Unity announced at their Unite conference that Unity 4.3 will include native 2D Toolkits to help developers create 2D games inside of Unity. While 2D toolkits have been available inside of Unity’s Asset Store by third party developers, this is the first time that Unity Technologies is actually incorporating it into their software. According to them, they noticed that over half of the Unity games in the App Store were 2D so they figured they should develop official tools for 2D development. So now, instead of just being able to develop 3D titles, you can also create 2D titles.

Tools for 2D Game Development

Some of the new 2D game development features are the ability to import sprites and sprite sheets. They have included an animator tool that will allow you to animate your sprites the way you want. They have added a layers manager for the graphics. They also allow users to utilize 3D within the 2D environment. So, technically, you could make a 2.5D game, if you desire. They have included the Box2D physics engine. This means that they have added components that can be attached to your 2D assets to enable the use of physics such as the well-known Rigidbody Collidor. While I did not see it specifically mentioned, I think it’s safe to assume that they will be including some new programming functions into the API. They are definitely including functions for Animation. It seems likely that they will include some new functions for the 2D Physics. The Unity team has also included a tutorial project so that users will be able to familiarize themselves with the 2D workflow.

This is about the extent of what Unity has announced to the public regarding the 2D Tools. However they were sure to mention that they intend to develop these tools and refine them as time goes on and as users get more hands-on with them. This is a very exciting and welcome change for Unity. If you ever wanted more reason to try Unity 3D, this is it. Check out our Unity Page at Studica for student and educational pricing. Be sure to try Unity for free by downloading it from www.unity3d.com. You can find a variety of 2D game development software at Studica.

Author: Mark Philipp