Java-to-Unity Platform Migration - Nub Remake Case Study

Nub is an isometric puzzle game originally created for the Ouya Android game console. When the Ouya platform failed commercially, the game was stranded on defunct hardware with no viable path to modern platforms. Inferna Games, the original creators, provided the Java source code and asked Ocean View Games to bring the game back to life. Porting the native Java codebase directly proved impractical, so a strategic decision was made: a complete remake in Unity using the original source as a reference. Reference-Based Rebuild: Rather than a line-by-line translation, we used the Java source to understand gameplay logic, puzzle mechanics, and level data, then rebuilt each system natively in Unity C#. Mobile Adaptation: The original game was designed for a game controller. Touchscreen controls required rethinking input zones, camera behaviour, and interaction feedback for smaller screens. Multi-Platform Parity: The finished game needed to feel native on Steam (keyboard and mouse), iOS (touch), and Android (touch) without maintaining separate codebases.