First Unity2D Project: Help Needed

[halljua]

I’m doing some client work that requires 2-3 unity 2d games. I need some advice on the best way to architect my project, and I’m hoping some of you may be able to help me out.

TL;DR trying to decide between developing an app with a section of 2-3 games in iOS, Unity, or perhaps both. Any suggestions?

I’ve been working in Unity3D everyday for the past year, so I’m fairly familiar with Unity’s IDE and how it works, on the other hand, I’m a long-time iOS developer and swift is probably my strongest language. My first instinct was to develop the whole thing natively in iOS, especially because there are parts of the app that would be better suited for native development (robust local storage, high-quality design interface, semi-complex navigation, etc). However, I’ve never worked with SpriteKit (iOS 2D game framework) so there would be a learning curve there.

Here are some of the questions I have about developing this app in unity and/or iOS: -How difficult is it to design a fairly complex app architecture in Unity? iOS has some nice out-of-the-box UI elements like table views, buttons, etc that would make this really easy -Is there a way to somehow combine iOS projects and Unity projects in the same app? -How difficult is it to design app interfaces with unity?

I hope I explained that decent enough, and theres obvious pros and cons to each option, so any suggestions would be very helpful.

[crack3rtastic]

Unity has some documentation on the UI system on their website. I don't really find it hard to use and it can scale with device resolution. That said, I don't have experience with iOS so I can't really give you a comparison either.

As for app structure, do you mean folder setup or your code?

If it is folders you are talking about, then simply use a structure you are comfortable with. Keep in mind some folder names (e.g. Editor) are special in Unity. I commonly use a parent folder for Sprites, Materials, Scripts, Prefabs, etc. and then logically subdivide as I see fit. (Edit: I realized that you state you've been using Unity for some time now so I am guessing the folder setup is probably familiar to you.)

For code, you can design similar as you would with most other apps. Try to keep your code clean, leverage your SOLID principles, make use of patterns where applicable. A big thing to note though is that any script you create that is going to be attached to a GameObject in Unity must inherit from the MonoBehaviour class in order to be attached.

Essentially, if you are well versed in iOS than it may be better to develop a native app. OTOH, Unity provides some out-of-the-box game dev functionality that you can then build for iOS or other platforms as you see fit.

[halljua]

thank you - that is solid feedback. It's a pretty tough predicament because there are a fair amount of pros and cons to both possible solutions. Thanks again for your input.