Battle-tested practices and tools to build better Unity games faster. From beginner to expert.

AI-Assisted Documentation

This documentation was created with AI assistance. All asset recommendations, tips, and architectural patterns are sourced and driven by wallstop based on real-world Unity development experience. AI (Claude) has been used to help generate code samples, format documents, create examples, and audit content for accuracy. All content has been reviewed for correctness.

⚠️ PAID ASSETS WARNING

This repository includes recommendations for 3rd party paid assets (unaffiliated). These assets are valuable tools that solve specific problems, but they cost money and sometimes have free alternatives.

Do NOT purchase these assets unless:

• You have personally experienced the problem they solve
• You have exhausted all free alternatives
• The time saved justifies the cost for your specific project

Start with the free tools and best practices first. Only invest in paid tools when you hit their specific pain points.

The Problem: Unity is powerful but has hidden pitfalls—is null fails silently, GetComponent() in Update() kills performance, physics in Update() causes jitter, and memory leaks are easy to create.

This Repository:

• Prevents common bugs before you write them (lifecycle order, null checks, serialization)
• Speeds up development with tools that eliminate recompiles and manual formatting
• Optimizes performance from day one with pooling, caching, and allocation tracking
• Scales with your team through automation, standards, and architecture patterns

Start with Best Practices to avoid 80% of Unity bugs, then add Development Tooling to automate your workflow.

1. Best Practices – Prevent 80% of bugs (lifecycle, null checks)
2. Development Tooling – Auto-format code, catch allocations

1. Animancer – Code-driven animation (no Animator spaghetti)
2. Feel – Screen shake, particles, juice
3. PrimeTween – Zero-allocation tweens

1. Graphy – Real-time FPS/memory graphs (FREE)
2. Heap Allocation Viewer – Catch GC spikes in IDE
3. Object Pooling – Eliminate spawn stutters

1. Assembly Definitions – Cut compile time by 10-100x
2. CSharpier + EditorConfig – Enforce formatting automatically
3. Odin Inspector – Serialize dictionaries, powerful editors

Choose based on your target platform and team size:

Start here regardless of experience level:

1. Lifecycle Methods – When code runs (15 min)
2. Null Checks – Unity's "fake null" (10 min)
3. Component Access – Cache, don't call repeatedly (15 min)
4. CSharpier – Auto-format on save (10 min)
5. Practice: Build a character controller

Add essential Unity patterns:

• Coroutines – Time-based operations (20 min)
• Physics – FixedUpdate and forces (18 min)
• Serialization – Inspector fields (12 min)
• Heap Allocation Viewer – Catch GC spikes (15 min)
• Practice: 2D platformer or top-down shooter

Master architecture and optimization:

• Event Systems – ScriptableObject events vs DxMessaging (30 min)
• ScriptableObjects – Data-driven design (25 min)
• Object Pooling – Eliminate spawn lag (18 min)
• Assembly Definitions – Slash compile times
• Animancer or Odin – Based on needs
• Practice: Complete game with performance requirements

Found a mistake or want to add a tool? Open an issue or PR. This is a living document that grows with Unity's ecosystem.

Ready to start? → Best Practices Guide

Want automation? → Development Tooling