unity-pattern-object-pooling

name	unity-pattern-object-pooling
description	Object Pooling
category	unity
source	unity-design-patterns-skills
source_path	patterns/object-pooling/SKILL.md

Object Pooling

Purpose

Reuse expensive or high-churn objects instead of allocating and destroying them repeatedly.

Use When

• Bullets, VFX, UI rows, or enemies spawn frequently.
• GC churn or instantiate/destroy spikes are measurable.
• Objects can be reset predictably.

Avoid When

• Objects spawn rarely.
• Reset rules are too fragile and stale state bugs are likely.

Unity Implementation Recipe

1. Define acquire and release rules.
2. Reset transient state on release.
3. Prewarm based on actual usage.
4. Instrument misses, leaks, and growth.

Common Pitfalls

• Reusing objects that still have listeners or coroutines attached.
• Pooling everything by default without evidence.

Minimal Unity Sketch

public sealed class BulletPool
{
    private readonly Queue<Bullet> _free = new();

    public Bullet Get() => _free.Count > 0 ? _free.Dequeue() : new Bullet();

    public void Release(Bullet bullet)
    {
        bullet.ResetState();
        _free.Enqueue(bullet);
    }
}

Response Shape

• Say whether Object Pooling is actually the right fit.
• Map it to concrete Unity types, ownership, and lifecycle.
• Prefer a production-shaped skeleton over a long tutorial dump.
• Call out the simpler alternative if this pattern would be overengineering.