From 3D Prototype to 2D Assets, Part 1 — Getting the Assets and Setting a Background
We’ve got our game feeling like a game, almost. The functionality is there, and we have a good MVP (minimal viable product) prototype. But the saying goes, you eat with your eyes, and that reigns true in the game world as well.
You don’t need AMAZING AAA graphics that require the latest and greatest GPU’s, but a little pizzazz in the visual quality goes a long way.
In this section we’ll be covering how to change our 3D prototype into a 2D game; converting our Player, Laser, Enemies and background into 2D assets:
Finding your Assets
Luckily for me, in my GameDevHQ apprenticeship program, I get to use their high-quality 2D assets specifically prepared for this course.
If you don’t have assets yet, the Unity Asset Store is a great place to start! They have a decent selection of free 2D assets, or if you have money to spare, some amazing paid ones as well.
Kenny assets is also a good creator of assets.
You could also make your own if you’re artistically inclined! I’m no expert on that, yet ;) so I won’t pretend to give a tutorial on that section.
When you get your assets, import the Unity Package and you should have a folder created in your Assets folder:
When importing your assets though, you have to be sure to make sure that the Texture Type of these assets are in Sprite form.
Setting up our Space Galaxy Background
First we should turn our Scene window into a 2D view. This will help navigate the Scene view much easier.
Next we can drag our Space Background Overlay into our Scene Hierarchy, and using the Rect tool (keyboard shortcut ‘T’) to stretch our Background to fit our Game view.
It helps to have the Scene window and Game window to see where the the Background will fit. It doesn’t have to be perfectly on the edge, I often times stretch a little too far just to be sure that there is no gaps in the Border.
Already our game looks much livelier with just a simple background! In Part 2 we’ll go through 2 different ways to convert from 3D to 2D game assets!
