John French


Hi! I’m John, I write all of the Unity tutorials on Game Dev Beginner. I've been working as a professional game composer for the last 10 years and I've been writing about game development in Unity for the last 6. I started by writing audio-related tutorials on my own site, before expanding to general game development guides for beginners when I started Game Dev Beginner in 2020.

All Articles by John French


Camera Relative Movement in Unity

How to create Camera Relative movement in Unity

May 22, 2024

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Input

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NEW



Learn how to create camera-relative movement in Unity, including how calculate camera direction and how to adjust for the camera’s height.
Faster?

Why diagonal movement is faster in Unity (and how to fix it)

May 22, 2024

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Movement

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NEW



Learn why diagonal movement in Unity is sometimes faster than moving in one direction, and how to fix it.
Directions in Unity

Direction Vectors in Unity

May 21, 2024

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Movement

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NEW



Learn how direction and unit vectors work in Unity, how to use ready-made directions, and how to calculate a direction value yourself.
Image

How to use Transform Translate in Unity

May 21, 2024

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Movement

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1 Comment



Learn how the Translate function works in Unity, when to use it instead of changing an object’s position, and a common mistake when using it.
Move Position

How to use Move Position in Unity

May 21, 2024

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Movement

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NEW



Learn how to use the Move Position function to move a physics object manually, and when not to, in my beginner’s guide.
Image

How to use Get and Set (without crashing Unity)

Apr 23, 2024

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Scripting Basics

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4 Comments



Learn how properties work in Unity, how to use the get and set accessor functions, and how to avoid crashing Unity when you do.
Design Patterns in Unity

Design Patterns in Unity (and when to use them)

Apr 17, 2024

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Advanced Scripting

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NEW



Learn how design patterns in Unity work, when you should use them, and how they can make building your game easier.
Typing Text... in Unity

How to create a Typewriter Text effect in Unity

Apr 05, 2024

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Game Systems

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4 Comments



Learn how to create a typing text effect using Coroutines in Unity (and what to do if your text needs to be faster than your framerate).
Player Input Component in Unity - Feature Image

How to use the Player Input Component in Unity

Feb 29, 2024

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Input

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2 Comments



Learn how to connect the Unity Input System to objects in your game the easy way, by using the Player Input Component.
Rewired vs Input System feature image

Rewired vs the Unity Input System

Feb 28, 2024

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Input

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NEW



Find out if Rewired is still the best option for input in Unity, or if you should switch to Unity’s free Input System instead.
Unity Input Manager vs Input System feature image

How to use the Input Manager in Unity (instead of the new system)

Feb 27, 2024

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Input

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NEW



Learn how the default Input Manager in Unity works, how to use it, and when to pick it over Unity’s newer (but more complex) Input System.
Visualisation of inheritance in Unity

Inheritance in Unity

Feb 06, 2024

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Advanced Scripting

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2 Comments



Learn how Inheritance in Unity works, and how to use Virtual, Override, and Abstract functions in your project, in my beginner’s guide.
Public, Private, Protected?

What Public, Private, and Protected mean in Unity

Jan 31, 2024

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Scripting Basics

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1 Comment



Learn how the Private, Public, and Protected keywords actually work in Unity, in my complete beginner’s guide.
Return in Unity

How to use Return in Unity

Jan 25, 2024

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Scripting Basics

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2 Comments



Learn what Return, Break, and Continue actually do in Unity, how they work, and the right way to use them, in my complete beginner’s guide.
Isometric Question Mark

Why your game works in the Unity editor (but not the build)

Jan 25, 2024

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Unity Editor

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NEW



Learn what the No.1 cause of unexplained errors in Unity projects is, how it happens, and what you can do to prevent it.