Game Dev Digest — Issue #312 - New Year, New Ways, and more
Source: Dev.to
Articles
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Scratchapixel – Learn computer graphics from scratch and for free.
Source: scratchapixel.com -
A Couple 3D AABB Tricks – Axis‑aligned bounding boxes are ubiquitous in 3D programming. Over the years I’ve encountered a couple useful tricks for working with them that I want to share here.
Source: gpfault.net -
Improving Direct Lighting Material Occlusion – Part 1 – In this series I’ll touch on the issues with micro‑occlusion and look at micro‑shadowing as an improvement.
Source: irradiance.ca -
Step‑by‑Step Environment Creation Breakdown in Unity – Walk‑through of creating an atmospheric terrain for Tiny Delivery, tools you can use, and important nuances to consider.
Source: Artem Sinica (Medium) -
How to Get Attention for Your Indie Game in a Crowded Market – Interview with Soy Boy Games about trends, monetisation, market saturation, and the rise of incremental games.
Source: 80.lv
Videos
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Unity Metaprogramming: Reflection, Source Generators, IL Weaving – Reflection, Roslyn source generators, IL weaving, and
Reflection.Emitare the most popular metaprogramming techniques you can use in Unity.
Channel: Gamedev Engine Room -
Unity GUI Style Cheat Sheet – Learn to customise Unity’s GUI styles.
Channel: Warped Imagination -
The New Way to Customize Unity’s Toolbar – Unity 6.3 LTS changed how the main editor toolbar works. This video shows how to rebuild toolbar functionality using the new
UnityEditor.ToolbarsAPI, UI Toolkit, and native editor tooling.
Channel: git‑amend -
Rendering the Silence: Advanced Graphics Techniques in Songs of Silence | Unite 2025 – Technical walkthrough of fog‑of‑war, “Silence” corruption, dynamic grass deformation, shaders, render passes, dynamic texture masks, URP integration, GPU debugging, mesh generation, and more.
Channel: Unity
Assets
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New Year Sale – Whether you’re leveling up an existing project or launching something brand new, this is your moment. Shop the largest sale of the year and save 50 % on over 1500 assets!
Source: Unity Asset Store (Affiliate) -
Shop up to 50 % off ScansFactory – Publisher Sale – Photogrammetry‑focused assets at a steep discount. Plus, get Abandoned Factory Buildings – Day/Night Scene for free with code SCANSFACTORY.
Source: Unity Asset Store
Affiliate
| Project | Description | Author | License |
|---|---|---|---|
| UnityCursorControl | A mouse cursor control module for Unity3D | zlnvch | Open Source |
| Unity.Prefs | Retrieve list of EditorPrefs/PlayerPrefs | jcs090218 | Open Source |
| Unity.Mx | Command‑based completion framework (alternative to MenuItem) that lets you execute many tasks and explore hidden commands | jcs090218 | Open Source |
| texturelab | Free, cross‑platform, GPU‑accelerated procedural texture generator | njbrown | Open Source |
| NRandom | Better random‑number utilities and weighted collections for .NET and Unity | nuskey8 | Open Source |
| Unity‑AI‑Animation | AI‑powered tools for Unity animation workflow – create/modify AnimationClips and AnimatorControllers via natural‑language commands | IvanMurzak | Open Source |
| UnityRuntimeTransformHandles | Runtime transform handles for Unity | manaporkun | Open Source |
| SimpleUnitySprings | Simple, free spring library – great for animating UI or game elements | mashlol | Open Source |
| unity‑websocket | Ergonomic WebSocket client for Unity (no async/await required) | mikerochip | Open Source |
| GPU‑Sand‑Sim‑Unity | Simple falling‑sand simulation on the GPU using a compute shader, made in Unity | NivMiz0 | Open Source |
| TextureMerge | Pack/merge textures into image channels | fidifis | Open Source |
| SSRichText | Unity UGUI RichText for legacy Text component | SlipperSoar | Open Source |
| SurgeEngine | A Sonic‑style framework built with Unity 6 | sokilopersonal | Open Source |
| LiveTalk‑Unity | High‑performance talking‑head generation (LivePortrait + MuseTalk) ported to ONNX/CoreML for on‑device inference in Unity | arghyasur1991 | Open Source |
| Unity‑3d‑Movements | General player‑control scripts for Unity 3D | Egecekic | Open Source |
| Next‑Gen‑Dialogue | AI‑powered dialogue visual designer for Unity | AkiKurisu | Open Source |
| IllusionRP | High‑definition graphics plugin for Unity’s Universal Render Pipeline | AkiKurisu | Open Source |
| Engine4D | Toolkit for creating 4‑D games in Unity | HackerPoet | Open Source |
| Csv‑CSharp | Fast CSV serializer for .NET and Unity | nuskey8 | Open Source |
| CustomRayTracing | Path tracing using Unity’s RayTracing shader | Andyfanshen | Open Source |
| Unity‑URP‑Volumetric‑Light | Volumetric lighting support for URP (2022.3+, Unity 6) – works with the render‑graph | CristianQiu | Open Source |
| MTree | Powerful procedural tree creation tool (MIT licence) | Warwlock | Open Source |
| unity‑bitmasktypes | Generated bitmask types using ScriptableObjects for fast comparisons | acoppes | Open Source |
| Unity‑2D‑Sprite‑Animator | Performant, simple animator for 2‑D sprite games | GabrielBigardi | Open Source |
| Typography | High‑performance GPU text rendering for Unity/VRChat | aiczk | Open Source |
| ListView | Virtualized, high‑performance ListView for Unity UI with item recycling, optimized rendering and smooth scrolling | MagasDeveloper | Open Source |
All projects listed above are open‑source and freely available on GitHub.
📦 Open‑Source Projects
- MagasDeveloper – ListView – Open source.
🎧 Royalty‑Free Music
- Santa’s Phat Sack – Royalty Free Music Bundle – Unwrap Santa’s royalty‑free music collection (RPG battle tracks, lo‑fi, ambient, action, etc.). No renewals or subscriptions—pay what you want via Humble Bundle. Purchases also support Save the Children.
Affiliate link – Humble Bundle
🎮 Unity Asset Packs
- BAD ASSet Bundle – Unity Mega Pack – Add “badass” assets to your projects: Carnival theme‑park, Gothic interior, Apocalyptic hospital, and more. Supports Stack Up when you shop through Humble.
Affiliate link – Humble Bundle
Spotlight
Good Knight – Dive into Filipino mythology with this one‑button bullet‑hell. Survive relentless bullet patterns and enjoy a head‑banging soundtrack.
Available in Early Access on Steam.
Developer: Team Good Knight.
Call Of Dookie – My own game; demo available on Steam.
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Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive compensation if you purchase products or services through the links provided.