CODEWITHSUNDEEP
cross-platformunity-game-engine
cantdutchthis
cantdutchthis

Reputation: 34527

unity platform for apps

I am considering making a small app for desktop pc's. I would mainly like to have support for mac and for ubuntu (linux) and I wouldn't mind support for windows as well. An easy way seems to develop an app using Unity, but it is more known to be an engine for games.

To my simple logic, there should be no reason why an app cannot be built with Unity. A platform that features the ability to create massive laser marine gunbattles should be capable of rending pretty buttons and a user interface. The plus side is that with unity you can port to all platforms that I would like this app to run on as well.

Am I making a bad assumption? Are there any people that have done such things? The app I would like to make might be open source, does the Unity platform limit me in any way here?

Upvotes: 0

Views: 259

Answers (1)

Bill Pyne
Bill Pyne

Reputation: 76

You are correct in your reasoning that it is possible to make a normal app with Unity, but this of course is not what Unity was intended for. It is geared towards rendering and updating scenes (including physics, game logic, etc.). If you do not need the notion of scenes in your app, then you will add additional complexity to your development and run-time overhead that you would not normally need.

Another drawback is that you will need to abide by Unity's licensing with your app which may or may not be an issue for you (https://store.unity3d.com - See links at the very bottom for other special licenses, such as for gambling).

Since you mentioned Unity specifically, it uses Mono for some of its run-time support across platforms. Perhaps you want to consider using just Mono and associated tools instead (http://www.mono-project.com).

Upvotes: 1

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