Since blog post #1, we were assigned our project and started coding it up. The project is a 3d escape room challenge game that we are developing using Unity and C hashtag. Originally, we planned to use the open source game engine Godot, but quickly ran into some blocking issues and decided to pivot to Unity.
Some things that I really enjoy about Unity / C#:
1. C# is a typed language. I can’t begin to explain how much I loathe dynamic typing, both professionally as my internship was in vanilla JS and academically as the early classes at OSU that are in Python. Luckily I transferred in 161, 162, and 261 which I completed in Java and c++. As C# is similar to Java, I feel very comfortable writing in it and I think our team of 5 is benefitting from the type safety as there is no ambiguity when we work on the same files and methods.
2. Unity has a TON of resources out there about how to do basically everything, from simply placing an object on the screen to how to use AI packages in your game. While I’m no game dev, the resources out there have made this a bit easier coming into this class with no game dev experience. Heck, I’ve never even played a video game that uses WASD!
3. The availability of free 3d assets is incredible. I am taking cs450 – Computer Graphics as my final elective and let me tell you, the amount of work that goes into a simple 3d model is INSANE. If we needed to even build a single scene of 3d models in Blender or OpenGL, it would take us many quarters. I have a ton of new found respect for 3d graphics devs/designers/everything related to the assets.
Another topic that has come up is how am I using AI in my project. One of my teammates is using an AI package in their puzzle, which is super cool. I personally am using ChatGPT to help me with understanding the flow of Unity. Much like during my summer internship where I had to learn some Redux, React, and GraphQL, I get a bit too in the weeds with trying to learn how everything works instead of figuring out what is really necessary to complete the task at hand. ChatGPT helps me learn just enough about what I need to know and leaves the rest abstracted. I have this personality trait of learning things the hard way, I like to know how stuff works from the ground up, but in a 10 week course (or a 10 week internship) that isn’t enough time. I like to think of those abstractions as “magic” and will learn the tricks behind the “magic” when I have time.
That wraps up blog post #2, until next time, see yas!
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