Unity: Particle Effects & Synoptic

The Particle System

In Unity, a particle system component simulates fluid entities such as liquids, clouds and flames. It does this by generating and animating large numbers of small 2D images in the scene. Particles are small, simple images that are displayed and moved in large numbers by the particle system. Using a smoke cloud as an example, each particle would have a tiny texture to recreate smoke, resembling a tiny cloud. Many of these tiny particles piled together, the overall effect is changed to a larger cloud.

An example of something created in the particle system

Synoptic Project Particle Effects

For one of the projects I am working on, which is a game, I am required to give my VFX related input in the form of of particle effects. This involves engines and projectiles.

To start off, I had to learn the basics of the particle system, as I had never used it before. The menu did look quite shocking at first glance, but after using it for a while (and following a handy guide), I got to grasps with most of it.

Using a model from the game, I created some simple engine effects to be used in the final version.

I am quite proud of these effects after never using this system before. In the final game, they will adjust to the speed of the player.