Scriptable Object Tagging System

Yassin Dhahbi
4 min readAug 14, 2023

🚀 Excited to share my journey of developing and testing a cutting-edge interaction response system in Unity! 🎮✨

As game developers, we often encounter challenges in managing complex interactions between tagged objects. To address this, I embarked on a mission to create a more dynamic and flexible approach.

🔧 Developing the Custom Interaction System:
After extensive research, I harnessed the power of UnityEvents and ScriptableObjects to design a custom interaction response system. This innovative solution allowed me to define and modify interaction behaviors without altering the core logic. 🧠💡

🛠️ Rigorous Testing Across Scenarios:
To ensure the system’s robustness, I put it through rigorous testing across various scenarios. From simple object interactions to intricate gameplay mechanics, the system proved its adaptability and scalability. 🧪🕹️

🌟 Unity Scene Showcase:
I’m thrilled to share a glimpse of my work through a small Unity scene. This scene vividly demonstrates the strength of modular code. Objects respond dynamically based on their assigned tags, showcasing the seamless and dynamic nature of the interaction system in action. 🌐💬

🔗 GitHub link: https://lnkd.in/e8FQHhfG

💪 The Takeaway:
The journey of developing this interaction response system has reaffirmed the significance of innovation and collaboration in game development. The system’s modularity, reusability, and readability have not only simplified interactions but also opened doors to new creative possibilities. 🚪🎮

I invite you to explore the power of modular code and its potential to revolutionize how we approach complex interactions in Unity. Let’s connect and discuss how innovative solutions like these are shaping the future of game development! 🚀

Here is a description of the system or at least a documentation of how it works:

S.O Tagging System

Unity’s native tagging system is a potent tool for categorizing game objects and handling interactions. However, as projects gain complexity, managing interactions among tagged objects can become challenging. In this article, we’ll delve into a fresh approach to tagging behavior in Unity, utilizing a bespoke system that makes use of UnityEvents and ScriptableObjects for more adaptable and versatile interactions. The Issue with Unity’s Preexisting Tags While Unity’s tag system is simple yet effective for grouping game objects into general categories, it lacks efficiency when dealing with intricate interactions among tagged objects. Often, developers resort to employing nested if statements or switch cases to oversee these interactions, leading to convoluted and difficult-to-manage code.

Introduction of a Custom Interaction Response System

To address this concern, we propose a custom interaction response system that taps into Unity’s UnityEvent and ScriptableObject functionalities. Here’s the breakdown of how it operates:

● Interaction Responses via UnityEvents: Rather than embedding interaction behaviors directly, our approach capitalizes on UnityEvents. UnityEvents are robust tools that permit the linkage of methods with events, providing a more modular and adaptable manner of defining interaction responses.

● ScriptableObjects for Tagging: We introduce a novel class called Tagger, which takes the form of a ScriptableObject representing a tag. By affiliating this tag with game objects through the TagManager component, we can now categorize objects in a more fluid and dynamic manner.

● CollisionTriggerResponse Component: The CollisionTriggerResponse component supersedes conventional OnTrigger and OnCollision methods. It boasts UnityEvents for various interaction events such as OnTriggerEnter, OnTriggerExit, OnCollisionEnter, and OnCollisionExit.

● CheckTag Method: Within the CollisionTriggerResponse component, the CheckTag method ensures that interaction events solely trigger for objects possessing specific tags. This method sidesteps nested if statements and bolsters code readability.

Advantages of the Custom Interaction System

Modularity and Reusability: With UnityEvents, defining and adjusting interaction responses becomes seamless without altering the core logic. This modular approach heightens code maintainability and enables interaction behaviors to be repurposed across different objects.

● Flexibility: ScriptableObjects furnish a dynamic approach to managing tags. Tags can be generated during runtime, attributed to objects, and interaction dynamics modified without needing to delve into the code.

● Neat and Tidy Code: By eliminating nested if statements and switch cases, your codebase acquires a cleaner layout, leading to improved readability and fostering smoother collaboration within your team.

● Implementation and Application Implementing this customized interaction response system encompasses the creation of ScriptableObjects as Taggers, incorporating the CollisionTriggerResponse component into interactable objects, and associating UnityEvents with distinct interaction events.

● Creation of Tags: Fabricate new tags employing the Tagger ScriptableObject. These tags can be assigned to objects via the TagManager component.

● Incorporation of CollisionTriggerResponse: Attach the CollisionTriggerResponse component to interactable objects. Configure UnityEvents for every interaction event and specify the target tag for each response.

● Embrace Dynamic Interactions: Objects equipped with the CollisionTriggerResponse component will promptly respond to interactions in line with their assigned tags. Experiment with diverse UnityEvents to formulate a myriad of interactions.

Conclusion

Although Unity’s tagging system forms a fundamental aspect, as projects evolve in complexity, a more adaptable and modular approach emerges as a necessity. By amalgamating UnityEvents with ScriptableObjects, our exclusive interaction response system furnishes a more organized, maintainable, and pliable approach to managing interactions among tagged objects. This strategy empowers developers to devise intricate and diverse interactions without compromising the readability and structure of their code.

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