Tilemap basics in Unity - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Tilemap basics

📖 Scenario: You are creating a simple 2D game level using Unity's Tilemap system. You want to set up a grid and paint some tiles to form a basic floor layout.

🎯 Goal: Build a Unity script that creates a Tilemap grid, adds a Tilemap component, and paints a few tiles to form a floor pattern.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a Grid GameObject

Add a Tilemap component to the Grid

Create a Tile asset

Paint tiles on the Tilemap at specific positions

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Tilemaps are used in 2D games to create levels efficiently by painting tiles on a grid instead of placing individual sprites.

💼 Career

Understanding tilemaps is important for game developers working on 2D games, especially for level design and optimization.

1

Create a Grid GameObject and add a Tilemap component

Write a Unity C# script that creates a new GameObject called gridGameObject and adds a Grid component to it. Then add a child GameObject called tilemapGameObject and add a Tilemap component to it.

Unity

// Create a Grid GameObject and add a Tilemap component
// Your code here

Need a hint?

Use new GameObject("Grid") to create the grid and AddComponent() to add the grid component. Then create a child GameObject for the tilemap and add Tilemap and TilemapRenderer components.

2

Create a Tile asset variable

Add a public variable called floorTile of type Tile to the script. This will hold the tile asset you want to paint on the Tilemap.

Unity

using UnityEngine;
using UnityEngine.Tilemaps;

public class TilemapSetup : MonoBehaviour
{
    public GameObject gridGameObject;
    public GameObject tilemapGameObject;
    // Declare a public Tile variable called floorTile
    // Your code here

    void Start()
    {
        gridGameObject = new GameObject("Grid");
        gridGameObject.AddComponent();

        tilemapGameObject = new GameObject("Tilemap");
        tilemapGameObject.transform.parent = gridGameObject.transform;
        tilemapGameObject.AddComponent();
        tilemapGameObject.AddComponent();
    }
}

Need a hint?

Declare public Tile floorTile; inside the class but outside any method.

3

Paint tiles on the Tilemap at specific positions

Inside the Start() method, get the Tilemap component from tilemapGameObject and use SetTile to paint the floorTile at positions (0, 0, 0), (1, 0, 0), and (2, 0, 0).

Unity

using UnityEngine;
using UnityEngine.Tilemaps;

public class TilemapSetup : MonoBehaviour
{
    public GameObject gridGameObject;
    public GameObject tilemapGameObject;
    public Tile floorTile;

    void Start()
    {
        gridGameObject = new GameObject("Grid");
        gridGameObject.AddComponent();

        tilemapGameObject = new GameObject("Tilemap");
        tilemapGameObject.transform.parent = gridGameObject.transform;
        tilemapGameObject.AddComponent();
        tilemapGameObject.AddComponent();

        // Get the Tilemap component and paint floorTile at (0,0,0), (1,0,0), (2,0,0)
        // Your code here
    }
}

Need a hint?

Use GetComponent<Tilemap>() on tilemapGameObject to get the Tilemap. Then call SetTile with new Vector3Int(x, y, 0) and floorTile for each position.

4

Print confirmation message

Add a Debug.Log statement at the end of Start() that prints "Tiles painted successfully!" to confirm the tiles were set.

Unity

using UnityEngine;
using UnityEngine.Tilemaps;

public class TilemapSetup : MonoBehaviour
{
    public GameObject gridGameObject;
    public GameObject tilemapGameObject;
    public Tile floorTile;

    void Start()
    {
        gridGameObject = new GameObject("Grid");
        gridGameObject.AddComponent();

        tilemapGameObject = new GameObject("Tilemap");
        tilemapGameObject.transform.parent = gridGameObject.transform;
        tilemapGameObject.AddComponent();
        tilemapGameObject.AddComponent();

        Tilemap tilemap = tilemapGameObject.GetComponent();
        tilemap.SetTile(new Vector3Int(0, 0, 0), floorTile);
        tilemap.SetTile(new Vector3Int(1, 0, 0), floorTile);
        tilemap.SetTile(new Vector3Int(2, 0, 0), floorTile);

        // Print confirmation message
        // Your code here
    }
}

Need a hint?

Use Debug.Log("Tiles painted successfully!"); at the end of the Start() method.