Unity

Item

Unity-2D-Screenshot - Yotam Shibolet.jpg
Title
Unity
Description
Unity is a cross-platform game engine developed by Unity Technologies which grew to become the most widely used all-purpose game creation engine. Most recognized with 3D game development the engine is also commonly used for 2D and mobile game development as well as XR media interactive simulations and other experiences. It is cited to be easy to use for beginner developers and is popular for Indie game development as well as AAA game development (products include Pokémon Go Call of Duty Beat Saber and Cuphead).
While not emphasizing narrative authoring a high amount of narrative games are written with Unity due to the tool's popularity and plugins such as Fungus enable a more narrative-centered work environment.
Form filler
Yotam Shibolet
Creator and affiliation
Unity Technologies (Funded in Denmark 2004)
Current ownership type
Fully private
Year of first release
2005
End-product media type(s)
Real-time graphics
XR (Virtual/augmented/mixed reality)
Main target audience(s)
Amateurs/enthusiasts
Professional interactive narrative authors
Programmers (no creative background)-targeted tool
Available modes of creation
Spatial creation mode (e.g. Unity)
Role of coding in creative process
Optional
Life status
Alive (actively moderated and updated and/or active community of authors)
Product portal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Unity_games
Homepage URL
https://unity3d.com/
Reference citations/URL(s)
Creighton Ryan Henson. Unity 3D game development by example: A Seat-of-your-pants manual for building fun groovy little games quickly. Packt Publishing Ltd 2010.

Haas John. "A history of the unity game engine." Diss. WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE (2014).

Šmíd Antonín. "Comparison of unity and unreal engine." Czech Technical University in Prague (2017): 41-61.
Use license cost
Free license
Publishing license model
Unrestricted publishing
Programming language written in
Written in C++
Author-facing programming/scripting language(s)
C/C# authoring
UnitScript
Authoring tool work platform(s)
Windows
Mac
Linux
End-product work platform(s)
PC/Macintosh support
PlayStation support
XBox support
Switch support
Android support
Browser support
iOS support
VR/XR consoles
Available supporting technical resource(s)
https://assetstore.unity.com/
Self-containment
Self-contained with optional plugins/assets
Primary design focus
Space (environment design)
Primary authoring action(s)
Drag & drop (visual templates - e.g. RPGMaker- Unity)
Programming language coding (e.g. Javascript)
Navigating text menus
Main interface window(s)
WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) layout
3D space editor
Text-based authoring/coding layout
Customization menus
Designable general element(s)
Nodes and links structure (any medium)
Video segments
Audio/sound
Animations
Movement affordances
Props/items
Rules/Constraints
Events
Physics system/objects
Environmental/Character States
Camera controls
Control customization
Designable narrative specific element(s)
Available plugins (e.g. Fungus) enable all of the above
Built-in preset element(s)
Interaction model presets
Menu presets
All of the above are available via the asset store
Overall difficulty assessment
Medium authoring difficulty
Work environment/design interface intuitiveness
Highly intuitive
Learning curve complexity
Hard to learn
Advanced authoring complexity
High complexity
Depth of advanced authoring
Large depth
Degree of narrative specific emphasis
Nonexistent narrative-specific emphasis
Role of procedural authoring
Optional procedural authoring
Types of available procedural authoring
Environment
Objects/Items
End-product control interface
Mouse & keyboard
Physical controllers (joystick touchscreen steering wheel gamepad etc.)
Motion controllers
Gestural capture interface
Audio interface
QR Code/RFID/other AR scanning
Additional key interaction design affordance(s)
Multiplayer support
Geo-referencing
Locational detection
Item sets
IDN authoring tools