Our October meetup was nothing short of amazing as we hosted two engineers from Unity Technologies, one of the most powerful game engines on the planet! Attendees across Africa were treated to a wealth of Unity pro tips and insights that could seriously level up their game development. If you’re passionate about creating top-tier games, you won’t want to miss this recap of all the exciting developments shared at this event.

Event Highlights: Unity Engineers in the Building! 😤

Unity Pro Tips (Accelerate development with Unity)

Speaker: Olly Nicholson, Senior Partner Engineer, Unity Technologies

Olly took us on a deep dive into ways to supercharge your development process with Unity. From leveraging tools like Pro Builder and Polybrush to harnessing the new AI-driven Muse, this engine has a lot to unlock. Olly highlighted essential productivity hacks like optimizing your assets and using the Unity Asset Store for ready-made solutions. These tips will have you working smarter, not harder!

Expect a new and improved game engine:

• Unity 6 Release! (As of 17th October): Faster, better, and loaded with new functionality.
• Facebook & Messenger Instant Games integration for easy publishing.
• Simplified multiplayer development with the Megacity Metro demo.
• AI Muse for project summaries, sprite generation, texture creation, and more!
• Improved Lighting with adaptive probe volumes.
• Mesh Sync feature for seamless live updates from Blender, Maya, and other tools.

Check out the full Unity 6 release notes here and dive into the mesh sync features here.

State of Unity (Unity 6 & Beyond)

Speaker:  Valentin Simonov Senior Solutions Engineer, Unity Technologies

Valentin took us through the State of Unity and the road ahead for Unity 6. Spoiler alert: it’s looking brighter than ever! With a new generational release model, Unity 6 promises to bring longer-lasting stable releases, faster patches, and more frequent updates that won’t disrupt your workflow. This means you’ll get all the latest tools and features without the hassle of major upgrades throwing off your game’s progress.

Some updates coming your way:

• GPU-resident drawers for superior performance.
• Streamlined update cycles with less disruption to your projects.
• Fast patch releases and new features coming down the line!

For a deeper dive into Unity’s roadmap, catch the full Unity Roadmap on their YouTube channel and explore the Unite Playlist for more insights!

What’s Next?

October has set the bar high, and we’re already buzzing for the next edition in November. Be sure to sign up on the GameUp Africa website to stay in the loop for future meetups and events. Coming up, we have more top-tier speakers, exciting game showcases, and opportunities to connect with Africa’s brightest minds in store, just for you. Whether you’re an old-timer or just getting started, our next meetup is one you don’t want to miss. Stay tuned for more details! 

Follow @maliyogames on all social media platforms for the early scoop, and tell Princess we say hi (iykyk) 😎

Come on!