Learning Unity Basic Script Elements

CCE VGD/GP

Basic Script Elements

Lesson Highlights
Creating Scripts
Anatomy of a Script File

Required Software
Unity (There is a free version of Unity
available at: http://unity3d.com/getunity/download?ref=personal)

Overview
The behaviors of GameObjects (the assets in your game) are controlled by the
Components that are attached to them. There are many useful built-in Components,
however you will soon find the need to build your own gameplay features. In this tutorial,
we will look at creating your very own Components using scripts. Scripts allow you to
trigger game events, modify Component properties over time, and respond to user
input.
Unity supports both C# (Pronounced See-Sharp) and UnityScript (sometimes youll hear
it called JavaScript, but its a rather heavily modified version of JavaScript).

Creating Scripts
Unlike most other assets, scripts are usually created in the Unity Editor directly. You can
create a new script from the Create menu at the top left of the Project panel.
Before doing anything else, give the script a meaningful name, and hit Enter / Return to
commit the new name. You can rename the script later, but best practices says to do it
now, save yourself the trouble of a complicated re-name later, and keeping you from
forgetting later.

Anatomy of a Script file

When you double-click or right-click and select Open, the script will be opened in a
text editor. MonoDevelop is the default, however you can select any editor you like from
the External Tools panel in Unitys preferences.

Learning Unity Basic Script Elements

CCE VGD/GP

Default Script
1. using UnityEngine;
2. using System.Collections;
3.
4. public class MainPlayer : MonoBehaviour {
5. // Use this for initialization
6. void Start () {
7. }
8. // Update is called once per frame
9. void Update () {
10.
}
11.
}

The default script is shown above. Lets take a look at the elements inside the script.
1. using UnityEngine;
2. using System.Collections;

Using Directives are used to import Namespaces (keywords). These go at the very top
of the file, before any declarations.
3.
4. public class MainPlayer : MonoBehaviour {

A class is a construct that enables you to create your own custom types by grouping
together variables of other types, methods and events. A class is basically a blueprint. It
defines the data and behavior of a type.
Because the access level is set to public, anyone can create objects from this class. The
name of the class follows the class keyword. Remember, in Unity, when using C#, the class
name must match the file name.
MonoBehaviour is the base class every script derives from, therefore this must be
included in every script.
5. // Use this for initialization
6. void Start () {

When void is used as the return type for a method, void specifies the method doesnt
return a value. Basically, its a nothing.

Learning Unity Basic Script Elements

CCE VGD/GP

There are a number of declarations for the execution order of event functions. Thats
a fancy way of saying there are lots of ways to tell a piece of script when to run.
The most commonly used in building a game in Unity will be:
Start
Start is called before the first frame update only if the script instance is enabled.
Update
Update is called once per frame. It is the main workhorse function for frame
updates.
FixedUpdate
FixedUpdate is often called more frequently than Update. It can be called multiple
times per frame, if the frame rate is low and it may not be called between frames at all if
the frame rate is high. FixedUpdate is called on a reliable timer, independent of the frame
rate.
LateUpdate
LateUpdate is called once per frame, after Update has finished. A common use for
LateUpdate would be a following third-person camera. This will ensure that the character
has moved completely before the camera tracks its position.
yield
The coroutine will continue after all Update functions have been called on the next
frame.
OnDestroy
This function is called after all frame updates for the last frame of the objects
existence (the object might be destroyed in response to Object.Destroy or at the closure
of a scene).
OnDisable
This function is called when the behaviour becomes disabled or inactive.

Basic Script Elements by Levi Sterling is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. This
tutorial was written on Mac OSX, using Unity (Educational License), and Google Docs.