Issue #204 - 2 Minutes To Midnight

This article was originally published on GameDevDigest.com

Keep on dev'ing out there!

I don't like to interject my own thoughts and opinions in this newsletter too often, but the obvious elephant in the room has to be addressed, Unity messed up real bad this time. There is still way too much confusion to know how any of this will shake out, or what the final plan from Unity will look like. This post sheds some light on how we got here, and Alan Zucconi's response summarizes why it is so problematic for many.

Whether you are directly impacted by these pricing changes or not, it still sucks for all of us Unity devs out there when the community has been damaged so badly (judging by the outrage online). My sympathies go to all the devs who feel stuck at this moment. A lot of those devs are creators of the posts you've been reading, tutorial videos you've been watching, and of the source code you've been utilizing that has been featured in this newsletter. Many devs make their living selling assets on the asset store, or have patreon accounts powered by their tutorials, or have courses you can purchases to learn from. These devs are hurt by Unity's terrible bungle that has understandably led to many devs looking for non-Unity content.

If you are considering what other game engine options are out there, you should check out GameFromScratch.com's Unity Game Engine Alternatives video. There are a ton of interesting options outside the big ones like Godot and Unreal, including many open-source ones where this kind of Unity pricing debacle could never happen. The ones I am persoinally interested in taking a look at (OSS and Linux support): Godot, Wicked Engine, and O3DE (Stride Engine also looks interesting if it adds Linux support).

If you DO plan to jump ship, I think Rémi Verschelde (Godot maintainer) gives some good advice, namely "I also strongly believe that such decisions shouldn't be rushed, and taken out of spite and anger.", and "Godot is one such option, but there are many others, both FOSS and proprietary. Try out a few before settling again!"

So, what's the plan for this newsletter, which has always been about game dev in general but with a strong slant towards Unity content? That has reflected my own game development, as a Unity dev like many of you, so I include what I know about. In the near-term I will be finishing my current game in Unity, then weighing my options after that. This newsletter will continue to reflect that, including the usual Unity tutorials, and code, but I hope to include even more general game dev posts that are engine agnostic, as well as some content about the other emerging engines out there.

The rest of this issue will include posts on general topics of interest, and posts about other options out there. Next week I expect to return to a more regular format you are used to.

Videos

Jocko Willink "GOOD" - How to deal with failure and bad situations. [Jocko is a bad ass Navy Seal commander and jiu-jitsu black belt, worth listening to on how to handle bad situations]
Jocko Podcast

Wicked Engine in 2023 - This Engine Blows My Mind! - The Wicked Engine is a free and open source game engine that just keeps getting better and better. Recently featured in our Underrated Game Engines video (link below), since that video the Wicked Engine has added two amazing new features... Xbox Series and PlayStation 5 support!
Gamefromscratch

End of Day Screen I Free 8-bit Video Game Music - This is one of the seven songs in the “8-bit adventure” collection and they can all be downloaded for free
Vance Sullivan

Porting your Unity knowledge to Godot Engine - Andy Touch - Learning a new game engine can be scary! However, its not as hard as it seems. This talk by Andy Touch, will be a focused overview of Godot Engine and the similarities & differences it has with Unity; a game engine that everyone is familiar with. This talk will be educational and honest, and by the end you will have a solid foundation for this 'new' framework so you can experiment with it during Nordic Game Jam.
Nordic Game Jam

how NASA writes space-proof code - I've been told the worst thing that can happen to a developer is their code crashes in production? Well.... what happens if that production environment is outer space?
Low Level Learning

How to Make a Good 2D Camera - Making a 2D game? Then you'll need to code a camera. But there's more to it than just following the main character. Here are five tips for making a better camera.
Game Maker's Toolkit

Assets

The Complete Godot Software Bundle - Create games with Godot
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KayKit : Furniture Bits - 50+ Low poly optimized 3D models, suitable for all ranges of games, including mobile.
kaylousberg.itch.io

Scribble Platformer - Free 2D assets
kenney.nl

KayKit : Prototype Bits - This pack has a bunch of game assets for use while prototyping any type of game! Great to quickly set something up and get to making your game, worry about replacing the art later :)
kaylousberg.itch.io

unitypackage_godot - Import assets from UnityPackage files into Godot
barcoderdev Open Source

unidot_importer - Unidot Importer is a Unity compatibility layer and .unitypackage importer for Godot 4.x.
V-Sekai Open Source

International Day of the Programmer 2023 Free Giveaway - Get 4 eBooks FREE
fanatical.com

Game Programming - C++ and Unreal - Book Bundle by packt - Crack the code to game development Learn the secrets of scripting and best practices for programming with this bundle of books from Packt! This game developers’ library focuses on C++ and its coding applications in Unreal Engine and Blueprints visual scripting. Level up your skills through hands-on game dev projects, explore creating characters and animation, and much more, and help support Room to Read with your purchase!
Humble Bundle Affiliate

Spotlight

Jump Ship Jam - Curious to set sail in uncharted waters? Your mission: Craft a game using an entirely new-to-you engine or tool based on our announced theme. Submissions open from September 16th 2023 at 12:00 PM to October 16th 2023 at 12:00 PM
Hosted by Barji, PolyMars

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