The NGUI plugin for Unity makes user interfaces so much more efficient and attractive. Learn all about it in this step-by-step tutorial that includes lots of practical exercises, including creating a fun 2D game.

Overview

• Acquire complete knowledge of every component of NGUI
• Design and customize a fully functional main menu aided by step by step instructions
• Create an exciting 2D sci-fi game

In Detail

NGUI is an effective plugin for Unity that gives you the power to create beautiful and complex user interfaces while reducing performance costs. It is a powerful UI system and event notification framework for Unity (both Pro and Free) written in C# featuring clean code and a simple, minimalistic approach to everything. You can create a main menu for your game and add sliders, animations, checkboxes, and popup lists, as well as localize your text.

This is an example-oriented, step-by-step, practical tutorial that will guide you through creating a fully functional main menu along with a 2D game. You will acquire the knowledge to create user interfaces for your existing and future PC or mobile games developed with Unity 3D. The book will start by teaching you the basic functions of the tools and how to create a basic UI. Later in the book, you will also learn how to create a much more complex UI.

This book will start by getting you acquainted with NGUI's workflow and will then gradually take you through building a complex menu and creating a 2D game.

To achieve this, you will create and configure text labels, sliders, and checkboxes along with drag-and-drop systems. You will be exposed to advanced topics like C# with NGUI, and you will also learn how to build a scrollable viewport. By the end of this book, you will have acquired all the knowledge you need to create UIs with the help of practical steps supported by screenshots.

What you will learn from this book

• Download and import NGUI
• Construct a basic user interface: buttons, sprites, text inputs, lists, sliders, and more
• Enhance your UI using clipping, draggable panels, content alignment, animations, and localization
• Use C# with NGUI to save options, implement volume modification, launch animations, and change variables
• Build a scrollable viewport with a drag-and-drop system
• Create tooltips and notifications
• Add your sprites and fonts to customize your main menu
• Move elements through code and handle collisions to create a game

Approach

An easy-to-follow, step-by-step tutorial focusing on practical situations and manipulations, guiding you to create a concrete Graphical User Interface and a simple 2D game.

Who this book is written for

If you are a Unity 3D developer looking forward to learn NGUI for Unity, then this book is for you. Prior knowlege of C# scripting is expected. Additional knowledge of Unity 3D Editor, GameObject and creating/adding scripts to GameObject would be beneficial; however, no prior knowledge of NGUI is required.