Player movement

Write the player movement script step by step.

Player Movement and Input Reading

The first step in moving the player is gathering directional input from the keyboard or controller. The functions Input.GetAxis("Horizontal") and Input.GetAxis("Vertical") return smoothed values between -1.0 and +1.0.

float x = Input.GetAxis("Horizontal");
float z = Input.GetAxis("Vertical");
Vector3 move = new Vector3(x, 0, z);

These readings are assembled into a 3D movement vector (Vector3).

Applying Movement and Time.deltaTime

To guarantee frame-rate independent locomotion, the velocity vector must be scaled by Time.deltaTime. Movement is then applied via transform.Translate.

void Update() {
    float x = Input.GetAxis("Horizontal");
    Vector3 move = new Vector3(x, 0, 0);
    transform.Translate(move * speed * Time.deltaTime);
}

This multiplication ensures the character traverses the exact prescribed distance per second regardless of whether the game runs at 30 or 144 FPS.

Exercise Player speed control

Define a Start method. Inside, declare float speed = 5.0f; and print "Oyuncu hizi: " + speed to the console.

Show example solution

using UnityEngine;

public class PlayerMovementTester : MonoBehaviour
{
    void Start()
    {
        float speed = 5.0f;
        Debug.Log("Oyuncu hizi: " + speed);
    }
}

Test yourself

Which input axis name is used in Unity to read horizontal movement (-1.0 to +1.0)?
- Jump
- Fire1
- Horizontal
- Mouse X
Show answer

Horizontal — In Unity's Input Manager, the default horizontal axis is named 'Horizontal' and captures A/D or left/right arrow keys.

Translate character transform

transform.____(move * speed * Time.deltaTime);

Show answer

transform.Translate(move * speed * Time.deltaTime);

Locomotion component concepts

Input.GetAxis

Reads keyboard or joystick axis input
Vector3

Direction and position vector in 3D
Time.deltaTime

Time elapsed between two frames
speed

Multiplier for character movement speed

Next lesson: Pickup mechanic

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