Adding a Character Controller in Unity: A Step-by-Step Guide

Creating a Character Controller in Unity

Creating a character controller is a fundamental part of building any 3D game or simulation in Unity. This script allows you to control the movement and actions of your character, such as walking, jumping, and attacking.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you have Unity installed on your computer and have created a new project. You will also need to have a 3D model or character imported into your project.

Step 1: Create a New Script

The first step is to create a new script in Unity. To do this, right-click in the Project window and select “Create” > “C Script.” Name the script “CharacterController” and double-click on it to open it in your preferred code editor.

Step 2: Add Dependencies

Next, we need to add the necessary dependencies for our character controller. These include the Rigidbody component for physics simulation and the Animator component for animating our character. To do this, select your character object in the Hierarchy window and go to the Inspector panel. Drag and drop the Rigidbody and Animator components onto the object.

Step 3: Define Variables

In the CharacterController script, we need to define some variables for our character’s movement and actions. These include the speed at which our character moves, the jump force, and the attack force. We can do this by adding the following lines of code:

<script>
    public float moveSpeed = 5f; // The speed at which our character moves
    public float jumpForce = 10f; // The force with which our character jumps
    public float attackForce = 5f; // The force with which our character attacks
</script>

Step 4: Write Movement Code

Now that we have defined our variables, we can write the code for our character’s movement. This includes moving the character forward, jumping, and attacking. We can do this by adding the following lines of code to our script:

<script>
    void Update()
    {
        // Get input from the user
        float horizontalInput = Input.GetAxis("Horizontal");
        float verticalInput = Input.GetAxis("Vertical");

        // Move the character forward
        transform.position += new Vector3(horizontalInput * moveSpeed * Time.deltaTime, 0f, verticalInput * moveSpeed * Time.deltaTime);

        // Check if the user pressed the jump button
        if (Input.GetButtonDown("Jump"))
        {
            // Apply a force to make the character jump
            GetComponent<Rigidbody>().AddForce(new Vector3(0f, jumpForce, 0f), ForceMode2D.Impulse);
        }

        // Check if the user pressed the attack button
        if (Input.GetButtonDown("Attack"))
        {
            // Apply a force to make the character attack
            GetComponent<Rigidbody>().AddForce(new Vector3(attackForce * horizontalInput, attackForce * verticalInput, 0f), ForceMode2D.Impulse);
        }
    }
</script>

Step 5: Add Animations

Finally, we need to add animations for our character’s movements and actions.