Introduction to character control

A Character Controller lets a character follow floors, stop at walls, and push Rigidbody objects without realistic momentum or acceleration from incoming collisions.

The character in a first- or third-person game usually needs some collision-based physics so that it doesn't fall through the floor or walk through walls. In many applications, character acceleration and movement don't follow realistic physics. As a result, the character can accelerate, brake, and change direction almost instantly, and momentum doesn't affect its movement.

In 3D physics, you can create this type of behavior with a . This component gives the character a simple, capsule-shaped collider that's always upright. The controller has its own special functions to set the object's speed and direction. But unlike true colliders, a rigidbody isn't needed and the momentum effects aren't realistic.

A character controller can't walk through static colliders, so it follows floors and stops at walls. To make the controller push Rigidbody objects aside as it moves, implement the behavior in a script. Incoming collisions don’t accelerate the character. You can use standard 3D colliders to create a scene around which the controller walks, but you're not limited by realistic physical behavior on the character itself.