Creating an online .io style game in Unity 2D

Questions & Answers
1

I have a question mostly regarding Unity 2D when creating an MMO game.

So as a fairly new programmer, I’ve started to learn python and have the basics down and have moved to learning C# for the purpose of learning unity (as I understand it, Unity used a script called boo but no longer supports it. A little more clarification on that would be appreciated but isn’t necessary).

I have the idea to make an io style game (think agar.io or slither.io. Newer ones include starve.io or moomoo.io) and figured that it made sense to make the game in Unity. What I need to know is how much C# should a programmer know if they want to make a game like that (or any 2d game for that matter) and can a little time spent with unity tutorials easily expand on C# enough to get started in Unity? Is basic C# enough to get started with Unity?

Also, how does Unity code for servers, or to put it in simpler terms, for games that are online multiplayer?

As I see it, what I have in mind seems like it isn’t too far “out there” for a beginner and watching recreations on YouTube, it seems simple enough, but I want to get a general idea of the time and skill level required for the project that I have in mind.

Any answers that are clear and concise would be greatly appreciated :slight_smile:

2

You won’t get a clear and concise answer, because your question is totally subjective:
If your skill level is excellent, time required is not very much. If your skill level is less, time required will be longer.

Multiplayer networking is notoriously the hardest part of game development - that’s why network engineers normally get paid significantly more than other disciplines.
Unity makes it significantly easier for you by abstracting away most of the low-level networking code, but there’s still plenty of opportunities for you to make slip ups in your logic.

I suggest you start here, and come back when you have a specific question:
https://unity3d.com/learn/tutorials/topics/multiplayer-networking

And download the sample networking tanks game: