Unity Game Engine and the Circuits of Cultural Software

Benjamin Nicoll is Lecturer in Digital Media and Communication and a member of the Digital Media Research Centre at Queensland University of Technology, Australia. His research focuses on the history and critical theory of videogames and videogame platforms. He is the author of Minor Platforms in Videogame History (2019).Brendan Keogh is an Australian Research Council Fellow in the Digital Media Research Centre at Queensland University of Technology, Australia. His research focuses on the experiences, skills, and innovations of videogame makers, as well as broader investigations into videogame culture. He is the author of A Play of Bodies: How We Perceive Videogames (2018) and Killing is Harmless: A Critical Reading of Spec Ops The Line (2012).

“Readers should be aware that this is a specialized book; it is neither a tutorial nor general reference for the Unity game engine. It will be most useful to educators and researchers interested in the interleaving of game development and cultural impact.” (Ghita Kouadri, Computing Reviews, February 9, 2021)

• Chapter one: The Unity game engine and the circuits of cultural software.-Chapter two: Unity's socio-historical context and political economy.-Chapter three: Workflow: Unity's coordination of individualized labour process.-Chapter four: Grain: Default settings, design principles, and the aura of videogame production.-Chapter five: Literacy: Articulations of Unity across development, education, and enthusiast contexts.-Chapter six: Governance: Unity's democratization dispositif.