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Learning C# by Developing Games with Unity 3D Beginner's Guide

Chapter 1. Discovering Your Hidden Scripting Skills

Computer programming is viewed by the average person as requiring long periods of training to learn skills that are totally foreign, and darn near impossible to understand. The word geek is often used to describe a person that can write computer code. The perception is that learning to write code takes great technical skill that is just so hard to learn. This perception is totally unwarranted. You already have the skills needed but don't realize it. Together we will crush this false perception you may have of yourself by refocusing, one step at a time, the knowledge you already possess to write Unity scripts.

In this chapter we shall:

Deal with preconceived fears and concepts about scripts
See why we should use C# instead of UnityScript
Introduce Unity's documentation for scripting
Learn how Unity and the MonoDevelop editor work together

Let's begin our journey by eliminating any anxiety about writing scripts for Unity, and become familiar with our scripting environment.

Dealing with scriptphobia

You've got Unity up and running, studied the interface, added some GameObjects to the Scene. Now you're ready to have those GameObjects move around, listen, speak, pick up other objects, shoot the bad guys, or anything else you can dream of. So you click on Play, and nothing happens. Well darn it all anyway.

You just learned a big lesson, all those fantastic, highly detailed GameObjects are dumber than a hammer. They don't know anything, and they sure don't know how to do anything.

So you proceed to read the Unity forums, study some scripting tutorials, maybe even copy and paste some scripts to get some action going when you press Play. That's great, but then you realize you don't understand anything in the scripts you've copied. Sure, you probably recognize the words, but you fail to understand what those words do or mean in a script. It feels like gibberish.

You look at the code, your palms get sweaty, and you think to yourself, "Geez, I'll never be able to write scripts!" Perhaps you have scriptphobia: the fear of not being able to write instructions (I made that up). Is that what you have?

The fear that you cannot write down instructions in a coherent manner? You may believe you have this affliction, but you don't. You only think you do.

The basics of writing code are quite simple. In fact, you do things every day that are just like the steps executed in a script. For example, do you know how to interact with other people? How to operate a computer? Do you fret so much about making a baloney sandwich that you have to go to an online forum and ask how to do it?

Of course you don't. In fact, you know these things as "every day routines", or maybe as habits. Think for a moment, do you have to consciously think about these routines you do every day? Probably not. After you do them over and over, they become automatic.

The point is, you do things everyday following sequences of steps. Who created these steps you follow? More than likely you did, which means you've been scripting your whole life. You just never had to write down the steps, for your daily routines, on a piece of paper before doing them. You could write the steps down if you really wanted to, but it takes too much time and there's no need. But you do, in fact, know how to. Well, guess what? To write scripts, you only have to make one small change, start writing down the steps. Not for yourself but for the world you're creating in Unity.

So you see, you are already familiar with the concept of dealing with scripts. Most beginners to Unity easily learn their way around the Unity interface, how to add assets, and work in the Scene and Hierarchy windows. Their primary fear, and roadblock, is their false belief that scripting is too hard to learn.

Relax! You now have this book. I am going to get really basic in the beginning chapters.Call them baby-steps if you want, but you will see that scripting for Unity is similar to doing things you already do everyday. I'm sure you will have many "Ah-Ha" moments as you learn and overcome your unjustified fears and beliefs.

Teaching behaviors to GameObjects

You have Unity because you want to make a game or something interactive. You've filled your game full of dumb GameObjects. What you have to do now is be their teacher. You have to teach them everything they need to know to live in this make-believe world. This the part where you have to write down the instructions so that your GameObjects can be smarter.

Here's a quote from the Unity Manual:

The behavior of GameObjects is controlled by the Components that are attached to them... Unity allows you to create your own Components using scripts.

Notice that word, behavior. It reminds me of a parent teaching a child proper behavior. This is exactly what we are going to do when we write scripts for our GameObjects, we're teaching them the behaviors we want them to have. The best part is, Unity has provided a big list of all the behaviors we can give to our GameObjects. This list of behaviors is documented in the Scripting Reference.

This means we can pick and chose, from this list of behaviors anything we want a GameObject to do. Unity has done all the hard work of programming all these behaviors for you. All we need to do is use a little code to tie into these behaviors. Did you catch that? Unity has already created the behaviors, all we have to do is supply a little bit of C# code to apply these behaviors to our GameObjects. Now really, how difficult can it be since Unity has already done most of the programming?

