Unity 3D is an all-in-one platform basically for mobile game development, and it is the registered trademark of Unity Technologies. Over the years, it has gained immense popularity and attention from the community of game developers because of its quirky features, solid abilities, and supportive pricing for video gaming. Being the cross-platform game development tool, it saves ample time for the developers that would otherwise be spent in developing different games for individual platforms.
However, the work of developers became easier after 2005 with the launch of the Unity engine at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, which was very complex for the developers before that. That means the development of 2D and 3D game apps for various platforms was quite tricky as it takes lots of time, effort, and, most importantly, dollars. In short, the launch of Unity Engine turned the table upside down.
This powerful cross-platform engine lets developers develop the game for 27 platforms and on different devices in a user-friendly environment. Moreover, it also offers a wealth of resources to the developer like intuitive tools, clear documentation, tutorials, ready-made assets, and not the least online community free of cost.
According to the studies, Unity 3D has around 45% of the global game engine market share, and approximately 47% of Unity Game developers prefer primary development tools. Apart from that, it has 4.5 million registered developers from the year 2012 to 2015.
Moreover, Unity 3D is the top-grossing 3D mobile game engine in all territories, according to the top Unity 3D development company.
Well, suppose you talk about its features. In that case, they are rendering, asset tracking, scripting, and physics that help in reducing the time and cost of developing the game and offer flexibility to deploy projects on various platforms. Apart from that it also has many other features. They are: –
- UI system
- Augmented and virtual reality systems
- Asset store where you can import from
- Particle systems
- C# coding makes the game compatible across various platforms
So, in order to know more about Unity 3D game development, let’s put some limelight on the advantages and disadvantages of Unity 3D game development.
Advantages of Unity 3D game development
- Quick and easy to use
The primary advantage of Unity 3D game development is it is very easy to use, and its main aim is to simplify the whole game development process. However, it can be used with varying levels of education in game design that’s why it is very visual and intuitive.
Moreover, if you talk about its format, it is very easy, and worldwide fame inspires collaboration. On top of that, it is fast and agile as it allows the developer to turn the first game design ideas into reality quickly. In addition to that, the developer can build a game using simple coding, or the development of a game is also possible without coding at all.
- Graphics
If you want to add high-quality audio and visual effects to your game, then Unity 3D also supports that and eases the process of game development. However, the visuals you will use are adaptable on every screen and device without compromising the quality of the image.
- The game is available for different platforms.
Another advantage of Unity 3D is that it is compatible with a number of platforms. This feature is quite handy if you decide to release a demo of your game, as it will be highly accessible and easy to set up. Moreover, Unity 3D is very fast at porting, so you can easily ready your game on different platforms with just one click.
- The tech support
If you talk about the assets store of Unity 3D, it is also great compared to other platforms. In other words, the tech support of Unity is highly efficient. Upon that, the members of tech support are highly skilled, and you can easily rely upon them in case you face any technical problem.
- Debugging
The debugging and tweaking part is very easy with Unity game development. The reason is all the game variables are displayed during gameplay which allows the developer to debug the process when the game is running.
- Build your own tools
On the Unity platform, you have the option of buying the tools from the asset store, or you can build your own. The reason is the game engine is very simple by which you can make your tools.
- Virtual reality
Unity 3D is one of the fantastic games for virtual reality as it works together with new APIs, paradigms, VR powerhouses with cutting-edge technology. That’s why Unity claims to be the preferred platform for creating VR experiences.
Disadvantages of Unity 3D game development
- Start from scratch
It is true that Unity is the best platform to develop games, but it doesn’t offer the possibility to build a game from a template or foundation. That means you have to build your game from scratch. Moreover, it delivers a comprehensive library of tools in the assets store, so you must create your game yourself.
- Prefabs
Another disadvantage of Unity 3D is associated with the use of instance templates, also called prefabs. This is no doubt a compelling concept that exists in Unity, and it is linked to the Unity component system. But the most challenging part is editing templates.
- Licensing
If you talk about a subscription fee that also includes licensing is very high. That means if you are a beginner, then it will be out of your budget. However, with the free version also you can create high-quality games and also test them.
- Source code
Unity has one search function that helps find the linked scripts, but it can be more robust. There are times when you have to manually browse through all the elements in a scene to get the related scripts. But the thing is, this does not often happen, so it should be avoided as it is very painstaking and time-consuming work.
- Graphics
From a graphical point of view, Unity is also lagging behind compared to other engines like UDK. But on the contrary, Unity 3D programming shaders allow it from scratch.
- Not suitable for big jobs
Unity 3D game development is best for beginners and those at higher levels of education. But if you want to delve deep and work on larger projects, then another game engine will work best for you.
For example, Unreal is the engine that offers the option to build AAA games with the bigger landscape of things on the screen at one go.
- Memory hogging
The game developed leveraging Unity engine takes more memory, because of which it also creates OOM errors and debugging problems in the apps.
The bottom line
It is true that the game engine is just the base and the whole game’s success depends upon creativity and hard work. Still, if you want any tool on which you can rely upon, then Unity 3D is a solid tool for beginners and also for those users who don’t have many resources at their disposal.
The reason is Unity offers a wide selection of tools and also delivers many options to test the games on a variety of platforms. Still, you need more information, and you can contact the top Unity 3D development company.
