Unity Physics Body Types

In game development, realism isn’t just about stunning visuals. It’s also about how objects behave in the world. Unity’s physics engine plays a key role in bringing these interactions to life. Static Bodies Static bodies are completely immobile. Once placed in the scene, they stay fixed in position and rotation. They don’t respond to forces or collisions. But other objects can collide with them. Key Characteristics : No Rigidbody required in 3D (collider alone is enough) Use Rigidbody2D with bodyType = Static in 2D Ideal for: walls, floors, terrain, or background structures Optimised for performance. Unity doesn’t have to recalculate their position Kinematic Bodies Kinematic bodies don’t respond to physics forces or collisions themselves, but they can still affect Dynamic bodies if they move into them. They’re moved through scripting (e.g., by changing transform.position or setting velocity). Key Characteristics : Set isKinematic = true on Rigidbody (3D) Set bodyType = Kinematic on Rig