Deeper Dive Inquiry Post #4 – Unity (3D Experience)

After completing my 2D platformer level, I wanted to see how those same design principles translate into a 3D environment. I moved away from painting tiles and started creating a world using 3D Primitives and Material Shaders.

To help me get started in a 3D world I used Jimmy Vegas’s 3D Platformer playlist. The following is the first video on his playlist:

The Goal

The goal was designing and setting up the level itself not making a movable player yet, I would just simulate that using the editor’s move tool for now. I used Unity’s built-in 3D shapes, cubes, spheres, and planes as well as some objects from the Unity Asset Store which is an amazing tool for anyone getting into Unity.

One of my biggest learning curves was the Unity Material system. In 2D, a sprite is just an image. In 3D, a material determines how an object reacts to light.

Here were my results on the level design: