Chapter 1. Overview

Arguably, the most important parts of any project are knowing where to start and what tools you have in your arsenal before setting out to make your game. In this chapter, we will give a brief overview of the 2D tools offered in Unity 5 and explore the new features available to Unity 5.

Since this is the first chapter, let's cover how this book is structured. The main aim of this book is to build a fully functional, retro-style, Role-Playing Game (RPG) framework and cover all the main aspects of any good and well-rounded RPG game, including the following features:

• Character development and setup
• Building your main game view
• A wider world view
• Events and encounters
• Shopping and inventory systems
• Battles

We will be visiting places such as the following:

• Your home town, as shown in the following screenshot:

• The local shop, as shown in the following screenshot:

• The outside world, as shown in the following screenshot:

• Battling dragons in the dark forest, as shown in the following screenshot:

In this chapter, we will walk through the key terms used when working in 2D, as well as the big changes made in Unity 5 relevant to 2D game creation. We will kick off the next chapter by building the foundations of our project with some of the best practices in the industry, including guidance from the Unity team themselves (either direct from team members or from responses in the forums).

The following topics will be covered in this chapter:

• Overview of Unity's 2D system
• Rundown of new features provided in Unity 5