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keenanwoodall/deform

3,641C#Audience · developerComplexity · 2/5Setup · easy

TLDR

A Unity package that lets you stack real-time mesh deformation effects on 3D models during gameplay, with multithreaded performance via Unity's Job System.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((Deform))
    What it does
      Real-time mesh deformation
      Stackable effects
      Procedural animation
    Deformer types
      Bend
      Twist
      Stretch
      Bulge
    Tech stack
      C#
      Unity Job System
      Multithreading
    Use cases
      Character animation
      Soft-body effects
      Reactive terrain
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Code map

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filefunction / class

Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Add squash-and-stretch or bend effects to characters and objects in a Unity game without writing custom shader or mesh code.

USE CASE 2

Stack multiple deformers on a single mesh to create complex procedural animations that update in real time.

USE CASE 3

Create terrain or environmental meshes that deform visually in response to gameplay events using pre-built deformer components.

Tech stack

C#Unity

Getting it running

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 30min

Requires Unity, install via Unity Package Manager and attach components in the Inspector.

License terms are not specified in the available information.

In plain English

Deform is a real-time mesh deformation system for the Unity game engine. It lets you apply visual effects that change the shape of 3D models while a game is running, rather than baking those shapes into static files beforehand. You can stack multiple deformers together in layers, combining effects to produce complex animations and transformations on the fly. A deformer in this context is a single effect that modifies a mesh, which is the 3D geometry making up a model. Examples include bending, twisting, stretching, squishing, and bulging. Deform provides a library of these effects that you attach to any object in Unity and configure through the Unity Inspector, the editor's graphical panel for adjusting component settings. No custom shader code or low-level graphics knowledge is required to start using them. The system is built with performance in mind. It uses Unity's Job System and multithreaded processing, meaning deformation calculations run across multiple CPU cores rather than one at a time. This matters for games, where deformation effects need to update every frame to stay smooth. The multithreaded approach keeps the cost of running many deformers at once low enough for real-time use. The intended users are game developers working in Unity who want more expressive character animation or interactive mesh effects than Unity's built-in tools provide out of the box. Common applications include squash-and-stretch animation, terrain that reacts to characters, soft-body-like visual effects, and procedural shape changes triggered by gameplay events. Deform is written in C# and integrates directly with the Unity Editor. It is not a standalone program. Developers add it to their Unity project, attach deformer components to scene objects, and configure the effects through the editor without writing low-level deformation code from scratch.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Add a real-time bend deformer to a character in Unity using the Deform package. Show me the component setup in the Inspector.
Prompt 2
How do I stack multiple Deform effects on one mesh object in Unity and control their order of execution?
Prompt 3
Set up a squash-and-stretch animation on a bouncing ball in Unity using Deform's deformer components, no custom code.
Prompt 4
How does Deform use Unity's Job System to run mesh deformations on multiple CPU cores, and how does this affect frame rate?
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