10 Best Unity Books for Game Development Learning [Updated]

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unity is the game engine that powers a host of popular and innovative games including alto’s adventure, assassin’s creed identity, firewatch, ghost of a tale, pillars of eternity, praey for the gods, temple run and wasteland 2.

game development is one of the best professional options. it is not an easy task, but, of course, fruitful. video games are about overcoming difficulties and setting new milestones/benchmarks. the same spirit is behind the development of video games as well.

You are reading: Best unity 5 books

So, to help you recharge your unity game development skills, or jump into the unity game development moshpit, here’s our pick of the 10 best unity books.

p.s.: Consider checking out the detailed comparison between the two game development giants: unity vs unreal engine.

10 best unit books

1. unity game development in 24 hours

From – Mike GeigLatest Edition – ThirdFormats Available – Kindle and PaperbackPublisher – Sams

Unity’s Game Development in 24 Hours book aims to educate readers on game development in just 24 hours with 24 sessions. The book leverages the Unity 4 game engine to demonstrate game development at its best using examples like Temple Run.

The Unity Game Development Book starts with the absolute basics of creating video games and slowly works its way up to talk about animation and the intricate art of game physics. Each successive chapter of the unity game development in 24 hours book expands on the concepts of the previous chapters.

unity game development in 24 hours is written by mike geig, a veteran game developer and seasoned teacher with several years of experience teaching game design and development at stark state college and the art institute of cleveland. In addition to being packed with exercises and quizzes, the book boasts:

Cautions: How to identify common game development mistakes and how to avoid them.
Notes: Fascinating/additional information related to some game development concepts.
tips: easy ways to accomplish certain tasks.

since the successful completion of the unity book, readers will be able to work with unity game objects, apply shaders and textures to a 3d object, modify a desktop game for mobile platforms, take advantage of device accelerometers and screens multi-touch, and much more. more.

topics covered:

unity game objects.
unity graphic asset pipeline.
unity mechanim animation system.
particle system unity shuriken.
game implementation.
game user interfaces.
game scripting tasks.

You can buy this book here.

2. unity in action: cross-platform game development in c# with unity 5

From – Joe Hocking and Jesse Schell (Foreword)Latest Edition – SecondFormats Available – PaperbackPublisher – Manning Publications

unity in action is manningpublishing’s best-selling unity game development book. The book describes everything from the coding of the game to the final implementation of the video games using the Unity game engine. is an ideal book for application developers to switch to game development.

With the purchase of the Unity in Action book, buyers receive a free eBook of it in epub, kindle and pdf format. The book provides extensive hands-on exercises on the intuitive workflow tools and rendering engine in Unity. The game development book 2nd edition adds a new chapter on developing 2d platform games using unity’s extended 2d toolkit.

Unity in Action is a practical game development guide, by Joe Hocking, a software engineer and Unity expert, that explores all aspects of creating games, including creating custom AI scripts and the development of easy-to-read user interfaces. The game development book is ideal for beginners as no previous game development experience is required to benefit from it.

topics covered:

unity game engine basics.
connecting games to the internet.
game implementation.
GUI development user interface.
unity 2d functionality.
work with graphics.

You can buy this book here.

3. unity 5.x cookbook

From – Matt Smith and Chico QueirozLatest Edition – ThirdFormats Available – Kindle and PaperbackPublisher – Packt Publishing Limited

packt publishing limited is unparalleled when it comes to offering comprehensive books on game development. As such, it has no shortage of impeccable titles that are well-suited to championing various aspects of the Unity platform. one of them is the unity 5.x cookbook.

The Unity 5.x Cookbook is intended for anyone who wants to learn and work with a wide variety of unity scripting and multimedia features. The game development book also discusses quick fixes for common problems encountered during game development. is, without a doubt, an excellent unity reference to do a quick review.

The author of the book is Matt Smith. he’s a computer academic in ireland who also did a stint in music (yes, he was in a band and recorded the b-side of the audio cassette that featured the game of confusion) and is an avid game developer, among his other polyglot activities.

Naturally, the book follows an experimental, exploratory and fun approach to teaching. this is a unity book for everyone, from professional coders looking to experiment with unity game development to artists who have naive unity skills (and a bit of c# experience).

topics covered:

common game development mistakes and how to avoid/fix them.
game design.
c# programming.
basic concepts from unity.
unity game scripts.

You can buy this book here.

4. Introduction to Game Design, Prototyping, and Development

From – Jeremy Gibson BondLatest Edition – ThirdFormats Available – Kindle and PaperbackPublisher – Addison-Wesley

Introduction to Game Design, Prototyping and Development is another great book detailing Unity game development. Written by Jeremy Gibson, a veteran indie game developer and teacher, the book focuses on game design theory, solid rapid prototyping practices, and developing computer programming skills.

The game development book is about learning and mastering the unit, but it’s about understanding and appreciating the holistic process of game development.

