Unity 3D + Playmaker - Runner Series - Adding 3 Lane Movement to Player - Easy Beginner Movement

In this tutorial, I'll show how to download a character and character animations from Mixamo.com and then setting the character and connecting the main animation to the character in Unity. Also check out How to Make a Bounce Game Series https://bit.ly/39HIYBU. Contents: 0:00 Intro 0:35 Getting Sta

This Runner Series tutorial sets up three-lane movement for a runner: the player snaps between a center lane and left and right positions using tweened position changes. It is built with keyboard input but structured so swipe gestures can be added for mobile, and it uses a game manager FSM so all player logic lives in one place.

Prepare the player and FSM

Tag the player object as player for later use. Create a game manager with a player child holding a Player Movement FSM whose first state, Listen For Input, watches for key presses. Keeping the FSM on a logic-only game object separates control from the visible character.

Move left and right

In Listen For Input, add Get Key Down on the left arrow sending a move left event to a Move Left state. There, use Tween Position on the actual player character (a specific game object, not the manager) from its current position to negative 0.5 on X over about 0.4 seconds, so it glides one half-unit lane to the left. Copy the action for the right arrow, sending move right to a Move Right state that tweens to positive 0.5. Half a unit per lane keeps the three lanes evenly spaced.

Return to center

From the left and right positions the player must be able to come back. In the Move Right state, add a Get Key Down on the left arrow that sends move left to a Move To Center state; in Move Left, add the right arrow sending move right to the same center state. Move To Center tweens the X back to 0, then a Finished transition returns to Listen For Input.

Wire the full lane logic

The result is a clean state machine: from center, left or right keys move you to those lanes; from a side lane, the opposite key returns you to center, and from center you can move either way again. Because every move is a tween, the character animates smoothly between lanes rather than snapping. The structure leaves room to drop in swipe-gesture actions later so the same movement works on mobile.