On the Unity side, we’re working on changing our development work flow. In the past, all of our learning modules were done in Flash. Now, we are moving to Unity. It is more than a notion as there is so much to understand. This is not a bad thing, just really different.

What is really interesting (and annoying) is that the expectations for quick turn around have not changed. The powers that be act as if Unity3d is as trivial as Flash, (which is far from trivial), and should take the same amount of time to develop in. They are used to our long lived Flash development process and experience, and don’t get that we are still pretty green when it comes to 3d. Not surprising.

Despite the minor frustration of being driven like cattle, I am still loving Unity and am very excited about the next version. Working in Unity still feels like the early days of Flash to me, and if all goes well I am hoping that the same thing will happen to Unity that happened to Flash back in the day. Very exciting times indeed.

Will we switch to a total Apple development solution? I don’t think so. In fact, the day the announcement was made, was the day that we started considering other options for phones and tablets. If Unity continues to be allowed on Apple products, then we will most likely stick with our iPad development without Flash. If Unity is not allowed, then we will still use Unity and Flash but we will move to another platform altogether. I think that is a bloody shame because the ‘iPlatform’ has such promise.

The 3.3.1 clause is not set in stone yet, but in the obvious blood lust to kill Flash, I can’t see how it could be rescinded unless some really major negotiations occur. Personally, I think that if it has gone this far, then it is close to impossible to bring it back to something amiable. This is like being in the middle of a really ugly divorce and waiting to see who you are going to live with.

Has Steve Jobs gone mad?

DCF

My kid was eating cereal this morning, and on the back of a General Mills Honey Nut Cheerios box was a link to their brand extending game, Honey Defender. The site itself was in Flash, but the game was in Unity. The game took a long time to load, (much like the early days of Flash) but once loaded, I was treated to a decent 3D adventure based on a Honey Nut Cheerios world. Silly, I know, but before this would have been done completely in Flash.

Axe Body Spray also had a Unity game site as I recall. I think this is just the beginning of brands moving into 3D. Sure the two techs can coexist, but I can’t help but think that somebody missed the boat here and it sure wasn’t Unity. I can’t see it being that much longer until those parts done in Flash, can be done in Unity. Sure, ads are what make folks complain about Flash, but it is funny to see Unity moving into that territory. Very interesting days ahead.

-D

The book reads like a very long tutorial, and essentially that is what it is. You get short summaries of subjects like scripting, and collision detection that are just enough for you to get through to the end of the project. For experienced developers, this will be enough because really most just want to understand the workflow for Unity. As for others with less experience, it will be a good starting point, but is by no means the only reference you will need.

The book tackles designing a game for a first person perspective. No small task indeed. The author covers designing the terrain, using prefabs, basic scripting, ray casting, GUI design, game physics, particle systems, and menu and scene design and setup. Will does a great job of introducing one to the essentials of Unity, but he also subtly lets you know that there is so much to know about Unity and game development in general, and that Unity is no ‘click and play’ tool. Upon finishing the book, you are going to have questions, lots of questions and I think that was the point of the book. To introduce you to the tool, and get you thinking about what all you have to consider if you are going to use the tool to make a game or application. The book is a very good introduction to Unity and I highly recommend it.

DCF

There is so much that just works for you right out of the box from physics to Terrain generation and design. One really gets to concentrate on game play rather than engine development. I remember back in the day reading Andre LaMothe’s game development books. He said that the day was coming when the game engine would be less of a concern for developers and game design would become the focus. The analogy he used I think was that we would no longer have to spend so much time making our tools to build the house before designing and building it. Unity is definitely a fulfillment of that prediction. From working with Unity, I now realize that I never really wanted to make an engine. I only wanted to design a 3D game, and ideally get it to the web.

One thing for sure is that if people have the desire, with a little time and effort, they can begin experimenting with game design concepts and release them to the world fairly painlessly via the web. That is what is really exciting about this technology. The engine is pretty powerful and there is a lot of latitude in what one can do with it. I am also seeing other possible uses for it, and you are definitely not just limited to 3D games. For example, I can honestly see a whole new art form coming out of this similar to Ryan Bliss’s site digitalblasphemy.com the 3D computer wallpaper site, but now with moving works realized in the engine. Imagine being able to fly through some of those pieces. This tech lends itself to a whole other level of design possibilities. Yes I know it was possible before with other apps, but Unity really got it right. Did not mean for this to be a review, but can you tell I am excited?

DCF

I don’t have anything I care to show just yet other than programmer art and such, but I must say that I am excited about what is possible even at this stage of learning. I still work in Flash during the day, and I wonder if Adobe is going to eventually address this growing trend toward a 3D web. Flash is getting better, but I when I watch my kid playing Farmville and I look at the quality, I just shake my head. She still sits there and plays it though, and that in itself is very telling. I can’t help but see a tremendous opportunity here for the player that has a perceived 98% browser penetration, to make a move to crush the competition. Video is covered, web apps are covered, but games clearly need a more powerful player, and that is where Unity is really shining.

I don’t know how the Unity player penetration is going, not really caring a whole lot at the moment as our audience will be required to download the player. I am sure that it has grown since last October, and most likely will continue to do so as more people learn it and release their creations. For now I am in the learning phase, and quite pleased with the progress.

-DCF

Adobe has made some good moves this year, and is in a very good position in terms of browser penetration. Flash has become a big part of the user web experience and has a good chance of becoming the platform of choice for interactive media on the web. Still, as I maintain my Flash skills, I also look to Unity3D simply because of the superior firepower.

Flash is a great all around development platform that keeps getting better, but the Flash player still needs a boost in performance for the gaming side. If Flash gets to the performance level of the Unity engine, Adobe wins big. It does appear that Adobe will eventually get the Flash player to the level of performance of Unity, but just how long that will be is the question. My guess is that with everything heating up the way it is in online gaming, it should be fairly soon.

Adobe Flash Platform Gaming Technology Center

This move by Unity to make the indie version free was not only brilliant, but I am starting to believe that this could be the start of a new era in web media. A revolution if you will. The power that Unity has is simply immense when it comes to web. It supports 3D gaming now, but how much of a stretch would it be to add flex-like support to Unity? I mean seriously, it will be trivial for Unity to do 2D apps. I already know that as soon as I can save enough pennies I will be upgrading to the pro version for home. My boss was so impressed by the quality of Unity that our next projects are now all slated for Unity. Flash still has a place in our tool kit, but it may be losing its prominence very soon. It is truly a great time to be in web media.

D