Delivery 3: In-Editor Analytics Visualization System

Student: Yiwei Yu Course: Game Data Analysis Unity Project: Data_Visualization_proj/

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Quick Start

Opening the Visualization Tool

1. Open Unity project: Delivery 3/Data_Visualization_proj/
2. Wait for Unity to compile scripts
3. Open the Analytics Dashboard: Window > Game Analytics > Visualization Dashboard
4. Click "Test Connection" to verify backend connectivity

Generating Demo Data

1. Open ExampleScene.unity (already configured)
2. Press Play
3. Play for 2-5 minutes (explore, die, collect items)
4. Data automatically exports to MySQL in real-time
5. Exit Play mode

Viewing Visualizations

1. In Analytics Dashboard, select a session from dropdown
2. Click "Load Session"
3. Choose a preset (e.g., "Death Hotspots")
4. Switch to Scene View to see visualizations

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System Overview

This project implements a complete analytics pipeline for Unity's 3D Game Kit Lite:

Data Pipeline: Unity Runtime → PHP Backend → MySQL Database → Unity Editor Visualization

Backend (MySQL + PHP)

• Database: UPC Server (citmalumnes.upc.es)

• Schema: yiweiy

• Tables: 5 normalized tables with delivery3_ prefix

  • delivery3_sessions - Gameplay sessions
  • delivery3_player_positions - Movement tracking (2 Hz sampling)
  • delivery3_death_events - Player/enemy deaths
  • delivery3_pickup_events - Item collection
  • delivery3_combat_events - Damage tracking

• PHP Endpoints: Hosted at https://citmalumnes.upc.es/~yiweiy/delivery3_backend/

  • receive_analytics.php - Real-time data ingestion
  • get_sessions.php - Session list retrieval
  • get_session_data.php - Full session data export

Visualization Features

Interactive Scene View Overlays:

• Heatmap - 3D grid-based density visualization (blue = low, red = high)
• Movement Paths - Player trajectory with direction arrows
• Death Markers - Red/orange pillars showing death locations with labels
• Pickup Markers - Green cubes for item collection events
• Combat Markers - Yellow rings for damage events

Customization Controls:

• Grid size adjustment (0.5m - 10m)
• Time range filtering (analyze specific gameplay segments)
• Event type toggles (deaths, pickups, combat)
• Color palette customization
• Layer visibility controls

Presentation Presets:

1. Death Hotspots - Difficulty spike analysis
2. Exploration Patterns - Movement heatmap + paths
3. Combat Analysis - Combat + death correlation
4. First 2 Minutes - Onboarding effectiveness
5. Complete Overview - All layers enabled

Keyboard Shortcuts:

• H - Toggle Heatmap
• P - Toggle Paths
• D - Toggle Deaths
• K - Toggle Pickups
• C - Toggle Combat
• A - Apply/Refresh Visualization
• X - Clear All
• R - Reset Time Range

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Technical Highlights

Non-Intrusive Design: Zero modifications to 3D Game Kit source code. Analytics collected via event subscription pattern.

Real-Time Export: Position samples batched (20 at a time) and sent asynchronously during gameplay. Fire-and-forget pattern ensures no performance impact.

Scalable Architecture: Normalized MySQL schema with foreign keys, indexes, and CASCADE DELETE. Tested with 1000+ position samples per session.

Editor Integration: Custom EditorWindow, SceneView hooks, persistent settings via ScriptableObject, coroutine-based async HTTP requests.

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Files Structure

Delivery 3/
├── Data_Visualization_proj/          # Unity project (OPEN THIS)
│   └── Assets/Analytics/              # Custom analytics system
├── Backend/                           # PHP scripts (uploaded to UPC)
│   ├── config.php
│   ├── receive_analytics.php
│   ├── get_sessions.php
│   └── get_session_data.php
├── Database/
│   └── schema_upc.sql                 # Database schema
└── README.md                          # This file

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Troubleshooting

"Connection Failed" Error:

• Verify PHP files uploaded to UPC server
• Check config.php has correct credentials (schema: yiweiy)
• Test endpoint: https://citmalumnes.upc.es/~yiweiy/delivery3_backend/test_connection.php

Visualizations Not Appearing:

• Ensure you're in Scene View (not Game View)
• Click "Apply Visualization" button
• Check session has data (positions count > 0)
• Verify time range filter includes data

No Sessions in Dropdown:

• Generate demo data by playing the game
• Click "Refresh Sessions" button
• Check MySQL tables have data: SELECT * FROM delivery3_sessions;