Learning C# by Developing Games with Unity 2021: Kickstart your C# programming and Unity journey by building 3D games from scratch, 6th Edition

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Learn C# programming from scratch using Unity as a fun and accessible entry point with this updated edition of the bestselling series. Includes invitation to join the online Unity Game Development community to read the book alongside peers, Unity developers/C# programmers and Harrison Ferrone.

Purchase of the print or Kindle book includes a free eBook in the PDF format.

Key FeaturesLearn C# programming basics, terminology, and coding best practicesBecome confident with Unity fundamentals and features in line with Unity 2021Apply your C# knowledge in practice and build a working first-person shooter game prototype in UnityBook Description

The Learning C# by Developing Games with Unity series has established itself as a popular choice for getting up to speed with C#, a powerful and versatile programming language with a wide array of applications in various domains. This bestselling franchise presents a clear path for learning C# programming from the ground up through the world of Unity game development.

This sixth edition has been updated to introduce modern C# features with Unity 2021. A new chapter has also been added that covers reading and writing binary data from files, which will help you become proficient in handling errors and asynchronous operations.

The book acquaints you with the core concepts of programming in C#, including variables, classes, and object-oriented programming. You will explore the fundamentals of Unity game development, including game design, lighting basics, player movement, camera controls, and collisions. You will write C# scripts for simple game mechanics, perform procedural programming, and add complexity to your games by introducing smart enemies and damage-causing projectiles.

By the end of the book, you will have developed the skills to become proficient in C# programming and built a playable game prototype with the Unity game engine.

What you will learnFollow simple steps and examples to create and implement C# scripts in UnityDevelop a 3D mindset to build games that come to lifeCreate basic game mechanics such as player controllers and shooting projectiles using C#Divide your code into pluggable building blocks using interfaces, abstract classes, and class extensionsBecome familiar with stacks, queues, exceptions, error handling, and other core C# conceptsLearn how to handle text, XML, and JSON data to save and load your game dataExplore the basics of AI for games and implement them to control enemy behaviorWho this book is for

If you’re a developer, programmer, hobbyist, or anyone who wants to get started with Unity and C# programming in a fun and engaging manner, this book is for you. You’ll still be able to follow along if you don’t have programming experience, but knowing the basics will help you get the most out of this book.

Table of ContentsGetting to Know Your EnvironmentThe Building Blocks of ProgrammingDiving into Variables, Types, and MethodsControl Flow and Collection TypesWorking with Classes, Structs, and OOPGetting Your Hands Dirty with UnityMovement, Camera Controls, and CollisionsScripting Game MechanicsBasic AI and Enemy BehaviorRevisiting Types, Methods, and ClassesIntroducing Stacks, Queues, and HashSetsSaving, Loading, and Serializing DataExploring Generics, Delegates, and BeyondThe Journey Continues

From the Publisher

Harrison Ferrone

Book Highlights: Written to provide a firm understanding of programming to beginners Helps you work from scratch and develop a game using Unity Explains the connection between code and its effect on screen through Unity

What’s new in this sixth edition?

I wanted to focus on skills that are intermediate level because we’ve covered basics in the initial chapters, which provide a foundation for intermediate topics.

Every game uses data, and this edition has a chapter on handling this data in games or C# apps. The data doesn’t necessarily have to be from Unity – you’ll learn to work with the file system, just like on your desktop. You’ll perform operations like creating files and arranging information in them in XML and JSON formats.

What’s New:

Sixth edition updated to cover the latest version of Unity 2021 Introduces new topics including animating in code, using the new Unity Input Manager, and more A new chapter on reading, writing, and serializing data An exclusive invite to join the book club: Ask Qs, provide solutions to others, participate in events with Harrison and more using the link included in the book

What was your objective in writing the book? And what are the key takeaways for readers?

My objective was to create a resource that I would have wanted when I started learning to program. This hands-on guide starts with C# programming concepts and applies them to building games in Unity.

In the book, you’ll start off with the Unity installation process, the main features of the editor, and finding documentation for C# and Unity-specific topics.

You’ll also create C# scripts from inside Unity and take a look at Visual Studio, the application where all your code editing will take place. Once you have a sold understanding of programming and C#, the later chapters contain a wide range of resources to help you choose what you want to pursue in your career.

How is this book different from other books on C# programming and Unity game development?

This book is written with someone new to programming and Unity in mind.

Many of the resources, tutorials, and textbooks that I used to learn how to program made assumptions about basic concepts that weren’t clearly fully explained, leading to hours of independent searches for answers. That’s where this book comes in, as I’ll be taking you through the building blocks of programming and the C# language from scratch – all while building a fun and playable game prototype in Unity.

As a beginner, you’ll want to read it from cover to cover. If you’re coming from another language, you can use the book as a reference. Because each chapter has a starter project on GitHub, you can jump in wherever you want, and if you want to tackle a specific topic, you can jump right into that. Unlike other books, the approach and structure of this book don’t make any assumptions about the reader. I’d say this focus leads to a much better end product and learning experience.

What’s your favorite part of the book and why?

Out of the 14 chapters, 2 of them are very special to me. I really like the chapter in which we work on basic artificial intelligence, which is really just creating an enemy that looks like it’s smart. It’s very simple, but it looks smart in the game, which is the trick.

The new chapter on data and handling data is also really close to what I love to do. I like writing managers and service classes, because I enjoy seeing how well you know your own code, and how clean you can make it while dealing with complex things.

Topics Covered: Getting to Know Your Environment The Building Blocks of Programming Working with Classes, Structs, and OOP Getting Your Hands Dirty with Unity Movement, Camera Controls, and Collisions …and more!

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Packt Publishing
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 29, 2021
Edition ‏ : ‎ 6th ed.
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 428 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1801813949
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1801813945
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.61 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 0.97 x 9.25 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #1,655,010 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #180 in 3D Graphic Design #204 in C# Programming (Books) #669 in Game Programming
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