Tamarrion – Learning game engine functionality (Unity 4.6 Graphical User Interface)

In the current game project that I’m involved with I am constructing menus and other Graphical User Interface (GUI) using Unity version 5.0.

In this post I will describe my initial process of learning the User Interface (UI). I will suggest adjustments to my process since I do not believe that it was efficient.

I started out by trying to find directions on how to create GUI-elements in code by searching the web. I found help and created healthbars.

When showing the healthbar code to my fellow programmer, Anthon Fredriksson, he pointed out that there is a new version of the Unity UI and that I used the old one. I had heard that Unity used a new version but I didn’t see the difference between the new one and the old since I barely have any previous experience using Unity.

I searched the web again for tutorials on the new UI. I watched video tutorials and remade the healthbar using the new UI. On a side note the new UI is extremely easy to use compared to the old one.

The process I went through was iterative and functional. Here is a summary of my process:

1. Searched for information (using the web)
2. Applied new knowledge
3. Got feedback from the team
4. Iterated (go to 1.)

I didn’t search enough before applying the knowledge. I would suggest more focus on the this. I usually want to start working very quickly but if I would increase focus on knowledge gathering I would probably do a more efficient job.

These reflections are personal but I hope that it got you thinking of your work process as well.