When we think about video game design in terms of adding physics based elements like wind, land or water, we often think about 3D video game projects. In this example, which is about creating water effect with Unity, we chose a 3D example since it is the most visually appealing and easy to understand. Of course, like any creative endeavor, you’re only limited by your imagination, so while the video that follows discusses how to create water for a 3D Unity project, think about how that can be applied to 2D or really, any Unity project. We won’t go into all of the possibilities, but just to say that when it comes to game dev, the sky’s the limit.
Create Water Using Unity’s Shader Graph
Creating realistic and seemingly organic and random or natural effects like wind or water in Unity game development is easier than you think. Still, creating that perfect water effect still requires a fair number of steps. The key here is to use Unity’s Shader Graph which will help you to create the animation to achieve a pretty good water effect. You also won’t have to write a ton of code in order to get some mirror and refraction going. Plus, once you have set everything up and have your water effect working, you can tweak the settings on the fly. You can also play with different watery variables like depth and opacity for example.
To get the desired water effect, we followed this simple tutorial over at PolyToots’ channel. The video clocks in at about 30 minutes (there are indeed shorter how-to create water tutorials for Unity out there) but the steps are really clear. As a bonus, the author also includes a helpful index (to skip to the pertinent sections) in the YouTube video as well: