Unity in Action

This book is very easy to read, being nicely laid out with progress made at a good pace. The author explains things well and I had no trouble keeping up.You jump straight in, creating a simple FPS, demonstrating mouse look, movement, collisions, ray casting, simple AI and how scripts are attached to objects and how they interact with objects and other scripts.As explained in the book, you do need to know how to program *before* reading it, although not necessarily in C# (which is pretty easy to pick-up if you've worked in any OO language, especially Java). This is definitely true as I needed to make several code changes to get the project to work properly in Chapter 3, however it wasn't that difficult, but if you are learning programming at the same time then it would be difficult.One great feature is the free PDF, offered by Manning Publishing, which means I can read the book in large text and in colour and easily flip between Unity, my code editor and the book with a few keystrokes. This is much easier than having the book open on the desk, next to you. One poor feature is that I couldn't find where to submit my errata on their site. I use TextMate 2 to edit the scripts, as MonoDevelop is pretty horrible and refuses to layout code the way I like it (being a programming I obviously suffer from OCD with such things). I also use Dash to search the Unity API documentation, but you can get by with the online reference just as well.I've only reached chapter 4, but I'm lapping it up...

This book is a really good introduction to games programming using Unity.Before buying this book I'd spent a couple of months following online demos and hacking around not really understanding what I was doing.All those pieces of info I had made sense working through the examples in this book which are very good without being too complicated.Unity in Action goes through the aspects of Unity at just the right pace giving a sense of accomplishment e.g. by the end of chapter 2 you've got a simple first person demo up and running.Another reviewer thought there were typos in the examples but I didn't notice any; perhaps I have a newer addition of the book.If the code didn't compile it was down to my typing mistakes!The Unity IDE isn't the most intuitive so the examples tell you which menu options to select to perform the various steps. There's a good Appendix which covers some of the other Unity options such as the toolbar.Hocking clearly states that this is a book about games programming and not graphics. So all the graphics in this book are simple but you are introduced to textures and graphics assets. Again, there is an Appendix pointing you to other resources for graphics.All the code, graphics assets, icons etc are available for download so all the examples can be finished easily.Overall I'm very pleased I bought this book.

Halfway through and I really like this book. If you already know some OOP language the coding should be a breeze. It explains videogame concepts as you encounter them, so it's very suitable as an introduction to videogame development.The examples are fun and interesting and will get you up and running quick. Be sure to use your coupon to get the digital version as well since the printed book is in black and white and some of the pictures are not very clear.Something else I like is that it explains the different roles involved in making a game, programmers, modelers, animators, artists etc. You will get a well rounded idea of what kind of work is involved for different team roles.

Fantastic into to Unity.I primarily program in Python and has did some Pygame. I found I wanted to learn to use an engine instead of having to deal with low level issues presented by Pygame. I felt Unity was a decent choice and got this book.It has a great progression as it starts with getting a simple cube on screen and ends with building your program for various platforms.It doesn't have that issue where the first half of the book is fine and then the author leaves you behind and you're left scratching your head in confusion.The author expects you to have some programming experience and I'd agree. The code is never hard to follow but I feel if you'd never programmed before you may find it tough going.I also felt dedicating 1-2 chapters to Unity's 2D tools was a nice touch.Definitely worth purchasing if you're looking at getting into games programming.

Good book but with a few type and duff references.

Really cohesive and simple way to get inti Unity Game development. Unity can be a rather daunting, and it not obvious where to start despite a lot of online resources. This direct narrative gets into some nice Game play from the get go. Inspiring for young game developers..

Brilliant book, clear, concise and has excellent example games that you develop as you work through it. You can waste weeks of your life trying to follow dodgy youtube tutorials on unity, or you can just fly through this book and cut to the important stuff. Its written for people who can already program, which is good, no time wasted explaining for loops etc. Delighted I found it.

My review:The book started off quite well explaining things in detail. However, once I reached the FPSInput part that is were I hit the wall. The author explains the code well and it all make sense. However once tested within unity I found the player object moving forward by just looking up, without even having to press any of the movement keys. As far as he is concerned there are no issues with the code and quickly progresses to adding enemies and projectiles leaving this fundamentally broken part in.What is the point in paying for a book were the code does not even work. Not only this but I purchased the book to help with Unity and such I cannot understand were the error originates from. I have had to post many questions on the Unity forum for this issue.