Benefits of Prototyping Without Assets

How do you prototype your game?

In this article, we will explore the benefits of prototyping without assets, using only code and primitive shapes. We will also provide some tips and examples on how to prototype without assets in Unity. If you are a game developer, you know the importance of prototyping. Prototyping is the process of creating a simplified version of your game idea, using basic elements and features, to test its feasibility, functionality, and fun factor. Prototyping allows you to experiment with different concepts, mechanics, and designs, without investing too much time and resources into the final product.

What are assets and why are they important?

Assets are the resources that you use to create your game, such as sprites, models, textures, sounds, music, scripts, etc. Assets are essential for making your game look and sound appealing, as well as providing interactivity and functionality.

However, assets can also be costly and time-consuming to create or acquire. Depending on the scope and quality of your game, you may need to hire artists, musicians, programmers, or other professionals to produce the assets for you. Alternatively, you may need to purchase or download assets from online sources, such as the Unity Asset Store, Filebase, Sketchfab, etc. Either way, you will need to spend money and/or time to get the assets you need.

Moreover, assets can also limit your creativity and flexibility when prototyping your game. If you rely too much on existing assets, you may end up designing your game around them, rather than creating your own original vision.

What are the benefits of prototyping without assets?

Prototyping without assets means creating a prototype of your game using only code and primitive shapes (such as cubes, spheres, cylinders, etc.). This way, you can focus on the core gameplay mechanics and features of your game, without worrying about the aesthetics or technical aspects of the assets.

Some of the benefits of prototyping without assets are:

• Faster development time: You can create a prototype of your game in a matter of hours or days, rather than weeks or months. You don’t need to wait for the assets to be ready or imported into your project. You can also iterate and modify your prototype quickly and easily.
• Reduced cost: You don’t need to spend money on buying or hiring assets for your prototype. You can use the built-in primitives and components that Unity provides for free. You can also reuse or recycle your code and shapes for different prototypes or projects.
• Focus on mechanics: You can concentrate on the gameplay logic and rules of your game, rather than the visual or audio presentation. You can test if your game is fun and engaging to play, without being distracted by the graphics or sounds. You can also get honest feedback from others who play your prototype based on the gameplay alone.
• Easy iteration: You can change or improve your prototype easily by tweaking the code or parameters. You don’t need to worry about breaking or replacing the assets. You can also experiment with different ideas or variations of your game by adding or removing features or elements.
• No legal or ethical issues: You don’t need to worry about the licensing or attribution of the assets you use for your prototype. You own all the rights and credits for your prototype. You can also share or publish your prototype freely without any restrictions.

How to prototype without assets in Unity?

Unity is a powerful and versatile game engine that allows you to create games for various platforms and genres. Unity also offers many tools and features that make prototyping without assets easy and convenient.

Some of the tools and features that you can use for prototyping without assets in Unity are:

• Primitive objects: Unity provides a set of basic geometric shapes that you can use to create your game objects4. These include cubes, spheres, cylinders, capsules, planes, quads, etc. You can resize, rotate, move, duplicate, group, parent these objects as you wish. You can also apply materials and colors to them to change their appearance.
• Components: Unity allows you to add various components to your game objects that provide functionality and interactivity5. These include colliders (for detecting collisions), rigidbodies (for applying physics), scripts (for writing custom code), cameras (for rendering views), lights (for illuminating scenes), audio sources (for playing sounds), etc. You can adjust the properties and settings of these components as you need.
• Prefabs: Unity enables you to create prefabs, which are reusable templates of game objects that you can instantiate in your scenes. Prefabs allow you to save time and resources by creating common or complex game objects once and using those multiple times. You can also edit the prefabs and apply the changes to all the instances automatically.
• UI elements: Unity supports creating user interface elements, such as buttons, text, images, sliders, etc., that you can use to display information or interact with the player. UI elements are rendered on a canvas, which is a special game object that acts as a container for the UI elements. You can position, scale, rotate, animate, script the UI elements as you want.
• Input system: Unity provides an input system that allows you to handle user input from various devices, such as keyboards, mice, touchscreens, gamepads, etc. You can use the input system to control the movement and actions of your game objects or UI elements. You can also customize the input settings and mappings to suit your game.

Examples of prototyping without assets in Unity

To illustrate how to prototype without assets in Unity, here are some examples of simple games that you can create using only code and primitive shapes:

• Pong: A classic arcade game where you control a paddle and try to bounce a ball past your opponent’s paddle. You can create this game using only cubes (for the paddles and walls), a sphere (for the ball), and a script (for the movement and collision logic). You can also add some UI elements (for the score and instructions) and an audio source (for the bounce sound).
• Flappy Bird: A popular mobile game where you control a bird and try to fly through gaps between pipes. You can create this game using only a capsule (for the bird), cylinders (for the pipes), a plane (for the ground), and a script (for gravity, jumping, and scrolling logic). You can also add some UI elements (for the score and restart button) and an audio source (for the flap sound).
• Breakout: Another classic arcade game where you control a paddle and try to break bricks with a bouncing ball. You can create this game using only cubes (for the paddle, bricks, and walls), a sphere (for the ball), and a script (for the movement and collision logic). You can also add some materials and colors (for the distinct types of bricks) and an audio source (for the break sound).

Conclusion

Prototyping without assets is a useful technique for game development that can help you save time, money, and effort. It can also help you focus on the gameplay mechanics and features of your game, rather than the aesthetics or technical aspects of the assets. Prototyping without assets can also help you iterate and improve your game quickly and easily.

If you are looking for a game engine that supports prototyping without assets, Unity is an excellent choice. Unity offers many tools and features that allow you to create games using only code and primitive shapes. Unity also allows you to add assets later if you want to polish or publish your game.

So, what are you waiting for? Start prototyping without assets today and see how it can benefit your game development process!