For developers looking to get into the world of video game development, learning Unity is a top priority. To put it simply, Unity is an incredibly helpful 2D and 3D game engine used for creating and powering games across different platforms. First released in 2005 at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference as a Mac OS-exclusive development engine, Unity now supports a variety of desktop, mobile, console, and virtual reality platforms.
In the 16 years since Unity’s original release, the global gaming market exploded from tens of billions to hundreds of billions of dollars a year thanks to the rise of mobile gaming. Developers used Unity to build some of the most popular video games (especially mobile games) on the market, including Angry Birds, Among Us, Pokémon Go, Temple Run, Super Mario Run, and many others. While it started as a resource for mobile and general videogames, Unity is now the go-to resource for virtual reality gaming and interactive 3D.
In this article, you will learn, among other things, how to hire Unity developers.
Hiring Guide
Unity’s popularity in the gaming development world is well deserved. As a game engine, it provides many of the most important features as built-in platform parts to help make a game work. This means difficult aspects such as game physics, 3D rendering, and even collision detection.
For devs, this means there is no need to create a new physics engine from scratch every time they want to build a new game. Unity takes care of aspects such as light reflection and refraction as well as material movements. What makes Unity even more of a gaming development powerhouse is that it also features an “asset store” to help developers share their creations.
What Does a Unity Dev Look Like?
A Unity developer is a software engineer with experience in the development of video games with Unity. Unity devs perform many of the same tasks as developers specialized in other types of software. They work in teams to conceptualize, design, plan, and develop applications and software.
Unity is a great all-purpose engine for both novice game developers as well as experienced ones. It offers fast and agile development with quick iterations, making game brainstorming and conceptualizing a breeze. Additionally, it’s also fast at porting, which allows developers to deploy games to multiple platforms with just one click. With today’s call for multiplatform games, this is a must-have ability.
It also allows developers to assemble art and assets into scenes and environments with ease. Unity scripts through C#, so this is a must-have skill for any new game developer. It’s also worth mentioning that Unity is a go-to choice when it comes to the fairly new realm of gaming development that is virtual reality. The mobile market is one of the biggest in the VR world which makes Unity a very well-positioned platform to build such games.
The exponential growth in the videogame market means that developers are more in demand than ever before, especially those specializing in the Unity engine. However, it’s also one of the top engines on the market, so it’s important to vet and hire the right Unity developer for the job based on their skill levels and experience.
Interview Questions
What are some of the most important components of Unity 3D?
- Toolbar – The in-engine toolbar features many of the most important manipulation tools for both scene and game windows.
- Hierarchy – It displays every GameObject as a list within the current scene view.
- Scene View – A fully rendered 3D preview of the open scene which enables the developer to add, edit, and remove GameObjects.
- Project Window – The project window searches for specific game assets as required in complex games. It gives devs a directory for all scripts, models, textures, and prefabs used within the game project.
- Game View – This view allows developers to make changes to the game while also playing it in real-time.
What is a Fixed Timestamp in Unity 3D and how does it affect game speed?
The fixed timestamp feature helps set system updates at fixed time intervals. This mechanism works similarly to a queue to manage all real-time events that accumulate between time epochs. When frame rates drop below the limit or threshold for a fixed timestamp, it will have an effect on overall game speed.
What is a prefab in Unity 3D?
A prefab, or prefabricated object template, combines objects and scripts into a single class. When designing a game, the developer has the ability to drag and drop a prefab from the project window and then add it into the scene window, which is then added to the hierarchy of game objects. At the run time, this allows a script to cause a new object instance at a given location or with a given set of transform properties.
What are some of the best practices for Unity 3D?
- Memory allocation – Developers should consider creating and using object pools instead of instantiating a new object on the fly. This helps with memory fragmentation and helps make the garbage collector work less frequently.
- Cache references – It’s considered a best practice to cache reference components when needing to use scripts.
- Layers and collision matrix – For each new layer, devs should add a new column and row on the collision matrix as it’s responsible for defining inter-layer interactions.
- Fixed timestep – A fixed timestep value has a direct impact on the fixed update and the physics update rate.
Job Description
We are seeking a developer responsible for building games across various platforms based on the Unity framework and game engine. The right candidate’s primary responsibilities will include implementing game functionality and translating design concepts, requirements, and necessary functionalities into an exciting and engaging videogame.
This position requires effective problem-solving abilities, a commitment to collaboration, and an eye for sophisticated design.
Job Responsibilities
- Plan, design, and implement game features while working as part of a larger studio or development team
- Translate design specifications into functional games
- Implement game functionalities as required by the design
- Design, build and maintain an efficient, reusable, and reliable codebase
- Ensure the best performance, quality, and responsiveness of games
Skills and Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field
- 5+ years of experience in Unity (2D and 3D) as well as content development
- Strong C# programming and scripting language skills
- Experience with profiling and optimizing game and render performance
- Strong math skills for 3D development
