Can JavaScript be expressly used to develop Unity games?

Question

I would like an authoritative answer on a point that has been a question mark for me for a little while. There seems to be a frequent use of the term JavaScript to mean or describe UnityScript.

I have been told time and again that you can use actual JavaScript to develop games in Unity, however from what I understand UnityScript could, at best, be described as a superset of JavaScript, but there really are some items that perhaps aren't completely compatible and you can't simply use JS as you normally would to develop Unity games as you would have to follow their conventions.

Am I wrong about this? Can you actually use pure JS and its conventions directly to make Unity games outside of following the parameters that UnityScript has set?

Answer 1

Short answer: No you cannot use PURE JavaScript. As far an I am aware - Unity uses it's own JS-like syntax (some people refer to it as Unity JS) but it is most commonly known as UnityScript.

Your question arises from the fact that the Unity community refers to JavaScript and UnityScript as if they are equivalent and interchangeable.

Whilst these look and feel extremely similar - there are some fundamental differences such as UnityScript being class-based whilst JavaScript doesn't support classes.

You can definitely use prior JavaScripting conventions you have picked up within UnityScript as a LOT of it applies. The semantics used are a little different - but I've found it doesn't take long to pick up on the small changes.

Read more about it here: UnityScript versus JavaScript

Happy coding!