Unity (Programming language)
© 2005 Unity Technologies
Ready to make your own app? Want to use the tools that the professionals use? Unity is a cross-platform "game engine" or coding language used to make many of the apps and games we review. It was first developed by the San Francisco-based Unity Technologies. Cross-platform means it is compatible with many competing platforms, so a programmer can reuse the same code, sound and graphics to make an app work on both iOS or Android with tweaking. First announced only for OS X in 2005 (according to Wikipedia), Unity has since grown into both 3D and VR (virtual reality) for 21 platforms (2016), and it is the default software development kit (SDK) for the Wii U. These platforms include iOS and Oculus 3D. The SDK (Software Development Kit) is free to download, but licensed versions are available as a subscription. The Pro version is $100/year/seat. For a serious game designer, Unity is a good language to learn, but it can take a huge investment in time. Many children graduate from a language like Scratch and move into a program like Unity, to make "real apps." See also Swift.
iPad, iPhone, Android, Kindle, Windows, Mac OSX, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Vita, PlayStation 4, Wii, Wii U, Chrome, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Teaches: coding, programming