The Introduction to Game Design, Prototyping, and Development book is packed with in-depth tutorials that break down 8 video game prototypes. it also explains the correct approach to learning c# and unity, which can increase a game developer’s productivity. the game development book also talks about:

propose new and innovative game design concepts,
debug game code,
quickly move from design concepts to working digital prototypes,
leverage rapid iteration to improve game design and
test games and make sense of feedback.

After successfully completing the Unity Game Development book, readers will be able to develop great game design ideas and the clarity and skills to transcribe those ideas into actual playable video games.

topics covered:

game design theory.
programming skills required for game development.
rapid prototyping practices.
scrum and agile methodologies.
unity basics.
working with c#.

You can buy this book here.

5. learn c# from game development with unity 5.x

From – Greg LukosekLatest Edition – FirstFormats Available – Kindle and PaperbackPublisher – Packt Publishing Limited

what is the best way to learn how to develop games? is to do it while developing a video game side by side. this is the mantra leveraged when learning c# while developing games with unity 5.x. the unity game development book focuses more on practicality than game theory.

Learning C# Starting with Unity 5.x Game Development teaches the intricate art of game development, allowing readers to work on an interactive 2d platform game. this involves scripting in c# with unity, object-oriented programming, working with gameobjects, and so on. This book is intended for beginning Unity developers with no prior experience writing C# game code and scripts.

The Unity Game Development Book is written by Greg Lukosek, a self-taught programmer, 3D artist, and certified mechanical engineer. In The Unity Game Development Book, Greg draws on his decades of game development experience to teach aspiring game developers the craft of game development by sharing real-world scenarios and examples.

topics covered:

unity game development basics.
c# fundamentals.
game publishing.
object-oriented programming principles .
unit game items.

You can buy this book here.

6. unity 5.x shaders and effects cookbook

From – Alan Zucconi and Kenneth LammersLatest Edition – SecondFormats Available – Kindle and PaperbackPublisher – Packt Publishing Limited

Whatever technology you’re working with, you need a suitable reference. unity is a great and complex gaming platform that has many nuances. one of them is shaders and effects, i.e. graphics, in unity. an excellent unity reference devoted to the same thing is the unity 5.x shaders and effects cookbook.

Written by Alan Zucconi, a passionate author, motivational speaker, and developer, and Kenneth Lammers, a seasoned video game industry professional, the Unity 5.x Shaders and Effects Cookbook is written to help gamers readers to defend the physics-based shading technique. helps game developers correctly apply realism to a video game.

The Unity 5.x Shaders and Effects Cookbook should be in your library if you want to master the art of shader programming. the book comes superfluous with illustrative and practical examples that you can even apply to your own video games to teach the same. is the best book to learn how to add professional post-processing effects in video games.

topics covered:

interactive game script design.
mathematics underlying the most popular lighting models in video games.
physics-based rendering.
shader programming.
unity 3d.
unity graphics.

You can buy this book here.

7. developing 2d games with unity

From – Jared HalpernLatest Edition – FirstFormats Available – Kindle and PaperbackPublisher – Apress

unity is a preferred platform for creating 2d games. reformation adventure, night in the woods (nitw) and unity creation kit are famous unity 2d games. The entire unity game development book is divided into 8 chapters:

Gaming past and present: talks about the history and evolution of the video game industry. a brief analysis of it.
intro to unity: introduces the reader to the unity game development platform. discusses fundamentals and other concepts, primarily 2d game development.
fundamentals: The fundamentals of game development are discussed in this chapter.
World Building : Discusses the art of creating video game worlds.
Developing Gameplay: Gameplay design is covered here.
beyond the basics: move towards the intermediate and advanced sections of game development.
polish, polish, polish: practice is the key to success.
where to go next: how to move forward with your current game development skills.

The book takes the reader through the entire process of developing 2D games using Unity in a well-paced and thoroughly explained manner. developing 2d games with unity is not an advanced unity book; for that, you need to look elsewhere.

However, for beginners and the inexperienced, the game development book is a suitable option. this is because it bypasses the complex terminology and explanation of professional coding and instead leverages a detailed overview/walkthrough of the game development process. however, everything you need to know to get started with 2d unity game development is covered in this book.

topics covered:

A brief look at the evolution of video games.
Basics of game development.
Game world design.
unity 2d game development
unit basics.

You can buy this book here.

8. unity game development cookbook: essentials for every game

– Paris Buttfield-Addis, Jonathan Manning, and Tim NugentLatest Edition – FirstFormats Available – Kindle and PaperbackPublisher – O’Reilly

the unity game development cookbook: essentials for every game, details on developing unity games in 2d and 3d. It starts with the fundamentals of unity game development and then gradually builds to discuss advanced concepts such as virtual reality.

The entire game development book is divided into two parts:

part 1 – discusses the unity game engine and how to work with it through short exercises focusing on various unity features.
part 2 – a tutorial-oriented guide to correcting the usual game problems and complexities.

The Unity Game Development Cookbook is written by three authors: Paris, Jonathan, and Tim. the trio have decades of experience in game development to convey game development concepts in an easy-to-digest way. all three are also experienced authors.

The Unity Game Development Book leverages a unique and, frankly, straightforward approach to teaching game development. it involves studying a scenario, detecting and highlighting the problem, and searching for the optimal solution(s) available. The Unity Game Development Cookbook is suitable for beginner to intermediate Unity game developers.

topics covered:

unity features.
game design.
game problems and solutions.
unity basics.
unity game engine.

You can buy this book here.

9. zero drive to proficiency (fundamentals)

From – Patrick FeliciaLatest Edition – FirstFormats Available – Kindle and PaperbackPublisher – Independently Published

Designed for absolute beginners, Unity from Zero to Proficiency (Fundamentals) is another excellent Unity game development book. The book follows a simple yet detailed teaching approach that aims to build trust and innovation among game developers.

the teaching approach leveraged from patrick felicia’s unity game development book is progressive. this simply means that each subsequent chapter builds on the topics covered in the previous chapters. makes the unity from zero to proficiency (fundamentals) book an appropriate choice for parents and teachers to introduce their children and/or students to unity game development.

The entire book Unity from Zero to Proficiency (Fundamentals) is divided into 6 chapters. each of them focuses on the various characteristics of the unit. the unity game development book mainly focuses on:

create realistic 2d and 3d game worlds,
master the required skills of the unity interface, and
work with the core functions of unity.

No prior knowledge of Unity or game development is required to get started with the Unity From Zero to Proficiency (Fundamentals) book. however, having a little experience with it makes the learning process even easier.

topics covered:

2d and 3d game world design.
2d platform game development without scripting.
unity basics.
main features of unity.
introduction to game development.
unity interface.

You can buy this book here.

10. unity UI cookbook

From – Francesco SapioLatest Edition – FirstFormats Available – Kindle and PaperbackPublisher – Packt Publishing Limited

The Unity UI Cookbook includes over 60 ready-to-use solutions, dubbed recipes, for solving intricacies related to intricate video game UI design. The game development book serves as an excellent reference when delving into the development of fully functional, interactive video game user interfaces.

Francesco Sapio, the author of the Unity UI Cookbook, chronicles the exquisite art of game development. He is a skilled game designer and Unity 3D expert who harnesses a combination of logic, math, philosophy, and puzzle solving to engage readers with his explanations. of the successful completion of the book; readers will:

animate and vivify user interface elements,
design and implement 3d user interfaces,
handle runtime customizations,
implement different counters and status bars and much more.

The Unity UI Cookbook is designed for game developers looking for, but not used to, developing world-class, interactive game user interfaces. Since the book does not dive into the basics of Unity, some exposure to the Unity platform and C# programming is necessary.

topics covered:

design interactive and functional video game uis based on unity.
work with unity graphics.
program in c#.
design videogames.
videogame scripts.

You can buy this book here.

honorable mentions to the best unity books

yes, this may not be the list everyone can agree on due to the hundreds or thousands of books on unity game development. If you can’t get enough of unity books, here are 10 more unity books to try:

Practical Game Development Patterns with Unity 2019: Build engaging games using industry-standard design patterns with C# by David Baron.
learn c# game development with unity 2019: coding in c# and building 3d games with unity by harrison ferrone.
mastering UI development with unity: a step-by-step guide to developing beautiful user interfaces with unity 5, unity 2017, and unity 2018 by ashley godbold.
unity 2018 artificial intelligence cookbook: Over 90 recipes to create and customize AI entities for your games with Unity by Jorge Palacios.
Unity Augmented Reality Projects 2018: Build four fun and immersive AR apps using arkit, arcore, and vuforia by jesse glover.
unity cookbook 2018: over 160 recipes to take 2d and 3d game development to the next level by matt smith.
unity game development 2018 in 2 4 hours by mike geig.
unity 2018 Shaders and Effects Cookbook: Transform your game into a visually stunning masterpiece with over 70 recipes from John P. Doran and Alan Zucconi.
Unity AI Programming: Add powerful, believable, and fun AI entities to your game with the power of Unity 2018! from Dr. davide aversa, aung sithu kyaw, and clifford peters.
unity game optimization: improves and extends the performance of all aspects of your dr. davide aversa and chris dickinson.

conclusion

That wraps up our selection of the top 10 unity books for building/improving game development skills. In addition to reading game development books, you can also attend webinars, online presentations, youtube videos, tutorials, etc. to champion the art of game development.

books are great, but if you’re looking to learn through an online course, completing udemy’s c# unity game developer course is a great way to learn unity for beginners.

Remember, practice is the key here. all the best!

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Other content

10 Best Unity Books for Game Development Learning [Updated]

10 best unit books

1. unity game development in 24 hours

2. unity in action: cross-platform game development in c# with unity 5

3. unity 5.x cookbook

4. Introduction to Game Design, Prototyping, and Development

5. learn c# from game development with unity 5.x

6. unity 5.x shaders and effects cookbook

7. developing 2d games with unity

8. unity game development cookbook: essentials for every game

9. zero drive to proficiency (fundamentals)

10. unity UI cookbook

honorable mentions to the best unity books

conclusion

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