Unity from Zero to Proficiency (Beginner)

A step-by-step guide to coding your first game

Created by: Patrick Felicia
Lecturer and Researcher

What Will I Learn?

• Understand object-oriented programming (OOP) concepts when coding in C#.
• Get used to and understand the concepts of variables, methods, and scope.
• Understand key best practices for coding, especially in C#.
• Understand conditional statements and decision making structures.
• Understand the concept of loops.
• Understand best coding practices.
• Code your first script in Unity
• Create classes, methods and variables.
• Instantiate objects based on your own classes.
• Use built-in methods.
• Use conditional statements.
• Detect collisions between the player and other objects.
• Create, apply and detect labels from a script.
• Collect objects upon collision.
• Implement a scoring system to keep track of the number of objects collected.
• Change the current level and load a new scene from the script based on the score.
• Create and display a timer.
• Create a function that displays messages onscreen.
• Modify this function so that the message disappears after a few seconds.
• Display messages when the user has collected items.
• Create functions to maximize your code.
• Use additional built-in functions.
• Activate and deactivate objects from your script.
• Create menus and make it possible for the player to navigate between them.
• Create buttons.
• Manage interaction with buttons.
• Link different scenes using buttons.
• Add background music.
• Mute the music using the keyboard.
• Add and configure a mini-map.
• Display the items collected as part of the user interface.

Requirements

• To complete the project presented in this course you only need Unity 2018 (or a more recent version) and to also ensure that your computer and its operating system comply with Unity’s requirements. Unity can be downloaded from the official website and before downloading, you can check that your computer is up to scratch.
• In terms of computer skills, all knowledge introduced in this course will assume no prior programming experience from you. So for now, you only need to be able to perform common computer tasks, such as downloading items, opening and saving files, be comfortable with dragging and dropping items and typing, and relatively comfortable with Unity’s interface. This being said, because the focus of this course is on scripting, and while all steps are explained step-by-step, you may need to be relatively comfortable with Unity’s interface, as well as creating and transforming objects.
• So, if you would prefer to become more comfortable with Unity prior to start scripting, you can take the first course in the series called Unity From Zero to Proficiency (Foundations). This course covers most of the shortcuts and views available in Unity, as well as how to perform common tasks in Unity such as creating objects, transforming objects, importing assets, using navigation controllers, or exporting the game to the web.

Target audience

• You are a total beginner in Unity or programming.
• You would like to become proficient in the core functionalities offered by Unity.
• You would like to teach students or help your child to understand how to create games, using coding.
• Youe would like to start creating great games.
• Although you may have had some prior exposure to Unity, you would like to delve more into Unity and understand its core functionalities in more detail.