Technical Terms Flashcards
fly-through mode
using right click + Q W E A S D on the keyboard to move 3D objects in Unity
perspective view
how the player will view objects in the game like they would view objects in real life, with one object seeming bigger than the other, but both objects are the same size.
orthogonal view
how objects are seen when projected into an imaginary 2D plane
transform component
Determines the Position, Rotation, and Scale of each object in the scene; contains variables and methods to modify the transform of an object.
Quick Access: ‘‘transform”
Class: Transform
surface snapping
Stacking two objects in a scene on top of each other. To do this, hold Ctrl + Shift while dragging in an object’s center using the Move tool to stack it on top of another object.
vertex snapping
Take any vertex from a created object and place that vertex in the same position as any vertex from another object. To do this, you must do the following:
- Select the object you want to change, and make sure that the Move tool is active.
- Press and hold the V key to activate the vertex snapping mode.
- Move your cursor over a vertex of the object that you want to use as the pivot point.
- Hold down the left mouse button and drag that vertex next to any other vertex on a different object.
- Release the mouse button and the V key when you are done. (You can also use Shift+V for this)
vertices
The vertices are all stored in a single array and each object is specified using three integers that correspond to indices of the vertex array. In terms with two objects in a scene, 0, 1, and 2 define the first object; 3, 4, and 5 define the second object; and so on.
edges
Two vertices in an object define one edge. Think about a cube object: each corner of a cube is represented as a vertex. Two corners (vertices) that line up with each other is an edge.
._____.
The periods represent the vertices, and the line that connects the two vertices is the edge.
faces
Created by vertices closed by segments (or edges) on an object.
Euler Angles
Use them to rotate an object on the x, y, or z axis
Primitive (3D)
The basic forms or shapes when creating a 3D game object (ex. cube, sphere, cylinder, etc.)
Rename GameObject (Keyboard Shortcut)
F2
Hotkeys for Toolbar
Q W E R T
Unity Unit
1 Unit = 1 meter (3.26 in)
Scale Measuring
Scale > 1 = Increase Size
Scale < 1 = Decrease Size
Parent-Child Relationship
The transform of the children is relative to the parent’s.
Set two objects into a parent-child relationship by dragging one object into the other and that object will be placed into and below the other object.
To remove the child object from the relationship, simply drag the child out from under the parent object.
Shaders
Scripts (HSLS code) that determines the color of each pixel in a 3D object.
The basic shader we will use in Unity is Standard.
Material
Defines how a surface should be rendered on the screen. A material has a shader assigned and sets its options.
Texture
Bitmap images that can be used in materials.
Albedo
Base color of the surface
Metallic Parameter
How much the object reflects the environment (almost like a glass ball or marble)
Emission
Material emits its own light.
Start() Method
The entry point for a Unity game.
MonoBehavior Class
Provides the functionality for the Start() method and other methods.
Variable
Created to hold a data type and value
Implicit Conversion
Converting from integer (int) to float
Explicit Conversion
Converting from float to int; causes an error
Concatenate
Linking strings with a variable
Class
A blueprint that defines an object
Member Variables
Variables created as members of a created class
Access Modifier
Keyword that determines the access level of a variable (ex: private, public, etc.)
Encapsulation
Used to hide data members and their functions
Object
Instances of a class
Method Arguments
Used to pass in a variable into a method
Method Parameters
Appears with a method name that can hold a variable encapsulated into that method.
Inheritance
Children objects inherit the variables and method from a parent object.
MonoBehaviour
The base class of all Unity scripts
Collider
Components that define the shape of an object for the purposes of physical collisions
Pseudocode
Description of an algorithm in human language to plan your code ahead.
localScale
Used to access and modify the scale
Vector
A geometric object that has a magnitude and a direction; commonly represented by an arrow
Vector/Scalar Multiplication (Scaling a Vector)
Multiplying a normal number to a vector
Vector’s Magnitude
Corresponds to the length of the vector
Unitary Vector
Vector that has a magnitude of 1
Vector Normalization
Make a vector normalized by dividing each of the vector’s components by the magnitude
Vector class
Used to represent vectors, points, and other data
Update() Method
In this method, a change that wants to be implemented to the game is made once per game frame, if the MonoBehaviour is enabled; this method is the most commonly used method to implement any game behavior.
Refactoring Code
Recreating the code of a game project so that it’s more organized and clean; if a change needs to be made, you can use a public variable to be used in other methods and only need to change its value in the location the variable was originally created.
Game Design Document (GDD)
A document created to plan out how you want to build a game.
Speed, Distance, and Time Formulas
v = d / t –> d = v * t
Time.deltaTime
The time in seconds it takes to complete the last frame of a Unity game.
Transform.Rotate
A tool in Unity that allows you to rotate game objects; can be activated with the ‘e’ key
Prefab
Allows you to store an asset with all its properties inside the prefab, and the prefab acts basically as a template that you use to create new instances of the same object in the scene.
Ternary Operator
Determines a value of a variable based on its conditions.
Input (Unity Class)
Interface into the Input System
Horizontal Axis (Input Manager)
Calculates changes made in the x axis
Vertical Axis (Input Manager)
Calculates changes made in the y axis
Input.GetAxis() Method
Returns the value of the virtual axis identified by axisName
Rigidbody class
Control of an object’s position through physics simulation
C# Generics
Classes or methods where the data type can be passed as a parameter
GetComponent ()
Access game object component that lets you tell Unity to find a component with a specific data type
Ex: Rigidbody rb = GetComponent ();
FixedUpdate() Method
Method that runs on a fixed interval for physics calculation
Rigidbody.AddForce()
Adds a force to a Rigidbody
Collider Class (Component)
Box Collider; Mesh Collider; Responsible for a game object’s collision with the ground and makes it so that the cube will not fall through the ground.
Physics.Raycast()
Casts a ray, from point origin, in direction direction, of length maxDistance, against all colliders in the scene.
Static objects
Objects in a Unity game that will not be moving; ex. the ground of the level
Kinetic objects
Game objects that do not respond to forces and contain a rigidbody
Trigger objects
Kinetic objects that block another game object
Audio Source
Source for a sound that can be used in Unity
OnTriggerEvent(Collider other) method
Called when the Collider enters the trigger
Awake() Method
Method that is called when the script instance is being loaded and is used to initialize any variables or game state before the game starts.
Static Variable
Is declared using the static keyword; can be used to use one variable multiple times without having to change the value of the variable each time.
SceneManager class
Allows you to switch to a different scene in a Unity game project (switching levels)
HUD (Heads Up Display) Manager
Manages the display of the game when using a canvas
Text Class
Contains a string value that will display what a text will say in a Unity game.
FindObjectOfType() Method
Used to help find variables that have the same data type as specified
Canvas
Can be used to create a game’s UI (ex. score)
Physics Materials
Set physical properties, such as friction and bounciness, to a game object
Camera.main
Gives you access to the first camera with tag “MainCamera” and gives you access to the camera’s transform
