Animate Tile Maps in Unity 2D

SF Games
January 07, 2023

Animate Tile Maps in Unity

To animate a tile map in Unity, you can use the Unity Tilemap feature, which is part of the Unity 2D system. Here are the steps you can follow to animate a tile map in Unity:

  1. Create a new Unity project and set the project up for 2D development by going to Edit > Project Settings > Player and selecting the 2D option in the Default Behavior Mode dropdown.

  2. Create a new Tilemap by going to GameObject > 2D Object > Tilemap. This will create a new Tilemap GameObject in your scene, along with a Tilemap component and a Grid component.

  3. Import your tile set by going to Assets > Import New Asset and selecting the image file that contains your tiles.

  4. Create a new Tile Palette by going to Window > 2D > Tile Palette. This will open the Tile Palette window, where you can drag your imported tiles into the palette.

  5. In the Tile Palette window, you can use the Brush tool to paint tiles onto the Tilemap. You can also use the Eraser tool to remove tiles from the Tilemap.

  6. To animate a tile, you can create an animation in the Unity Animator. First, select the tile in the Tile Palette, then go to Window > Animation > Animator to open the Animator window. In the Animator window, you can create a new Animation Clip by clicking the Create button.

  7. In the Animation Clip, you can create keyframes for the tile by clicking the + button and then moving the tile to a new position in the Tilemap. You can add as many keyframes as you want to create a smooth animation.

  8. To play the animation, you can use the Unity Animator component. First, add an Animator component to the Tilemap GameObject by going to Component > Animation > Animator. Then, drag the Animation Clip into the Animator component's Controller field. Finally, use the Play button in the Animator component to start the animation.