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Unite 2013 – Vancouver Welcomes Unity
As luck would have it, this years Unite 2013 is being hosted in my own backyard, Vancouver Canada.
The 3 day conference is running from August 28 to 30 at the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre and with over 2 million registered Unity developers, should be a very lively and worthwhile event.
As a local I thought I pass along some info for those travelling to Vancouver for the first time to help make your trip more enjoyable.
Dining Out
First off, sooner or later, you’re going to need to eat and you’re in luck, Vancouver has some amazing restaurants. You can find pretty much any type of food you could imagine in the downtown core and surrounding areas do to Vancouver’s multicultural mix.
Steamworks
Graving a nice glass of beer, this brew pub is only a few blocks from the convention center and is a great local hangout.
Cafe Medina
I’ve had the most amazing breakfasts here, but they are great for lunch too.
Miku
Vancouver has some of the best sushi restaurants you’ll find so if you like Japanese, you in the right place.
Guu – Gastown
Modern take on Japanese located in quaint little Gastown.
http://guu-izakaya.com/gastown/
Hawksworth
Voted the top restaurant in Vancouver, if you’re looking for fine dining, the Hawksworth is highly recommend.
http://www.hawksworthrestaurant.com/
Vij’s
Do you like indian food, I know I do! Check out the award-winning Vij’s.
http://www.vijsrestaurant.ca/index_in.htm
Site Seeing
If you have any time outside the conference and are looking to check out some sites in Vancouver here are a few worth seeing.
The Steam Clock in Gastown
Be prepared for the swarm of tourists. everyone’s gotta see the clock at least once.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_clock
Stanley Park
Take a walk or run around the park, or just cop a squat and enjoy the ocean and one of the many beaches surrounding the park
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Park
Grouse Mountain
One of the most amazing views you’ll ever see of Vancouver. You can either walk about the mountain, what we locals call the Grouse Grind, or take the tram up. While frequented by skiers in the winter, there is quite a bit to do in the summer too, so check it out!
http://www.grousemountain.com/
Capilano Suspension Bridge
If you’re not totally freaked about heights, this a great little excursion.
Getting Around
Driving in Vancouver can be a pain, so why not make use of our excellent transit system.
We have busses, skytrains, sea-busses and even ferries to get you around! If your staying within the downtown core, you’ll be a 1 zone fair. If you venture over to North or West Vancouver, or Burnaby, you’ll need a 2 zone fare. One important note is that on weekends and after 6:30 you’ll only need a 1 zone fare. Your fair will give you a certain time period that it’s valid for and during this time you can ride busses, skytrains and the seabus at will.
Vancouver employes transit police, so don’t get caught without a fare or you can get a nasty fine. 2 zone fares are $4 for adults and 1 zone fares are $2.75, but you can always ask your driver or fare attendant if you’re not sure. If you know your going to be travelling around all day on transit, you should pick up a day pass, which will give you unlimited travel for the day.
Buy the way, you can take our skytrain all the way to the airport, which is both fast and economical, but make sure you get on the Canada Line. There are also tons of bike rentals around the city, especially around Denman St. near Stanley Park.
Taxi Service
Vancouver Taxi
http://www.avancouvertaxi.com/
Yellow Cab
http://www.yellowcabonline.com/
Pre Conference Training
If you’re new to Unity and want to get up to speed quickly before the conference, I can help. Just click on the link below and enter code unite2013 and get a discount on the most popular Unity training course on Udemy.com. Take the course for only $29 for a limited time. Check out Anyone Can Learn to Make a Game.
I hope this information helps make your Unite 2013 visit rock. Have fun!
Unity Asset Store – 100 Free Assets in my New Unity Asset Store Guide
Coming up with a good game idea is not the hard part for many people putting together their first game on a budget. The real challenge can often be found in the creation of the content for your game.
Creating environments, characters and props can be a very time consuming and technical challenging and is often a major reason why many games never see the light of day. I have compiled list of over 100+ free assets from Unity’s incredible Asset Store that will help you worry less about content and allow you to focus more attention on actually building your game. The list includes characters, environments, props, vehicles, vegetation, textures, music, full Unity game projects and animations. I also included a link for those of you out there looking to contribute content to the Asset Store for free or for profit!
Hope you enjoy!
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If you like this, then you may also be interested my new Unity iOS Quickstart Guide.
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Unity iOS Quick Start Guide for Free Version of Unity
As of May 2013 the free version of Unity 3D will now allow developers to build games for iOS and Android at no extra cost. That’s right no strings attached, no royalties and no extra license fees as long as you’re clearing under $100,000 in the previous fiscal year. If you happen to be make more than this, all you need to do is upgrade to Unity Pro. With over 600 million iOS devices out there and an even greater number of Android devices, the mobile market represents a huge opportunity for Unity developers!
I’ve put together a quick start guide to help you get your iOS devices set up and ready to run your Unity games!
Download your free copy of my Unity iOS Quick Start Guide today.
Unity iOS and Android Now Free for Small and Independent Game Developers
I’ve got some amazing news for you if you’re a small or independent game developer! Unity has now dropped the price of their basic iOS and Android licenses to FREE as of today! These licenses used to cost almost $400 a piece!
This is a huge deal for small and independent game developers around the world looking to get their games onto over 1 billion mobile devices.
To get access to be able to publish to iOS, Android, just download and install the latest version of Unity. Unity also states that Blackberry 10 and Windows Phone 8 deployment available in the coming months so stay tuned!
If you’re new to Unity and looking to get up to speed quickly, I’d recommend you check out Anyone Can Learn to make a Game on Udemy.com. In less then 5 hours you’ll have all the basics you need to start making games with Unity. With over 2000 students enrolled and over 60 reviews, you can’t go wrong.
Unity 3D Training – Anyone Can Learn to Make a Game Promo Video
Hot of the press! I just did a major revamp of my promo video for my Anyone Can Learn to Make a Game on Udemy.
I wanted my students to see there was a real live person behind my course and more clearly communicate the unique value my course delivers. I think this new video did the trick! If you want to learn to make games and are looking for a course that goes beyond just showing you the tools and technology, then you’ll want to check out my new course on Udemy.
Find out why my students have made my course one of the top game courses on Udemy!
You can also check out on my video Unity 3D Training – Anyone Can Learn to Make a Game on Youtube.
Ethical Games Blog 