7 Ways to Keep Unity Project Organized: Unity3d Best Practices

7 Ways to Keep Unity Project Organized: Unity3d Best Practices

Playing a game alone or with friends/family is one of the best fun activities people enjoy the most and, in this pandemic time no. of users playing games with family or friends saw an enormous hike. People might have faced difficulty levels while playing a certain game but developing the app is more of a headache if you do not plan your games properly.

If you do not keep your unity project organized, it will be a mess and you are going to face difficulties while adding or removing any feature in your game as desired by the gamers, in the future.

 You will be wasting most of your time with this mess and rearranging your old mismanaged files, rather than updating and bringing new life to your project.

If you want to create a unique game or your dream game (which you always wanted to make ) then planning properly beforehand, will help you immensely, in bringing your dream project into existence.

 7 practices that keep your project organized:-

1. Directory Structure:

The directory or folder structure is the backbone of a systematically arranged unity3d project. The best thing about unity is that it gives you the freedom that you can organize your files as you want them to be, but here the boon becomes the curse, so here is a directory structure you need to follow to make your directory an organized one:-

• Material
• 3d party
• Animations
• Audio
• Music
• SFX
• Prefabs
• Models
• Plugins
• Resources
• Textures
• Sandbox
• Scenes
• Levels
• Other
• Scripts
• Editor
• Shaders

The above-mentioned directory is not a mandatory one, you can make one of your own, but it needs to be a look-alike.

While managing the directory use the below-mentioned points to avoid confusion:-

• Keep in mind, not to store any asset files in the root directory. Use subdirectories to store files whenever possible.
• Any additional directories should not be created in the root directory unless it is really required.
• Always stay consistent with naming. If you use camel case for directory names or when you name the files and low letters for assets, continue with that convention.
• To keep the confusion away in the future, try not to move context-specific assets to the general directories. 
• You can also use 3rd-Party to stockpile the assets which you have imported from the Asset Store. You should not alter them as they have a structure of their own.
• When you are not sure about some changes in your files, use the Sandbox directory. When you work on things like this, you can organize them at last when you’re sure about including the changes or your experiment in your project. You can also make your own sandbox subdirectory, whenever you are working with others or while working with a group.

 2.Scene hierarchy structure:- 

A scene hierarchy is very much similar to a project hierarchy, which needs to be followed. We intend to present you with a sample of a well-organized scene hierarchy. It is not necessary to create the exact one. You can make edits accordingly like in the project hierarchy:-

•     Management
•      GUI
•      Cameras
•    Lights
•     World       
•  Terrain
•   Props
•      Dynamic

 Points to be kept in mind while managing the structure hierarchy;-

• You should keep in mind that your project can run from any scene, if your project is runnable from every scene, it is obvious you will have more convenience in testing the application. It also saves a lot of time.

• Instantiating means bringing it into existence.

While instantiating an object in runtime, keep in mind you put it in the ‘_Dynamic’ folder. Doing this will simply help you to navigate your files when needed. Not doing so will spoil your root directory.

• For scene folders use empty game objects in your structure. Properly organizing the scene means resolving the problems which you can face later, it will help you in finding things easily when you need them.

 3.Try to use prefabs as much as possible:-

Prefab can be defined as the copy of the game object. It contains a hierarchy of game objects, this gaME Object can be stored with its component in it. So it becomes reusable in many ways. These can even be shared between scenes or with other projects too without designing them again.

The best advantage it provides is that you can edit all the copies by just editing the original one and updating it, it sets you free from going into individual objects and doing the changes. So the personal advice from us is to use prefabs every time.

It is also useful to instantiate complex game objects, even a collection of them at runtime.

 4.Master your knowledge about VCS:-

 Version Control System is a category of software tools, it keeps a track of the modification which is done to the code, and records the changes visible in the files, which reduces the possibilities of errors and conflicts.

You can also store the codes if it feels like the result of their use seems to be unknown when you're working in the master branch, and deal with the codes afterwards, without disturbing the main branch.

If you are working with a group and the contributors/developers are from different geographical regions, it helps maintain a proper track of all the changes in the source code and mentions who made it. This keeps the source code organized and improves efficiency by making the process of development smooth. It also allows establishing smooth communication resulting in less confusion and more productive teamwork.

5. Learn how to write an editor script:-.

If you know how to write editor scripts, you can utilize your skills in unity editor to alter the functionality. If you don't know how to write you need not worry as you can learn it from unity game development company, learn how to write editor scripts, and utilize this knowledge in the editor. It is not necessary to create a complex GUI for your script, you can also make a simple one, for example, a menu entry, which will be helpful. Some examples of editor script you can create:-

• For arranging objects 
• Adjusting the position and size of the object; ex buildings
• For downloading files from google drive.

6.Learn defensive programming:-

If you are not aware of defensive programming, it can be described as the process of writing software to carry a continuous operation during or after facing some unplanned problems. These are most useful when the software has the chance to be misused. 

Things to be followed while writing mono behaviours are:-

•      All required references are set.
•      Components that are needed are present.
•      Singletons that you are using must exist.

7.Use in-game and/or in editor cheats:- 

We all know that the most interesting thing in a game is the cheats, and it is really easy to create cheats. Once you learn how to write an editor script, you can add some in-editor cheats, which allows you to unlock different levels and secrets of the game, making it more interesting. You can create cheats for the following things:-

• Unlock characters, tools.
• To become immortal.
• Reduce or increase coin, time, life, etc.
• For you to test the game.
• And you can also add something which allows you to see things that the players can't.

Conclusion:

So an organized project is a must for a successful app, whether you are working with a team or developing it alone. By doing so, you have a simplified image of your project.

If you are looking for someone who can create a Unity3D application with unity3d best practices, WowExp can be your mate in doing so. We have Unity certified programmers in our team, we know and understand the value of a good organization. And we at WowExp stand for the quality of work and time. WowExp is one of the best unity game development companies in India.

 Keep in mind A proper plan keeps you on track and helps you see your progress, which even keeps you motivated.