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Learn Unity for iOS Game Development

Discussion in 'Community Learning & Teaching' started by Deleted User, Mar 8, 2013.

  1. Deleted User

    Deleted User

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    *** Updated - the old learnunity4.com link is gone, removed alpha stuff, added Amazon and B&N links ***

    The final book is out.

    The Unity book is available on the Apress site - http://www.apress.com/9781430248750

    Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Unity-Development-Technology-Action/dp/1430248750

    Barnes and Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lea...pment-philip-chu/1113931582?ean=9781430248750

    The example projects are available on https://github.com/technicat/LearnUnity

    Thanks to dreamora for acting as the technical reviewer. Of course, all errors are mine (or maybe the editor's).

    Feel free to post any questions about the book here.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 6, 2016
  2. Ben Jammin Games

    Ben Jammin Games

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    any chance of posting some snippets or a blurb taken from each chapter? I've been developing with mobile in mind and I'd like to know if this resource is worthwhile for me to pick up or if it is geared more towards unity beginners. Thanks! and good luck with the book :)
     
  3. Deleted User

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    I think I'm allowed to post a limited amount of content, but I'll probably wait until later, maybe when the final print is ready. And once it's on Amazon, at least as an ebook, I'm sure there will be an easy-to-view sample. For now, I'll defer to Apress on the promotion (I actually didn't realize the alpha was available until I happened to check the site).

    The book is supposed to be an introduction to Unity AND and introduction to iOS development with Unity, so the first nine chapters are about general Unity stuff - first chapter on installing Unity, second on getting around the Editor and customizing the layout, third on creating a scene, fourth introduces scripting and using MonoDevelop...the iOS stuff kicks in on chapter 10, going through how to use the Unity Remote and iOS Simulator and then building to devices after getting set up with an Apple developer account. Right now, I'm wrapping up the final chapters on Game Center, iAds and optimization. I use a bowling game as the main example through most of it (basically a simplified version of my HyperBowl game, but actually better than my Fugu Bowl game on the App Store since the book implements complete bowling rules)

    You might get a decent idea of the book from the project examples on github - there's one for almost each chapter. The book makes use of free assets on the Asset Store which are not present in the github projects, but they are still mostly functional. If you're scouting for a complete Unity iOS book right now, you might check out Jeff Murray's Unity iOS book from CRC Press (I can't remember the name offhand) - it uses a racing game as an example. I think I might have the first Unity iOS book for Unity 4, though (not the first Unity 4 book, though - I see Sue Blackman's book has been updated)

    Edit: If I remember correctly, I'm allowed to post some content from one chapter.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 16, 2013
  4. Deleted User

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    I created a github landing page for the book at http://learnunity4.com/

    It lists the Apress alpha site, the example projects on github, the free assets used from the Asset Store, and the completed example app on the App Store.
     
  5. Tanner-johnson

    Tanner-johnson

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    What language does this book script in? C#?
     
  6. Deleted User

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    It's all in JavaScript, except for a little bit of C# in the last chapter just to show you what it looks like. You can check out the code at http://learnunity4.com/
     
  7. Deleted User

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    The book has been sent to the printers this week! Updated info (including some corrections, although I haven't seen the final print myself, yet) is at http://learnunity4.com/
     
  8. outtoplay

    outtoplay

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    Congrats... a monumental effort to be sure. Hope (and expect), it will be well received!
     
  9. Deleted User

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    Thanks! I see today the ebook version for the nook and kindle are out. Still recharging my nook, but on the kindle I see the first chapter is available as a free sample and I assume it's the same on the nook.

    This is actually my first look at the final print, so I'll be downloading and reading them this weekend and post corrections on http://learnunity4.com/ (first correction, Unity iOS Basic is now free, not $400!)
     

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  10. pixelsteam

    pixelsteam

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    Yes congrats on the release.

    I am look for exactly this book for my project. I'm good on webplayer and PC builds, but need to know the path for iOS builds.
     
  11. Deleted User

    Deleted User

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    Coincidentally, this box showed up at my doorstep this afternoon, courtesy of Apress (authors get a set of complimentary copies). So I hope to see it on some retail shelves, soon!

    I'm allowed to excerpt up to around a chapter's worth of the book. I was thinking about Chapter 9, since it covers a UnityGUI pause menu that I often get questions on, anyway. But maybe Chapter 10 would be better, since it's more standalone - it's the chapter that starts on Unity iOS, using the Angry Bots demo as a starting point and shows how to switch the project to iOS and test it with Unity Remote and the iOS Simulator. Or maybe Chapter 11 is more useful, since it covers the more complicated process of building and running on a test device and then for distribution, but honestly, that was painful to write (all that iTunesConnect and provisioning stuff), and maybe painful to read.

    Anyway, a description of the chapter-by-chapter contents is on http://learnunity4.com/ so I'll take suggestions on that.
     

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  12. u3dxt

    u3dxt

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    Looks great. Are you planning on expanding the book to include more iOS specific features like Face Detection, Turn-based Multiplayer using GameKit, or Newsstand?
     
  13. Deleted User

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    Thanks, if there is an update to the book, I'm sure there will be additions (although it's over 500 pages already, so I don't know if something else would have to be trimmed...) and I've been adding bits to the book site http://learnunity4.com/ (last night I added a couple of tips on switching to Android). Those features you mention sound like they warrant their own books (Advanced Unity 4 for iOS Game Development?) if they're going to be treated in depth, though.

