How to Build User-Generated Content and Multiplayer Experiences in Your Games
User-generated content (UGC) and multiplayer experiences are two of the game development trends that are expected to grow in the future, according to the 2023 Unity Gaming Report1. UGC is content created by players, such as custom maps, mods, skins, and even entire games within a game. Multiplayer experiences are games that allow players to interact with each other, either cooperatively or competitively, in real time or asynchronously.
UGC and multiplayer experiences can benefit your game in many ways. They can:
- Increase player engagement and retention by giving them more control and creativity over their gameplay experience.
- Expand your game’s content and replay value by adding variety and diversity to your game world.
- Create a loyal and active community around your game by fostering social interactions and collaborations among players.
- Diversify your game’s monetization strategy by creating marketplaces where players can buy and sell UGC, or by offering premium features and services for multiplayer games.
But how can you build UGC and multiplayer experiences in your games? In this article, we will show you some of the tools and techniques that you can use with Unity, the world’s leading platform for creating and operating interactive, real-time 3D content2.
How to Build User-Generated Content in Your Games
There are many ways to enable UGC in your games, depending on the level of complexity and customization that you want to offer to your players. Here are some of the tools and techniques that you can use with Unity:
- User-Generated Content service: This is a new service from Unity that is currently in open beta. It allows you to easily integrate UGC features into your games, such as uploading, downloading, browsing, rating, and reporting UGC. You can also use the service to manage UGC moderation, storage, and analytics. The service supports various types of UGC, such as 3D models, textures, audio, scripts, scenes, prefabs, etc. You can use the service with any platform that Unity supports.
- Addressables: This is a Unity package that allows you to efficiently manage your game assets and reduce runtime memory usage. You can use Addressables to load assets from remote locations, such as a server or a CDN (content delivery network). This way, you can enable players to download UGC assets on demand, without having to update your game client. You can also use Addressables to create asset bundles, which are compressed files that contain multiple assets. Asset bundles can be used to optimize the loading and streaming of UGC assets.
- [Scriptable Objects]: This is a feature of Unity that allows you to create custom data containers that do not need to be attached to a game object. You can use Scriptable Objects to store UGC data, such as metadata, settings, parameters, etc. You can also use Scriptable Objects to create custom editors and inspectors for UGC creation and editing. Scriptable Objects are easy to serialize and deserialize, which makes them suitable for transferring UGC data over the network.
How to Build Multiplayer Experiences in Your Games
There are also many ways to enable multiplayer experiences in your games, depending on the type of multiplayer gameplay that you want to offer to your players. Here are some of the tools and techniques that you can use with Unity:
- [Multiplayer Networking]: This is a new service from Unity that is currently in preview. It allows you to easily create real-time multiplayer games using a client-server architecture. You can use the service to synchronize game state, send messages, handle matchmaking, manage dedicated servers, etc. The service supports various types of multiplayer games, such as FPS (first-person shooter), MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena), RTS (real-time strategy), etc. You can use the service with any platform that Unity supports.
- [Photon]: This is a third-party solution that provides cross-platform multiplayer services for Unity games. You can use Photon to create real-time or turn-based multiplayer games using a peer-to-peer or client-server architecture. You can also use Photon to handle matchmaking, chat, voice chat, leaderboards, etc. Photon supports various types of multiplayer games, such as RPG (role-playing game), MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game), VR (virtual reality), etc. You can use Photon with any platform that Unity supports.
- [PlayFab]: This is another third-party solution that provides backend services for Unity games. You can use PlayFab to create asynchronous multiplayer games, such as social games, casual games, board games, etc. You can also use PlayFab to handle authentication, leaderboards, achievements, cloud save, analytics, etc. PlayFab supports various types of multiplayer games, such as CCG (collectible card game), puzzle game, trivia game, etc. You can use PlayFab with any platform that Unity supports.
Conclusion
UGC and multiplayer experiences are two of the game development trends that are expected to grow in the future. They can benefit your game in many ways, such as increasing player engagement and retention, expanding your game’s content and replay value, creating a loyal and active community around your game, and diversifying your game’s monetization strategy. In this article, we showed you some of the tools and techniques that you can use with Unity to build UGC and multiplayer experiences in your games. We hope this article was helpful and that you learned something new. If you liked this article, feel free to share it with your friends and leave us a comment below. Thank you for your attention and see you soon! 😊
