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Unite 2011 Scalable Game Development
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Transcript of Unite 2011 Scalable Game Development
William RobertsRyan Hipple
Scalable Game Development
3
William RobertsSenior Game Engineer
Schell Games – www.schellgames.com
Scalable Game Development
The Monolithic Project
• Takes an extremely long time to import assets.
• Editor becomes unstable as the project size grows.
Unity Projects
Art Pipeline Code Build Tools
Scalable Game Development
Unity Project Structure
Unity Projects
Typical Directory structure
Unity Entry Point Project Project A Project B Project etc... Code DLL Library Project A DLL Library Project B DLL Library Project etc...BuildTools
'Entry Point' Project
• A single scene with a “main” game object.
• All of the DLL’s needed to run and build the game.
• A minimal amount of assets in the “Resources” directory.
• Content is split into multiple Unity projects.
• Each project contains a copy of the dll's.
• Similar assets are grouped together.• All assets are packaged into asset
bundles.• Easy to rebuild portions of the project.
Content Projects
Art Pipeline
Unity Projects
Art Pipeline
Art Pipeline - Pros
• Only artists need copies of 3rd party art tools installed.
• Faster import times. • Asset Database becomes
corrupted less frequently.
• Goes against the standard Unity work flow.
• Causes some extra work for the 3D artists.
Art Pipeline - Cons
Code Projects
Unity Projects
Art Pipeline Code
Project Code Base - Pros• Reusable core framework that
can be shared between projects.• Ability to use namespaces.• Custom compiler preprocessor.• Easily obfuscate code using
professional tools.
• Some of the Unity API methods no longer work as expected.
• MonoBehaviour visibility in inspector can become broken in certain scenarios.
• Editor cannot display source code documentation.
• May not play nice with certain export options (ie: Export to Flash).
Project Code Base - Cons
1) Programmer selects “Build Solution” within the development studio of their choice.
2) A special tool is executed to copy the projects output if the build was successful.
3) Each assembly and debug database is automatically copied into each Unity project.
Code Build Process
IDE Differences• Build Events are not the same as Custom
Commands.• Visual Studio
Build Events are essentially bat files that can be executed before or after a build.
IDE Differences• MonoDevelop Custom Commands are
single commands that are executed before or after a build.
IDE Differences• Both MonoDevelop and Visual Studio will
attempt to insert the same target import using a different Environment Variable into the C# project file.
Debug Databases
• The program database (PDB) file is an proprietary format developed by Microsoft.
• The mono team decided to create their own format (MDB).
• We need to generate MDB files in order to debug our assemblies.
OSX• MonoDevelop is setup out of the box.
Windows - 2 ways to make this work: • Download and install the official Mono
SDK (Easiest way)• Modify the MonoDevelop configuration
files to point to Unity’s Mono directory.
Debugging External Assemblies
The Easy Way1) Grab a copy of the Mono SDK from the
official website. I would recommend using v2.6.1.
http://mono-project.com/OldReleases2) Launch MonoDevelop and navigate to the
“Tools->Preferences” menu.
The Slightly Harder Way1) Navigate to MonoDevelop configuration directory:
Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\{UserName}\Application Data\MonoDevelop-Unity
Windows Vista & 7: C:\Users\{UserName}\Application Data\MonoDevelop-Unity
2) Create a new file in the directory named mono-runtimes.xml and copy the following XML into it:
Note: If your Unity installation directory is non standard, you will need to change the path to reflect your own installation.
3) Open the "MonoDevelopProperties.xml" file and locate the "MonoDevelop.Ide.DefaultTargetRuntime" property.
4) Change the value to be "Mono Unknown".
5) Save the changes to the file.
The Slightly Harder Way
The Slightly Harder Way
1) Open the Unity Project you wish to debug.
2) Open MonoDevelop and load the Solution file for the .NET Library Projects.
3) In the MonoDevelop IDE Select "Run->Attach To Process".
Debugging Projects
4) Select the Unity Editor process and click the "Attach" button.
5) Set breakpoints in your code.6) Finally click the "Play" button in the Unity editor!
Debugging Projects
Build Tools
Unity Projects
Art Pipeline Code Build Tools
Build Manager
• Built on top of Microsoft .NET Framework. • Utilizes the MSBuild API to build Visual Studio
solutions and projects.• Launches Unity in command line mode to build
each projects asset bundles.• Monitors the Unity Editor log file for changes and
displays it in real time.• Features an XML script file that allows us to
customize the build process. Pre-build and post-build commands can be issued.
Build Manager
Asset Bundle Builder
Ryan HippleGame Engineer
Schell Games – www.schellgames.com
Scalable Game Development
Multi-platform
Externalizing Data
Better OnGUI Editor Tools
Scalable Game Development
Multi-platform Development
Multi-platform
Screen Resolutions
480x320
960x640
800x480854x480760x456
Dynamic Rectangle
• Percentages• Parenting• Anchoring• Min / Max values
#if
#if UNITY_ANDROID
#if UNITY_WEBPLAYER #if UNITY_IPHONE
#if UNITY_WEBPLAYER && ! UNITY_EDITOR
#if UNITY_ANDROID || UNITY_IPHONE && !UNITY_EDITOR#if UNITY_WTF
#if UNITY_EDITOR
Externalizing Data
Multi-platform
Externalizing Data
Externalizing Data
• Const files• Game Object + Inspector• ScriptableObject
Defining a ScriptableObject
Creating a ScriptableObject
Loading a ScriptableObject
• Reference in Inspector• Resources.Load• Singleton with Resources.Load• Asset Bundle
What do I put in there?
• Config Data• Designer Data• Localized text• GUI Data
Better OnGUI
Multi-platform
Externalizing Data
Better OnGUI
Separate the Layout
• Each ”UI Page” gets a corresponding layout class• ”UI Page” loads layout object and uses it to draw• Tweak in inspector• Make an artist do it
Separate the Styles
• Same as layout, but with GUIStyles• Each UI Page gets a class defining a list of GuiStyles• Organize GUIStyles in groups• Reduce GUISkins
Why not GUISkins?
• ”Custom Styles” do not scale well• Source control• Slow to edit• No Sorting
• String lookup• No auto-complete / checking• Slow
35% Faster
Video Demo
Separate the Content
• I Already told you how to create it• Now you know how to display it• Tweak it with the Inspector... right?
Editor Tools
Multi-platform
Externalizing Data
Better OnGUI Editor Tools
Building Design Tools
Awesome Juice
Programmer Tears
• Designer independence with tools• Artist independence with UI separation• Code flexibility from data externalization• Streamline multi-platform development
Scalable Game Development
Thanks!
William Roberts - [email protected] Hipple - [email protected]
slides – unite.schellgames.com