This is a different tutorial, we will have no code explanation, but we will have something else, that will help us understand what a unity frame is.
Simply put, it is a single image presented to the player at a given time, with the goal of creating the illusion of motion.
As you are playing a game, you get to see things moving on the screen, each of these moving “things” amounts up to give a given image at an instance, this image you see at any time is what a frame is.
Let us create a simple scenario, playing FIFA. When you think of it, as you play, you see so many players moving, spectating fans, the ball also moves, etc.
Okay, now I want you to take three quick screenshots of your game, or make it maybe 10.
Now I want you to look at these 10 screenshots separately, putting them side by side with one another. You will notice one thing, they are the same, only the characters appear at different places with time. That is it!
So, will the images you have captured appear like the real game you are playing? No. This is because of unity frames per second, how many frames you can see on your screen per second.
Okay, we said we will not be doing any coding in this unity frame guide, but nobody said anything about not having a practical session.
I want you to open your favorite movie on VLC, let it play and as it plays, keep pressing (Shift + S) to take screenshots. Do this for about 15 seconds.
Now, open the folder where these are saved, and open the first photo. Now depending on the speed of your screenshot taking is how smooth you should expect your “flip book video” to be.
This also applies to gaming, and what you can do is the same, open your favorite game, have free roam for like 15 seconds, whilst taking the screenshots, then do the same. You will be replaying your free roam, only this time, you have it presented as a sequence of frames.
Similarly, this is how our consoles and computers present the game to us. The games appear faster because unlike us, they are faster at presenting the frames than we are at capturing the screenshots.
A unity frame is a single image presented to the player per second. The faster the images are presented, the smoother the gaming experience and hence the higher the unity frames per second.
And with that, happy coding!