Version: 2021.1
2D game development quickstart guide
Art styles for 2D games

Game perspectives for 2D games

Decide what game perspective or viewpoint you want your game to have. The following table describes the main types of 2D game perspective:

Game perspective Description
Top-down A 2D game that provides an overhead or bird’s-eye view of the action.
Side-on A 2D game where the character moves left or right (or up and down) and the screen scrolls with them. The perspective is from the side.
Isometric and 2.5D (three-quarter view) 2D games with isometric view simulate 3D geometry and a depth axis, but use an orthographic Camera instead of a perspective Camera. This gives the player a bird’s-eye view of the action. For information on orthographic and perspective Cameras, see CamerasA component which creates an image of a particular viewpoint in your scene. The output is either drawn to the screen or captured as a texture. More info
See in Glossary
.
2.5D (also known as three-quarter view) games are 2D games that use 3D geometry for the environment and characters, but restrict the gameplay to two dimensions. The 3D effect has a visual rather than functional purpose.

Many sections of this guide are relevant for all game perspectives. For top-down and side-on perspectives, the TilemapA GameObject that allows you to quickly create 2D levels using tiles and a grid overlay. More info
See in Glossary
and 9-slicing tools are especially useful for designing your levels. For isometric, three-quarter view or 2.5D perspectives, the Isometric Tilemaps tool is especially useful.

Examples

A top-down 2D game demo made with Unity
A top-down 2D game demo made with Unity
A 2D side-on game demo made with Unity
A 2D side-on game demo made with Unity
An isometric 2D game demo made with Unity
An isometric 2D game demo made with Unity
2D game development quickstart guide
Art styles for 2D games