Unity 1.0: Democratizing 3D for Everyone

It’s June 2005, and if you want to build a high-quality 3D game, you usually have two options: spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a license for an engine like Unreal or Quake, or spend years building your own engine from scratch.

A small team in Denmark wants to change that. They’ve just released Unity 1.0 at Apple's WWDC.

The "Authoring" Approach

What makes Unity different is its focus on the "Authoring" experience. It’s not just a set of libraries; it’s a full, integrated editor. You can drag and drop 3D models, assign materials, and see your changes in real-time. It feels more like using Director or Flash than traditional C++ game programming.

Scripting with C# and Boo

Unity uses a clever "component-based" architecture. Instead of complex inheritance hierarchies, you attach small scripts to game objects. It supports C#, which is a joy to use compared to the manual memory management of C++.

using UnityEngine;
using System.Collections;

public class PlayerController : MonoBehaviour {
    public float speed = 10.0f;

    void Update() {
        float translation = Input.GetAxis("Vertical") * speed * Time.deltaTime;
        float rotation = Input.GetAxis("Horizontal") * 100.0f * Time.deltaTime;
        transform.Translate(0, 0, translation);
        transform.Rotate(0, rotation, 0);
    }
}

The Mac-First Gamble

Currently, Unity only runs on OS X and targets the Mac and the web (via a plugin). In a Windows-dominated gaming world, this is a risky move. But by focusing on the Mac, they’ve captured the "creative" developer market that Apple is so good at fostering.

Looking Ahead

Unity’s goal is "Democratizing Game Development." If they can port the editor to Windows and target more platforms (consoles? mobile?), they could become the "standard" engine for the growing indie game scene. The accessibility of the tool is its greatest strength. It’s allowing people who aren't "engine architects" to focus on what actually matters: making a fun game.

Aunimeda develops mobile and PC games - from casual hyper-casual titles to mid-core games with complex progression systems.

Contact us to discuss your game project. See also: Game Development, Mobile Game Development