Table of Contents

Character Usage

The BlazerTech Character Management System includes the runtime components needed to load, render, animate and control characters.

Component Type Purpose
Character Renderer components Load and render characters.
Character Animator Handler component Control specific paramters set in an Animator Controller used to properly animate a character.
Character Movement components Handle player input and movement logic.

The Character Shader

A shader is used to visually display a character over the Base Spritesheet.
Sprites from the Base Spritesheet assigned in a Character Type are rendered in a component such as a Sprite Renderer or used in an Animator Controller.

If a Unified Character is used, the shader takes the single spritesheet of the character and shows that over the Base Spritesheet.
If a Layered Character is used, the shader combines all layers into the final rendered character.

Note

If a Character Renderer component is used the shader will be applied automatically.

Character Renderer Components

Character Renderer components will load and display any character regardless of the type

Components

Renderer Component Used For
Layered Character Group Renderer Load a saved Layered Character from a group.
Layered Character Template Renderer Create and render a Layered Character from a template.
Unified Character Template Renderer Create and render a Unified Character from a template.
Random Layered Character Renderer Create a new Layered Character with completely random layer options.

Character Renderer Core Fields

All Character Renderer components have the following fields.

References

Field Type Description
Renderer Renderer Reference to a Renderer component such as a Sprite Renderer. Used to apply character shader.
Set Animator Controller Bool Automatically assigns the Animator Controller from the referenced Character Type.
Animator Animator Reference to an Animator component to apply the animator controller. Only shown if Set Animator Controller is true.

Loading Settings

Field Type Description
Loading Mode Enum Option to load character asynchronously or synchronously.
Load Character On Start Bool If true the the character will be loaded when the Start method is called.

Unified Character Template Renderer

Requirements:

The Unified Character Template Renderer component renderers a Unified Character from a Unified Character Template.

Setup Steps:

  1. Add the component to a GameObject.
  2. Assign Renderer (Usually a Sprite Renderer).
  3. optionally assign Animator.
  4. Configure Loading Settings.
  5. Assign the Unified Character Template you want to use.
  6. Play your game and if Load Character On Start is enabled, your character will be displayed.

Layered Character Renderers

Layered Character Group Renderer

Requirements:

Read More → Character Groups

The Layered Character Group Renderer component renderers a previously saved Layered Character from a Character Group.

Setup Steps:

  1. Add the component to a GameObject.
  2. Assign Renderer (Usually a Sprite Renderer).
  3. optionally assign Animator.
  4. Configure Loading Settings.
  5. Assign the Character Type you want to load a character from.
  6. Select the Character Group (Primary, Flexible or Fixed) and configure parameters.

Character Groups

After a Character Type has been referenced, you can choose which group you want to load a Layered Character from:

Group Type Description
Primary Character Slot A single character contained in the Character Type. No additional parameters required.
Flexible Group A group of characters that can be added, removed, or edited at any time.
Fixed Group A group with a preset number of characters. New characters cannot be added or removed after creation.

If Flexible Group or Fixed Group is selected, the following parameters are required:

Parameter Type Description
Character Group Name String A unique name used to find the fixed or flexible group.
Character Load Method Enum Determines how a character is selected from the group:
- Character Name > Load a character by its saved name.
- Character Index > Load a character by its index position in the group.
- Randomized > Randomly load a character from the group.

Layered Character Template Renderer

Requirements:

The Layered Character Template Renderer component renderers a Layered Character from a Layered Character Template.

Setup Steps:

  1. Add the component to a GameObject.
  2. Assign Renderer (Usually a Sprite Renderer).
  3. optionally assign Animator.
  4. Configure Loading Settings.
  5. Assign the Layered Character Template you want to use.
  6. Play your game and if Load Character On Start is enabled, your character will be displayed.

Random Layered Character Renderer

Requirements:

The Random Layered Character Renderer component creates and renders a completely random Layered Character. A random option is chosen from every layer.

Setup Steps:

  1. Add the component to a GameObject.
  2. Assign Renderer (Usually a Sprite Renderer).
  3. optionally assign Animator.
  4. Configure Loading Settings.
  5. Assign the Layered Character Type you want to use.
  6. Play your game and if Load Character On Start is enabled, a new completely randomized character will be displayed.

Character Animator Handlers

Animator Handler components control parameters set within an Animator Controller.

All Animator Handler components require a reference to an Animator component.

Tip

An Animator Controller can be assigned to any Character Type and be automatically used a character of that type is used.

Top Down Character Animator Handler

The Top-Down Character Animator Handler synces parameters in an Animator Controller to values within the Top Down Movement Controller.

Inspector Fields

References:

Parameter Type Description
Animator Animator The Animator component used to set parameters.
Movement Controller TopDownMovementController The Top Down Movement Controller component used to listen for movement.

Parameter Names:

Parameter Type Description
Is Moving Param Bool The Animator parameter name used to indicate whether the character is moving.
Set to true when movement is detected.
Horizontal Movement Param String The Animator parameter name for horizontal input.
-1 when moving left and 1 when moving right.
Vertical Movement Param String The Animator parameter name for vertical input.
-1 when moving down and 1 when moving up.
Sprint Param Bool The Animator parameter name used to indicate when the character is sprinting.
True when sprinting, otherwise false.
Only available when Sprint is enabled in the Top Down Movement Controller.
Crouch Param Bool The Animator parameter name used to indicate when the character is crouching.
True when crouched, otherwise false.
Only available when Crouch is enabled in the Top Down Movement Controller.

