Beginner's Guides (Patrick Felicia)

In this book, the second in the "Beginner's Guide" series, you will create a simple 2D shooter game, create challenging gameplay and learn techniques to code more in less time. This book can be read as a standalone (you don't need to have read the previous books in the series, although it may help) and focuses on: scoring system and lives (e.g., keeping track of the score), user interface (menus and in-game information for 2D games), movement of the spaceship (e.g., left, right, up and down), missiles and explosions (i.e., fire missiles or create animated explosions upon collision), Artificial intelligence (e.g., moving independently or attacking the player) and improving your C# programing and Unity skills (e.g., important and useful functions and principles that you can reuse in your own games). The main idea behind this book is to save you some headaches when you need to create your 2D shooter and to help you to find the time to actually code your game, by explaining simple and effective ways and best coding practices that you can use easily to create more code (and games) in less time with less stress and more fun. The content of each chapter is as follows: Chapter 1, Creating a Simple Level, shows you how to create a simple level for a shooter game including a spaceship that you can move in all directions, missiles that you can fire, and meteorites that appear in random locations and that can be destroyed or avoided by the player. Chapter 2, Adding Special Effects, explains how it is possible to create simple, yet effective, visual effects to improve your game. Along the way, you will learn how to use sprite sheets and slice them to create your own animations. Chapter 3, Improving our Game, explains how you can add some interesting Artificial Intelligence to the NPCS (i.e., enemies) so that they can detect and shoot at the player, you will also learn how to keep track of the health of the player and the NPCs. Chapter 4, Polishing-up the game, shows and explains how to make the game even more challenging by progressively increasing the difficulty levels of the game, to add a temporary shield to the player, along with sound effects. Chapter 5 provides answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) related to the topics covered in this book. Chapter 6 summarizes the topics covered in the book and provides you with more information on the next steps. The method explained in this book has been tried-and-tested, and I can guarantee that after reading this book, you will be able to create your own 2D shooter games, this is because the book includes step-by-step instructions, plenty of screenshots and explanations, and a format that is easy to read (just like a friend or a friendly instructor would explain coding to you: in a casual way, yet concise, accurate, and informative).

10 Reasons Why You Need This Book: Puzzle games are very addictive and popular. This book will show you exactly how to created these games, using simple and clear steps. All sections follow a clear and logical progression. You can use this book even if you never created games before. The method used in this book has been tried-and-tested in previous books (average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon). All important steps are illustrated with both text and screenshots. You will gain the skills and confidence to create your own games. You will truly understand how things work (i.e., not just copy/paste). The code solution of each chapter is provided. What You Will Learn You will create four different puzzle games: A classic word guessing game where the player has to find the letters of a random word. A memory game (chapter2) based on the famous Simon game, where the player needs to memorize and reproduce a sequence of colors. A card matching game (chapter3) where the player needs to memorize and match similar cards. A classic puzzle game (chapter4) where the player needs to order the pieces of a puzzle. Along the way, you will also learn to: Improve your Unity and C# skills. Combine variables, functions, loops, and conditional statements to create the structure of your game. Create and modify the user interface from a script (e.g., splash-screen, score, cards, letters, sound, etc.). Create and handle important events such as drag, drop, click, etc. Learn the building blocks so that you can create your ow games. How You Will Learn Using this book, you will learn a lot and fast thanks to: A tried-and-tested method already successfully employed with over 1000 students all over the world. Quizzes and challenges at the end of each chapter to test your knowledge and to inspire you for your next game. Plenty of screenshots for the important concepts so that you see how it is done. A corresponding video course, if you need it, that shows you exactly how things are done. A Facebook group of like-minded people who are there to help you if you have any question. A structure that makes it possible for you to learn at your own pace and build your confidence. Some Frequently-Asked Questions Answered I don't have a Kindle device: this book can be read on any PCs or Macintosh computer using Kindle Reader (it's free). I have never created games before: I will teach you everything from zero, so you only need a basic knowledge of C#. What game will I be able to create after reading this book: you will learn to create your own puzzle games, card-matching games, word games, or memory games (i.e., sequence). What if I still find it too difficult: In my 5+ years of experience in teaching games development and programming, I have, developed a system that works for most students, even those who thought they could never code, so I can guarantee that, regardless of your background, you will make great progress with this book.