    Your U3DXT asset looks interesting, I'll take a look at it!
     
  14. u3dxt

    u3dxt

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    Thanks. The reason why I asked is because I think Unity3D and iOS makes a great combination. I've been getting some friction with U3DXT because it's iOS APIs inside Unity3D and people wonder why not just develop natively? Or why break Unity's crossplatformability? Well, my feeling is that Unity3D is a great tool, you don't have that natively. iOS also has a huge library of APIs not available to Unity, so why not marry the two?

    I can see using face detection to create some innovative games, newsstand to create a magazine with 3D elements, XIBs on top of Unity's scene as the 2D HUD GUI, etc.

    Anyway, another book sounds interesting. As you can probably tell, I am poor at writing, so it will likely have to be you. ;-) We just got started opening up the iOS API last week, but we would be happy to provide you with material/examples/code/whatever.

    Again, congrats on being published!
     
  15. Deleted User

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    Definitely, for people like me who are trying to avoid doing any Objective-C coding, the more that's available to scripting, the better (which is why I've bought so many plugins). Even when Unity has some coverage, sometimes a third-party alternative is better, e.g. I think in the iAd chapter of the book I show how code used with the prime31 iAd plugin compares to using the Unity ad API.
     
  16. Deleted User

    Deleted User

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    I've made a chapter of this book freely viewable on http://drupal.technicat.com/learnunity4.html

    The excerpt is Chapter 10, which demonstrates how to start using Unity iOS with the Angry Bots project, testing it with the Unity Remote and on the iOS Simulator, before moving on to hardware testing and distribution, and porting the bowling game that was constructed in the first half of the book.

    The book is also available on store bookshelves, now! I found it at my local Barnes and Noble, sitting next to Visual Basic Game Programming for Teens.
     

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  17. cavila

    cavila

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    Funnily enough I added this book to my list in my SafariBooks this morning before I saw this post. It was easy to spot due to the lack of up to date books for Unity 4. I'll let you know how it goes. Good luck.
     
  18. Deleted User

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  19. cavila

    cavila

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    That's a good roundup. I've pretty much bookmarked all the ones on that list that are available on Safari Books.
     
  20. Deleted User

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  21. gv

    gv

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    purchased... i know Unity fairly well.. but am yet to use it for iOS... so am hoping you cover a lot of iOS specific stuff... :)
     
  22. Deleted User

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    Thanks for buying the book! It covers a lot of cross-platform Unity features, but the iOS-specific stuff includes how to test with the Unity Remote and iOS Simulator, getting the app set up on iTunes Connect, building to Xcode and testing on devices, setting the icons and splash screen and other Player Settings, detecting touchscreen input, accelerometer input, incorporating iAd and Game Center, profiling and optimization. The bowling game constructed in the book is on the App Store:


    https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/learn-unity/id634845779?mt=8

    Actually, a lot of the iOS code works with Android, too - it;s mostly just iAd and Game Center that doesn't carry over, so the app is on Google Play and other Android stores.
     
  23. schmosef

    schmosef

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    Just finished reading your book.

    I've got 200-300 programming/development books and this is the first one I've read cover to cover. The content was exactly what I was looking for.

    I don't usually submit reviews but this time I felt compelled. I posted a 5 star review with the Kindle app on my iPad. It will hopefully be up in a couple days.

    I hope this book has sold well and that you'll get the opportunity to write follow-up books on more advanced topics.

    edit: It looks like my review is already up at amazon.ca.
     
    Last edited: Mar 8, 2014
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  24. Deleted User

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    Sorry I didn't see this post earlier - a belated thanks for the review!

     
  25. Deleted User

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  26. schmosef

    schmosef

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    I really like your writing style. I never would have figured out the convoluted process of getting XCode setup (and configuring my iPads, etc.) without your book.

    Unity 5 is coming... and the new GUI is here... Like I said before, I hope you get a chance to write a new or expanded/advanced edition.

    I'd be happy to be your tech reviewer, too. :D
     
  27. Deleted User

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    Thanks! I've even referred to that XCode chapter myself when I forget that stuff (if I don't submit anything to the App Store for a while, I forget everything!)

    I've discovered writing programming books is a messy process and even less profitable than writing apps, so I don't know about a Unity 5 version (actually depends on the publisher - even if I decline, they can have someone else update it). But yeah, it would be nice to throw in the new GUI, and everything else that's going to change!
     
  28. Deleted User

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    I don't really recommend my Unity 4 book for Unity 5 (better to start off with C# and the new GUI system), but I just upgraded the github projects to Unity 5 and no code changes were required:

    https://github.com/technicat/LearnUnity
     
  29. Deleted User

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  30. Deleted User

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    Apress just contacted me about updating this book (to Learn Unity 5 for iOS Game Development, I presume). I'm rather busy with multiple contracts and own projects, so if anyone is interested in authoring the update, I can pass on your name.
     
  31. schmosef

    schmosef

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    Your book was a fantastic jumpstart for me into Unity.

    It had just the right combination of breadth and depth.

    I hope whomever takes it over manages to do it justice.
     
  32. Deleted User

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    Thanks a lot, I appreciate it!
     
  33. Deleted User

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  34. Deleted User

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    I updated the github projects for this book to Unity 2018.1 and, seeing as UnityScript is on the way out, converted the project for the final chapter to C#.

    https://github.com/technicat/learnunity
     
    schmosef likes this.