Design Patterns for Game Programming – Unity 6 Compatible by Penny de Byl

Want to write code that doesn’t fall apart the moment you add a new feature? This course is your practical guide to the 12 most important game programming design patterns in Unity and C#. You’ll move past spaghetti code and learn how to build modular, reusable systems that make your game logic cleaner and easier to manage.

🎯 What you’ll learn

• How to create robust, reusable modularised code for games.
• How to implement repeatable solutions to common game programming problems.
• How to apply patterns like Command, Observer, Singleton, and State.
• How to use Unity’s Entity Component System (ECS) for performance.

✅ Requirements

• Skills: Be able to program in C#. Have used the Unity Game Engine at a basic level.
• Tools: A 3-button mouse, a drawing tablet is optional.
• Hardware: A computer capable of running Unity 6.

📝 Description

This isn’t a dry theory lecture. Penny de Byl takes you straight into hands-on workshops where you’ll build real game mechanics. You’ll work through patterns like Command, Observer, and State by creating an asteroid shooter, a radar system, and a dynamic prefab system. The goal is simple: stop writing brittle code and start building systems that are easy to extend and debug.

The course covers the Flyweight pattern using Scriptable Objects to save memory, and dives into Unity’s ECS for high-performance data-oriented design. You’ll also tackle Object Pooling to handle spawning hundreds of projectiles without tanking your frame rate. Every pattern is taught in the context of a real game problem, so you’ll know exactly when and why to use it.

All starter files, models, and scenes are provided. You’ll walk away with a solid toolkit of reusable code snippets and a clear understanding of how to structure your game’s architecture.

🧑‍🎓 Who this course is for

• Game programmers who want to better their understanding of programming constructs to improve their code.
• Beginners learning game coding who want to get off on the right foot.

🧑‍🏫 About the Author

Penny de Byl is a full professor with over 25 years of experience teaching game development, programming, and computer graphics at universities in Australia and Europe. She holds a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence for game characters and an honors degree in computer graphics. Penny has consulted for Unity and SAE, and her bestselling textbook Holistic Game Development with Unity is used in over 100 institutions worldwide. Her graduates work at companies like Apple, Ubisoft, and LinkedIn.

🏁 Final Result

• A portfolio-ready understanding of 12 core game programming design patterns.
• A collection of reusable code examples and systems you can drop into your own Unity projects.