davidbirchall/squad-skills-creative-technology

Technical pipeline for 2D assets in Unity - source PSD/Aseprite versus exported files, naming, sprites and pixels per unit, pivots, filter mode for pixel art, power-of-two and compression choices, sRGB versus linear colour space, sprite atlases, 9-slice, tilemaps and tile palettes, UI assets, and import validation with AssetPostprocessor. Load when importing sprites, textures, or UI art into Unity, configuring atlases and tilemaps, or automating 2D import rules.

Technical pipeline for getting 3D assets from Blender into Unity - FBX versus glTF export, scale and axis conventions, naming for LODs and colliders, mesh and material preparation, Unity model import settings (scale factor, normals, tangents, read/write, compression), prefab creation and organisation, folder structure, AssetPostprocessor validation, and per-asset-type checklists. Load when exporting from Blender, configuring Unity model imports, structuring 3D asset folders, or automating import validation.

Technical integration of animation in Unity - rig and skeleton conventions, humanoid versus generic rigs, import settings, clip splitting, root motion, Animator Controller structure (layers, state machines, sub-state machines, blend trees), avatar masks, Animation Rigging, retargeting, animation events and their cautions, Timeline versus Animator, hashed parameters, driving animation cleanly from code, compression, and naming. Load when importing rigged characters and clips, building Animator Controllers, wiring animation to gameplay code, or diagnosing foot sliding, popping, or event bugs.

Technical optimisation of game assets for Unity - budgets per asset class (triangles, texture size, materials, draw calls), mesh simplification and LODs, texture compression and mipmaps, atlasing, material consolidation, import-time versus runtime optimisation, platform-specific overrides, measuring before and after, and automated budget checks in CI through editor scripts, with audio and video sizing deferred to audio-integration. Load when setting asset budgets, reducing asset cost, configuring compression, or automating budget enforcement.

Technical audio integration in Unity - formats and import settings (load type, compression, sample rate, force mono), loudness targets and normalisation, AudioMixer groups, snapshots and ducking, voice limits and priorities, AudioSource pooling, spatial audio settings, music looping and transitions, adaptive music, localised voice-over, FMOD or Wwise middleware choice, naming conventions, memory budgets, and platform specifics. Load when importing audio, building mixers, wiring sound to gameplay, budgeting audio memory, or choosing between built-in audio and middleware.

Technical material and shader integration for Unity - choosing a render pipeline (URP, HDRP, Built-in) and checking asset compatibility, Shader Graph versus hand-written HLSL, shared master materials, material variants and instancing, shader keywords and variant explosion, property naming, channel-packed mask textures, PBR texture conventions, colour space, SRP Batcher compatibility, shader stripping and warmup, and debugging with the Frame Debugger. Load when setting up materials, authoring or reviewing shaders, packing textures, or diagnosing pink materials, variant counts, or batching problems.

Technical implementation of visual effects in Unity - choosing between the Particle System and VFX Graph, GPU versus CPU cost, pooling and lifetime management, overdraw and transparency sorting, LOD and culling, exposed parameters for gameplay, event-driven triggering, flipbook textures, shader-driven effects, mobile limits, determinism, performance budgets, and effect prefab organisation. Load when building, integrating, triggering, or budgeting effects such as impacts, trails, ambient particles, and screen or shader-driven effects.