How it works:

  • Reads movement and state data from the referenced Top Down Movement Controller.
  • Updates Animator Controller paramters in-real time to reflect the character's state.
  • Animator Controller uses those parameters to play specific animations.

Available Methods:

  • ChangeDirection(FourDirectional/EightDirectional): Immediately update the direction the character is facing.
  • PlayAnimation(string): Play a specific animation or blend tree by state name.
  • PlayDefaultAnimation(): Play the default animation state defined in the Animator Controller.

Top-Down Character Animator Handler Component

Top-Down Character Physics Animator Handler

The Top-Down Character Physics Animator Handler is physics-driven.
Every fixed update the position of the game object the component is attached to is compared to it's possition last frame.
This is used to determine the direction the character is moving and speed the character is traveling at.

Inspector Fields

References:

Parameter Type Description
Animator Animator The Animator component used to set parameters.

Parameter Names:

Parameter Type Description
Is Moving Param Bool The Animator parameter name used to indicate whether the character is moving.
Set to true when movement is detected.
Horizontal Movement Param String The Animator parameter name for horizontal input.
-1 when moving left and 1 when moving right.
Vertical Movement Param String The Animator parameter name for vertical input.
-1 when moving down and 1 when moving up.

Sprint Animation:

Field Type Description
Enable Sprint Bool If true, enables sprinting animations when speed is greater than Sprint Min Speed.
Sprint Min Speed Float Minimum speed required to trigger sprint animation.
Sprint Parameter Name String The Animator parameter name for the sprint state (default: "Is Sprinting").

Crouch Animation:

Field Type Description
Enable Crouch Bool If true, enables crouching animations when speed is less than Crouch Max Speed.
Crouch Max Speed Float Maximum speed for crouch animations to be used.
Crouch Parameter Name String The Animator parameter name for the crouch state (default: "Is Crouching").

How it works:

  • Calculates movement each FixedUpdate() by comparing current and previous positions.
  • Determines direction and speed, then updates Animator parameters.
  • Optionally toggles sprint/crouch states when enabled.
  • Animator Controller uses those parameters to play specific animations.

Available Methods:

  • ChangeDirection(FourDirectional/EightDirectional): Immediately update the direction the character is facing.
  • PlayAnimation(string): Play a specific animation or blend tree by state name.
  • PlayDefaultAnimation(): Play the default animation state defined in the Animator Controller.

Top-Down Character Physics Animator Handler Component

Important

Due to the nature of how the Top-Down Character Physics Animator Handler works, crouch animations can only be played when the character is moving.

Character Controllers

Character Controllers are included components which let the player control the movement of a game object.

When used with a Character Animator Hander you can both control and aniamte any character with ease.

Top Down Movement Controller

The Top Down Movement Controller handles player movement for top-down 2d games where there are 4 directions the player can move (Left, right, up, down).

Input Configuration

This component uses Unitys New Input System. Every input action is configurable.

Input Actions are used to easily modify what inputs are used for each action.

Input Actions
Input Action Type Usage
Move Action Vector2 The input action used to control player movement along the X and Y axes.
Sprint Action Button The input action used to let the player sprint. (If enabled)
Crouch Action Button The input action used to let the player crouch. (If enabled)

A default Input Action asset is included under the /Input Actions subfolder.
This asset contains the default input actions for moving, sprinting and crouching.

Auto Enable Actions

If Auto Enable Actions is checked, the component automatically enables and disables the assigned input actions when the GameObject is enabled or disabled.
This is useful when not using a PlayerInput component or a project‑wide input actions asset that handles enabling automatically.

Movement Settings

Field Type Description
Move Speed Float Base walk speed (Default: 6.5).
Can Move Bool Toggles whether the character can currently move. Can be changed via script or in the inspector.

Sprinting & Crouching

Optional sprinting and crouching systems can be toggled on via their corresponding booleans. Each system has customizable speed and button mode options.

Field Type Description
Speed Float Movement speed while sprint or crouching.
Mode Enum Determines whether the button must be held or toggled. (Default: Hold)

References

Reference Type Description
Rigidbody2D Rigidbody2D Required reference used for applying movement.

Runtime Properties

Property Type Description
IsMoving bool True if the player is currently moving.
IsSprinting bool True if the player is currently sprinting.
IsCrouching bool True if the player is currently crouching.
Movement Vector2 Current normalized movement direction.
Tip

Designed to be used along with a Character Animator Handler component. When used together they provide both character movement and animation functionality.

Character Display Name Renderer

The Character Display Name Renderer component provides an easy way to render the Display Name of a character on screen.

Config

Setup how you'll get a reference to a character. There are two options.

  1. From Character Renderer
  2. From Character Group
    • Find a character from a group. Assign the Character Type you want to use and the group you want to load from.
    • Read more about character groups here.

References

Field Type Description
Display Name Parent GameObject Parent GameObject used to disable text when Display Name is blank.
Display Name Text TMP_Text Reference to a TMP Text component used to render the Display Name text.
Note

Use a canvas with a Render Mode set to World Space. This lets you display UI elements within the world. In this case it'll sit on top of our character and follow along with it.

Edit this page