Go Programming by Example

In Detail Beginner game developers are wonderfully optimistic, passionate, and ambitious. But that ambition is often dangerous! Too often, budding indie developers and hobbyists bite off more than they can chew. Some of the most popular games in recent memory - Doodle Jump, Paper Toss, and Canabalt, to name a few - have been fun, simple games that have delighted players and delivered big profits to their creators. This is the perfect climate for new game developers to succeed by creating simple games with Unity 3D, starting today. This book starts you off on the right foot, emphasizing small, simple game ideas and playable projects that you can actually finish. The complexity of the games increases gradually as we progress through the chapters. The chosen examples help you learn a wide variety of game development techniques. With this understanding of Unity 3D and bite-sized bits of programming, you can make your own mark on the game industry by finishing fun, simple games. This book shows you how to build crucial game elements that you can reuse and re-skin in many different games, using the phenomenal (and free!) Unity 3D game engine. It initiates you into indie game culture by teaching you how to make your own small, simple games using Unity3D and some gentle, easy-to-understand code. It will help you turn a rudimentary keep-up game into a madcap race through hospital hallways to rush a still-beating heart to the transplant ward, program a complete 2D game using Unity's User Interface controls, put a dramatic love story spin on a simple catch game, and turn that around into a classic space shooter with spectacular explosions and "pew" sounds! By the time you're finished, you'll have learned to develop a number of important pieces to create your own games that focus in on that small, singular piece of joy that makes games fun. This book shoots straight for the heart of fun, simple game design and keeps shooting until you have all the pieces you need to assemble your own great games. Approach The book takes a clear, step-by-step approach to building small, simple game projects. It focuses on short, attainable goals so that the reader can finish something, instead of trying to create a complex RPG or open-world game that never sees the light of day. This book encourages readers hungry for knowledge. It does not go into gory detail about how every little knob and dial functions - that's what the software manual is for! Rather, this book is the fastest path from zero to finished game using the Unity 3D engine. Who this book is for If you've ever wanted to develop games, but have never felt "smart" enough to deal with complex programming, this book is for you. It's also a great kick-start for developers coming from other tools like Flash, Unreal Engine, and Game Maker Pro.;Cover; Copyright; Credits; About the Author; About the Reviewers; Table of Contents; Preface; Chapter 1:That's One Fancy Hammer!; Introducing Unity 3D; Unity takes over the world; Browser-based 3D? Welcome to the future; Time for action -- install the Unity Web Player; Welcome to Unity 3D!; What can I build with Unity?; FusionFall; Completely hammered; Should we try to build FusionFall?; Another option; Off-Road Velociraptor Safari; Fewer features, more promise; Maybe we should build Off-Road Velociraptor Safari?; I bent my Wooglie; Big Fun Racing; Diceworks Cover Copyright Credits About the Author About the Reviewers Table of Contents Preface Chapter 1:That's One Fancy Hammer! Introducing Unity 3D Unity takes over the world Browser-based 3D? Welcome to the future Time for action -- install the Unity Web Player Welcome to Unity 3D! What can I build with Unity? FusionFall Completely hammered Should we try to build FusionFall? Another option Off-Road Velociraptor Safari Fewer features, more promise Maybe we should build Off-Road Velociraptor Safari? I bent my Wooglie Big Fun Racing Diceworks Walk before you can run (or double jump)There's no such thing as ""finished"" Stop! Hammer time Explore Demo island The wonders of technology! The Scene window The Game window The Hierarchy The Project panel The Inspector Invade Island Demo as a paratrooper Layers and layout dropdowns Playback controls Scene controls Don't stop there-live a little! Summary Big ambition, tiny games Chapter 2:Let's Start with the Sky That little lightbulb The siren song of 3D Features versus content A game with no features Mechanic versus skin Trapped in your own skin That singular piece of joyOne percent inspiration Motherload Heads up! Artillery Live! Pong The mechanic that launched a thousand games Toy or story Redefining the sky Summary Let's begin Chapter 3:Game #1: Ticker Taker Kick up a new Unity project Where did everything go? 'Tis volley Keep the dream alive Slash and burn! The many faces of keep-up Creating the ball and the hitter Time for action -- create the ball A ball by any other name Time for action -- rename the ball Origin story XYZ/RGB Time for action -- move the ball into the ""sky"" Time for action -- shrink the ballTime for action -- save your Scene Time for action -- add the paddle What's a Mesh? Poly wanna crack your game performance? Keeping yourself in the dark Time for action -- add a light Time for action -- move and rotate the light Extra credit Are you a luminary? Who turned out the lights? Darkness reigns Time for action -- test your game Let's get physical Time for action -- add physics to your game Understanding the gravity of the situation More bounce to the ounce Time for action -- make the ball bouncy Summary Following the script Chapter 4:Code ComfortWhat is code? Time for action -- write your first Unity Script A leap of faith Lick it and stick it Disappear Me! It's all Greek to me You'll never go hungry again With great sandwich comes great responsibility Examining the code Time for action -- find the Mesh Renderer component Time for action -- make the ball reappear Ding! Time for action -- journey to the Unity Script Reference The Renderer class What's another word for ""huh""? It's been fun Time for action -- unstick the Script Gone, but not forgotten Why code? Equip your baby bird Time for action -- create a new MouseFollow Script Go, commonly referred to as golang, is a programming language initially developed at Google in 2007. This book helps you to get started with Go programming. It describes all the elements of the language and illustrates their use with code examples. The following is highlight topics in this book: \* Development Environment \* Go Programming Language \* Arrays, Slices and Maps \* Functions \* Pointers \* Structs and Methods \* String Operations \* File Operations \* Error Handling and Logging \* Building Own Go Package \* Concurrency \* Encoding \* Hashing and Cryptography \* Database Programming \* Socket Programming