Choosing to use C# instead of UnityScript

So why choose C# to create this code? This maybe after-the-fact information for you if you've already acquired this book and chosen to use C#, but these are valuable points to know anyway:

Reason 1 for choosing C# – vast amount of documentation on the Internet

Have a look at the following bullet list, it will help you understand the reason for choosing C#:

C# is a well known and a heavily used programming language developed by Microsoft for creating Windows application and web-based applications. If you ever need to know anything about C#, simply do a search on the Internet.
UnityScript is just a scripting language designed specifically for Unity. It's similar to JavaScript, yet it isn't. You may be able to search for JavaScript solutions on the web, but the code may or may not work within the confines of Unity without modification, if at all.
Why start off learning a limited scripting language, specific only to Unity, when you can use C#, a true programming language, and find information everywhere?
Who knows, once you see how easy C# is, maybe you might decide to develop for Windows or the Web some day. You'll already have the basics of C#.
Once you learn C#, you'll pretty much know UnityScript, too.

Reason 2 for choosing C# – flexibility to use Unity scripts and regular C# code files

Any C# files you have in your Unity Project folder, that are not Unity scripts, are accessible without the need of attach them to GameObjects.
The State Machine project we will create for this book makes use of C# code files that are not attached to any GameObject.
I'm not saying you can't create a State Machine by using UnityScript. It's just so much easier with C#. Every UnityScript file has to be attached to a GameObject to work and be accessible to other scripts. C# overcomes this necessity.

Reason 3 for choosing C# – coding rules are specific

C# is known as a strictly-typed language. What does this means to you?
As you write code, Unity will catch coding errors immediately. Learning a subject is always easier when the rules are specific, and not some fuzzy "you can if you want to" kind of logic.
UnityScript is not a strictly-typed language. You have the potential to write code that is not valid, but Unity won't catch the errors until you press Play.
Finding mistakes as you write the code is so much easier than having to deal with them when a user has found them when they're playing the game.
Please be aware, it is easy to force UnityScript to be strictly-typed, but if you're going to do that, then you may as well be using C# anyway, which brings us back to Reason 1.

Time for action – opening LearningScript in MonoDevelop

Unity will synchronize with MonoDevelop the first time you tell Unity to open a file for editing. The simplest way to do this is just double-click on LearningScript in the Scripts folder.

In Unity's Project tab, double-click on LearningScript:

What just happened?

MonoDevelop started with LearningScript open, ready to edit.

Watching for a possible "gotcha" when creating script files in Unity

Notice line 4 in the previous screenshot:

public class LearningScript : MonoBehaviour

The class name LearningScript is the same as the file name LearningScript.cs. This is a requirement. You probably don't know what a class is yet, that's ok. Just remember that the file name and the class name must be the same.

When you create a C# script file in Unity, the filename, in the Project tab, is in Edit mode, ready to be renamed. Please rename it right then and there. If you rename the script later, the filename and the class name won't match. The filename would change, but line 4 would be this:

public class NewBehaviourScript : MonoBehaviour

This can easily be fixed in MonoDevelop by changing NewBehaviourScript on line 4 to the same name as the filename, but it's much simpler to do the renaming in Unity immediately.

Fixing sync if it isn't working properly

So what happens when Murphy's Law strikes and syncing just doesn't seem to be working correctly? Should the two apps somehow get out-of-sync as you switch back-and-forth between the them, for whatever reason, do this:

Right-click on Unity's Project window and select Sync MonoDevelop Project. MonoDevelop will re-sync with Unity.

Pop quiz – dealing with scripts

Q1. As a beginner, what's the biggest obstacle to be overcome to be able to write C# code?

Q2. The Scripting Reference supplies example code and a short description of what the code does. What do you use to get full detailed descriptions of Unity's Components and features?

Q3. The Scripting Reference is a large document. How much it should you know before attempting to write any scripts?

Q4. When creating a script file in Unity, when is the best time to name the script file?

Key benefits

You've actually been creating scripts in your mind your whole life, you just didn't realize it. Apply this logical ability to write Unity C# scripts

Learn how to use the two primary building blocks for writing scripts: the variable and the method. They're not mysterious or intimidating, just a simple form of substitution

Learn about GameObjects and Component objects as well as the vital communication between these objects using Dot Syntax. It's easy, just like addressing a postal letter

Stay logically organized by utilizing a State Machine for your code. Use the simple concept of a State to control your Unity project. You will definitely save time by knowing where your code is located

With your new knowledge of coding, you will be able to look at Unity's Scripting Reference code examples with confidence

Description

For the absolute beginner to any concept of programming, writing a script can appear to be an impossible hurdle to overcome. The truth is, there are only three simple concepts to understand: 1) having some type of information; 2) using the information; and 3) communicating the information. Each of these concepts is very simple and extremely important. These three concepts are combined to access the feature set provided by Unity. "Learning C# by Developing Games with Unity 3D Beginner's Guide" assumes that you know nothing about programming concepts. First you will learn the absolute basics of programming using everyday examples that you already know. As you progress through the book, you will find that C# is not a foreign language after all, because you already know the words. With a few keywords and using substitution, before you know it, you'll be thinking in code. The book starts by explaining in simple terms the three concepts you need for writing C# code and scripts: 1) variables to hold information; 2) methods (functions) to use the information; and 3) Dot Syntax to communicate the information where it's needed. The book builds on these concepts to open up the world of C# coding and Unity scripting. You will use this new power to access the features provided in Unity's Scripting Reference. The first half of this book is devoted to the code writing beginner. The concepts of variables, methods, Dot Syntax, and decision processing are fully explained. Since C# is an actual programming language, we take advantage of this to develop a State Machine to help control and organize each phase of a Unity project. Once the basic programming concepts are established and we have some State Machine organization, the features and power of Unity are accessed using the Scripting Reference. If you're looking to learn C# for Unity then this is the book that offers everything you need and more - so discover what C# offers today and see your work come to life as complete games!

