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Cross-platform development in Unity allows you to create games and applications that can run on multiple platforms, such as Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and more. This capability is one of Unity's most powerful features, enabling developers to reach a wider audience with minimal additional effort. In this section, we will cover the key concepts and steps involved in cross-platform development using Unity.

Key Concepts

Platform-Specific Settings:
- Each platform has its own set of requirements and settings that need to be configured in Unity.
- Unity provides platform-specific build settings to help you manage these configurations.
Input Handling:
- Different platforms may have different input methods (e.g., touch for mobile, keyboard and mouse for PC).
- Unity's Input System can be used to handle these differences seamlessly.
Performance Optimization:
- Different platforms have different performance capabilities.
- Optimizing your game for each platform ensures a smooth user experience.
Platform-Specific Code:
- Sometimes, you may need to write code that only runs on specific platforms.
- Unity provides preprocessor directives to include or exclude code based on the target platform.

Steps for Cross-Platform Development

Configuring Build Settings

To configure build settings for different platforms:

Open the Build Settings window by navigating to File > Build Settings.
Select the platform you want to build for from the list of available platforms.
Click on the Switch Platform button to switch the build target to the selected platform.

Handling Platform-Specific Input

Unity's Input System can be used to handle different input methods across platforms. Here is an example of how to handle touch input for mobile and mouse input for PC:

using UnityEngine;

public class InputHandler : MonoBehaviour
{
    void Update()
    {
        #if UNITY_STANDALONE || UNITY_WEBGL
        if (Input.GetMouseButtonDown(0))
        {
            Debug.Log("Mouse Clicked");
        }
        #elif UNITY_IOS || UNITY_ANDROID
        if (Input.touchCount > 0 && Input.GetTouch(0).phase == TouchPhase.Began)
        {
            Debug.Log("Screen Touched");
        }
        #endif
    }
}

Optimizing Performance

Performance optimization is crucial for ensuring your game runs smoothly on all target platforms. Here are some tips:

Reduce Draw Calls: Use techniques like batching and combining meshes to reduce the number of draw calls.
Optimize Assets: Use compressed textures and lower resolution models for mobile platforms.
Profile and Test: Use Unity's Profiler to identify performance bottlenecks and test your game on actual devices.

Writing Platform-Specific Code

Sometimes, you may need to write code that only runs on specific platforms. Unity provides preprocessor directives for this purpose. Here is an example:

using UnityEngine;

public class PlatformSpecificCode : MonoBehaviour
{
    void Start()
    {
        #if UNITY_STANDALONE
        Debug.Log("Running on Standalone");
        #elif UNITY_IOS
        Debug.Log("Running on iOS");
        #elif UNITY_ANDROID
        Debug.Log("Running on Android");
        #endif
    }
}

Building for Multiple Platforms

Once you have configured your project for different platforms, you can build your game for each platform:

Open the Build Settings window.
Select the platform you want to build for.
Click on the Build button and choose a location to save the build.

Practical Exercise

Exercise: Create a simple project that handles input differently for PC and mobile platforms. Display a message on the screen when the user clicks the mouse (PC) or touches the screen (mobile).

Solution:

Create a new Unity project.
Create a new script named InputHandler.cs and add the following code:

using UnityEngine;
using UnityEngine.UI;

public class InputHandler : MonoBehaviour
{
    public Text messageText;

    void Update()
    {
        #if UNITY_STANDALONE || UNITY_WEBGL
        if (Input.GetMouseButtonDown(0))
        {
            messageText.text = "Mouse Clicked";
        }
        #elif UNITY_IOS || UNITY_ANDROID
        if (Input.touchCount > 0 && Input.GetTouch(0).phase == TouchPhase.Began)
        {
            messageText.text = "Screen Touched";
        }
        #endif
    }
}

Create a UI Text element in the scene and assign it to the messageText field in the InputHandler script.
Test the project on both PC and a mobile device to ensure the input handling works correctly.

Conclusion

Cross-platform development in Unity allows you to create versatile and widely accessible games and applications. By understanding platform-specific settings, handling different input methods, optimizing performance, and writing platform-specific code, you can ensure your project runs smoothly on all target platforms. This knowledge prepares you for the final steps of building and publishing your game, which we will cover in the next section.

Cross-Platform Development

Key Concepts

Steps for Cross-Platform Development

Configuring Build Settings

Handling Platform-Specific Input

Optimizing Performance

Writing Platform-Specific Code

Building for Multiple Platforms

Practical Exercise

Conclusion

Unity Course

Module 1: Introduction to Unity

Module 2: Basic Scripting in Unity

Module 3: Working with Assets

Module 4: Physics and Collisions

Module 5: User Interface (UI)

Module 6: Audio in Unity

Module 7: Advanced Scripting

Module 8: Advanced Physics and AI

Module 9: Optimization and Performance

Module 10: Publishing and Beyond