2D game development in Unity is almost TOO easy with the “Tilemap Editor”!
You can create a grid and quickly/easily build out your level’s environment, place your enemies, objects, obstacles, etc in seconds! Let’s jump in.
[Warning!]
The word “Tilemap” is given as a title to various “different” things and thus can prove a little confusing to those who are new to this so be warned.
To start, it’s important that you know a few things about how making a 2D game works…
For most 2D games, the level and environment graphics are made as a small square sprite called a “Tile”. These tiles oftentimes are only a single part of a larger set called a “Tilemap”.
[Side Note]
The individual tiles allow a certain level of versatility for the level designers to make a large assortment of various combinations to quickly and efficiently create the diverse levels that you would see in a game.
In order to use your tiles effectively in your scene, you’ll need to
Unity has a built-in feature called “Tilemap” which covers a lot of what you’ll need to build a tile-based game. The first way that you’ll be interacting with Tilemap is through the “Tile Palette”. To access this just click “Window>2D>Tile Palette”. You can dock this window wherever you like it.
The “Tile Palette” allows you to display your individual tiles and select from them as a painter might select a color from a palette. It also features access to various brushes and tools for quickly applying or removing your tiles within the various parts of your scene.
The “Active Tilemap” box is where you select which Tilemap you’d like to build on.
