for a fee.
  
• Unity's Website:
• The website for this game engine while not apart of the actual engine is a fantastic feature of Unity due to the multitude of tutorials and learning aids for developers and game makers to learn and develop their skills. 

All in all Unity is one of the best engines available for game makers to use as a means of prototyping and actual game creation.

In case anyone is interested in learning more about Unity and how to use it check out the link below:

• Unity Tutorials