Key Words

Rigidbody:

A Rigidbody is put on an object to have it affected by the force of gravity

Collider:

A collider is put on an object to make it physical so it can affect other objects. This is different to rigidbody as it doesn’t necessarily mean it is affected by gravity. This can be used on its own as things such as floating platforms but colliders are necessary for any things to interact.

Prefab:

A prefab is a saved object that can be used at any time. Prefabs can be created with the desired settings such as rigidbody, colliders and physics Effectors already applied so they can save time creating sprites and changing the settings manually.

Physics Effector:

Physics Effectors affect the way things interact with them. They can act as magnets, make things float, move faster etc. This can be useful in game design when the level demands different situations such as wind pushing the player in a different direction, treadmills slowing the player down, platforms used to speed the player up or pulling the player in a specific direction. Types of Effectors include:

Area Effectors: affects the way the air in an area moves. Could be used as wind movement. Usually the area affected has no visible sprite.

Surface Effectors: Conveyor belts

Buoyancy Effector: Makes objects float

Point Effector: Pulls or pushes objects against a specific point.