Unity (Game Engine) – Wikipedia Notes
Overview
Unity is a cross-platform game engine developed by Unity Technologies, first
announced and released in 2005 at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference. It is
one of the most popular and widely used game development platforms for creating 2D,
3D, AR (Augmented Reality), VR (Virtual Reality), and multiplayer games across
desktop, mobile, console, and web platforms.
Basic Introduction
Unity is a game Engine
Unity is a cross-platform Game Engine Developed by Unity Technologies
First Announced and released 2005.
Itis particularly popular for iOS & Android Mobile Game Development
Games Like COD , Pokémon Go , Cuphead etc. Made with Unity.
It is Considered Easy to use Beginner Developers.
And it is popular For Indie Game Development
The Engine Can be used to create 3D (3 Dimensions) and 2D (2 Dimensions) Games , As
well As Interactive Simulation.
Versions
Unity 2019.x
Burst Compiler and DOTS improvements
AR Foundation introduced for cross-platform AR
Improved 2D tools (Tilemap, Sprite Shape)
Unity 2020.x
Long Term Support (LTS) focus
Editor UI overhaul
Improved package management
Visual Scripting integrated (Bolt renamed to Unity Visual Scripting)
Unity 2021.x
New input system by default
Updated XR plugins
Apple Silicon (M1 chip) support
Stable URP and HDRP pipelines
Unity 2022.x
Continued LTS support
Enhanced support for multiplayer with Unity Netcode
UI Toolkit upgrades
Mobile performance improvements
Unity 2023.x
AI and machine learning tools (Unity Sentis introduced)
Graphics upgrades (ray tracing, path tracing in HDRP)
More DOTS stability
Unity Cloud integration
Key Features
Cross-platform Support: Unity supports over 25 platforms including Windows, macOS,
Linux, Android, iOS, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and WebGL.
Rendering Engine: Unity uses a powerful rendering engine with support for real-time
global illumination, physically based rendering (PBR), and shader programming.
Scripting: Unity primarily uses C# for scripting (previously also supported Unity
Script and Boo).
Component-Based Architecture: Game objects are entities that gain functionality by
attaching different components.
Unity Editor: A robust GUI interface for designing, testing, and deploying games.
It includes a Scene View, Game View, Inspector, Hierarchy, and Project panel.
Asset Store: A marketplace where developers can buy and sell assets, tools,
scripts, and plugins.
Physics Engines: Includes NVIDIA PhysX for 3D physics and Box2D for 2D physics.
Animation System (Mecanim): Advanced animation features like state machines, blend
trees, and animation retargeting.
UI System: Built-in support for user interfaces including buttons, panels, and
text.
XR Support: Extensive tools for developing VR and AR applications.
Multiplayer & Networking: Tools like Unity Netcode and integration with services
like Photon or Mirror.