Who is this book for?

This book is for the total beginner to any type of programming, focusing on the writing of C# code and scripts only. There are many parts that make up the Unity game engine. It is assumed that the reader already knows their way around Unity's user interface. The code editor used in this book is the MonoDevelop editor supplied by Unity.

What you will learn

Understand what a variable is and how it works

Learn about methods and functions is and how they are used to manipulate information

Learn the concept of an object, a component of a GameObject, and the class they come from

Learn about communication between objects using Dot Syntax

Understand how to make decisions in code

Learn how to use a State Machine to control and organize a Unity project

Master the Scripting Reference to bring GameObjects to life

Learn how to use the Unity Physics engine for moving and detecting GameObject collisions and triggers

Display information on the game screen

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Justin Mar 09, 2014

To start this book does not cover the unity interface per the title. I just learned Unity's interface & was ready to build some projects! However when it came time to make my new GameObjects do any thing I was stuck.It was like I hit a brick wall & though there is a lot of documentation on the web I did not fully understand the code "C#" or how it was to be applied.This book really did it for me while I was climbing over the wall I had hit.Not only will it help you draw some life out of your project , you will also learn some true C# fundamentals.I think even if you know some about C# in the Desktop , App World this will still help you to harness your abilities in the unity framework.Last Note: I recommend getting some where quiet with the book as when any book & just read it, If you can not be in front of a computer none stop , this is also a great book to travel with.Well worth the price IMO.

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Jennifer Nov 08, 2013

This book is what got me over the "hump" of understanding general programming. It's a great intro into C# scripting with unity. I would highly recommend this book to anyone with no to a very basic understanding of unity and C#. Terry Norton did a great job.The only qualm with it so far is that a few times I was pulling my hair out trying to figure out why an example didn't work or what you expect to happen doesn't. Only to find out a page later that it wasn't supposed to. A little warning would be nice. Maybe bold letters before the example stating that it isn't supposed to work right. Aside from that great book.

Doug warner May 25, 2014

I think the one thing I liked about this book is how it describes using the state machine to easily translate between scenes and states. I tried doing other video games and as they got bigger and bigger they became extremely difficult to handle. Setting up the unity game engine using a state machine would make building a medium to large scale game at least more manageable. If you are trying to make a simple little game then this would probably still be useful but not as necessary. this book also made me change the way I look at making a video game; I would normally just jump in and start coding with my normal right brain approach. this book seemed to get me to incorporate my left brain to provide a more structured code instead of my usually trial and error approach where I would usually have to go back and re-code and reorganize my files to help make sense of what is going on.Cons: 1.) It sometimes over-explains things. Note: It does do a good job of explaining(for the most part) but does it in a very tedious manner. 2.) It really just explains basic C# and how to begin making a game using a state machine. Which is all I needed (I already knew C and some C++ so chapters 1-4 and 1/2 of chapter 5 was stuff I already knew ), but if you are looking to get a high polished game out of this book then you should look elsewhere. 3.) He sometimes leaves out steps, which was easy enough for me to figure out; but, if you are brand new to programming and/or using Unity then it may be a little difficult to know how resolve these issues.Despite these cons I still gave it a 5 because they were insignificant to me.

DavidStrife Jun 22, 2014

I bought it with an expectation that there'd be direct examples or explanations of things to carry out in Unity using C#, but actually the book really focuses solely on C#, and puts it in a Unity contextual environment.You won't see any example projects or direct tutorials, but it does show you different implementations of how to execute well known functions and procedures such as limited/numbered loops, and basic programming concepts anyone should know when starting out.A stellar book that basically helped me climb over the final steep part of my learning curve with programming, and finally gave me that "eureka" moment with programming in general, and not just C#.If you've tried to learn programming, but are just finding it a tad bit difficult, and are looking for that "holy grail" book to finally sink it into your head, this book will knock you over to the other side of the fence you're standing on. If you're a programmer but are trying to learn C# specifically for Unity, you'll breeze through this in days.

Israel S. Dec 01, 2014

Good Product

Learning C# by Developing Games with Unity 3D Beginner's Guide: The beauty of this book is that it assumes absolutely no knowledge of coding at all. Starting from very first principles it will end up giving you an excellent grounding in the writing of C# code and scripts.

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