The Complete Unity 5 Intro - Learn to Build and Design Games from Udemy

In this course, instructor Alan Thorn explains everything you need to get started in Unity 5, even if you're completely new to game development. Through clear and concise examples, he will be exploring all of the necessary basics of Unity in a practical context and be covering topics ranging from user interface navigation and viewport controls all the way through some of the more in-depth features such as terrain creation, lighting, materials, particle effects, and animation to name a few. If you're ready to start making games, this course has everything you need.

(Students - please look under Section 1 / Lecture 1 downloads for the source files associated with the lesson.)

More about the Instructor:

Alan Thorn is a freelance game developer and author with over 12 years of industry experience. He is the founder of London-based game studio, Wax Lyrical Games, and is the creator of award-winning adventure game Baron Wittard: Nemesis of Ragnarok. He has worked freelance on over 500 projects worldwide including games, simulators, kiosks, and augmented reality software for game studios, museums and theme parks. He has spoken on game development at universities throughout the UK, and is the author of nine books on game development, including Teach Yourself Games Programming, Unity 4 Fundamentals and the highly popular UDK Game Development.

What's inside

Learning objectives

Learn from start to finish out to begin building levels and game spaces with the latest version of unity

Learn the ui, viewport controls, and all the tools you need to start using unity confidently to be able to start building levels and games

Learn from start to finish out to begin building levels and game spaces with the latest version of unity
Learn the ui, viewport controls, and all the tools you need to start using unity confidently to be able to start building levels and games

Syllabus

Getting Started with Unity 5

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Downloading and Installing Unity

Creating Your First Project

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Provides a comprehensive introduction to Unity 5, covering essential topics from UI navigation to terrain creation, lighting, and animation, which are fundamental for beginners

Explores the asset store, which is a marketplace for models, sounds, and code that can accelerate game development and provide inspiration for new projects

Taught by Alan Thorn, a game developer with over 12 years of industry experience and author of multiple books on game development, which lends credibility and practical insights

Covers terrain creation, sculpting, and texturing, which are essential skills for building immersive and visually appealing game environments

Explores particle systems and image effects, which are used to create visual flair and enhance the overall aesthetic of a game

Focuses on Unity 5, which was released in 2015 and has since been succeeded by newer versions of Unity with updated features and workflows

Reviews summary

Unity 5 game development fundamentals

According to learners, this course provides a great starting point for learning game development with Unity. Students appreciate the clear explanations and hands-on approach, finding it effective for grasping core fundamentals like UI navigation, terrain, lighting, and basic animation. However, a significant point raised by many is that the course uses Unity 5, an outdated version. While the foundational concepts remain relevant, learners note that many features and workflows have changed in modern Unity versions, requiring additional effort to adapt or supplement their learning.

Teaches essential Unity interface and systems.

"It goes through all the basic functionalities like terrain creation, lighting, materials, and particle effects."

"I learned how to navigate the UI, use key tools effectively, and understand the GameObject/Component system."

"The lessons on basic animation and connecting things in the editor were very helpful for getting started."

Instructor is knowledgeable and easy to follow.

"Alan Thorn explains concepts very clearly and has a calm, easy-to-follow teaching style."

"The instructor knows his stuff and is good at breaking down complex ideas into digestible lessons."

"I appreciate the instructor's approach; he makes learning the basics straightforward."

Excellent introduction to Unity basics.

"This was my very first course on game development, and it was a great starting point for me."

"As a complete beginner with no prior experience in game dev or Unity, I found the pace manageable and concepts explained clearly."

"I had zero prior experience with Unity, and this course made me feel comfortable diving into the software."

Course uses an old version (Unity 5).

"Be aware this course uses Unity 5, which is quite old now and many features have changed significantly in newer versions."

"Following along requires referencing older documentation or figuring out how concepts apply to modern Unity versions (2019+)."

"While fundamentals are similar, using Unity 2019 or 2020 is very different in practice than Unity 5, which is a major drawback."

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in The Complete Unity 5 Intro - Learn to Build and Design Games with these activities:

Review C# Fundamentals

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Reviewing C# fundamentals will help you better understand Unity scripting, which is essential for creating interactive game elements.

Browse courses on C# Scripting

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Review basic C# syntax and data types.
Practice writing simple C# programs.
Familiarize yourself with C# control flow statements.

Unity in Action, Second Edition

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Reading 'Unity in Action' will provide a deeper understanding of Unity's features and capabilities, enhancing your ability to create complex games.

View Unity in Action: Multiplatform game development... on Amazon

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Read the first few chapters covering Unity basics.
Experiment with the code examples provided in the book.
Try to apply the concepts learned to your own projects.

Complete Unity Learn Tutorials

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Completing Unity Learn tutorials will reinforce your understanding of core concepts and provide hands-on experience with various Unity features.

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Select a tutorial relevant to a specific course topic.
Follow the tutorial steps carefully.
Modify the tutorial project to experiment with different settings.

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Document Your Learning Journey

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Documenting your learning journey through blog posts or videos will help you reflect on your progress and share your knowledge with others.

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Create a blog or video series about your Unity learning experience.
Share your insights and challenges with the community.
Document your projects and the lessons you learned.

Create a Simple Game Prototype

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Starting a simple game prototype will allow you to apply the concepts learned in the course and solidify your understanding of the Unity workflow.

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Choose a simple game idea, such as a platformer or puzzle game.
Create basic game mechanics and player controls.
Add visual elements and sound effects.
Test and refine your game prototype.

Game Programming Patterns

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Studying game programming patterns will improve your ability to design and implement complex game systems in Unity.

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Read chapters related to specific game mechanics or systems.
Analyze the code examples and understand the underlying principles.
Apply the patterns to your own Unity projects.

Contribute to a Unity Open Source Project

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Contributing to an open-source Unity project will provide valuable experience working with a team and learning from experienced developers.

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Find an open-source Unity project on GitHub or GitLab.
Review the project's documentation and contribution guidelines.
Identify a bug or feature to work on.
Submit a pull request with your changes.

Career center

Learners who complete The Complete Unity 5 Intro - Learn to Build and Design Games will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Unity Developer

A Unity Developer uses the Unity game engine to build and implement interactive experiences, often for video games, simulations, or virtual reality applications. A Unity Developer must have a strong understanding of the Unity engine. This course provides a comprehensive introduction to Unity 5. It teaches the fundamentals of level design, user interface, animation, and scripting. Instruction in C# may be particularly useful to the aspiring Unity Developer.

See salaries and explore the career path for Unity Developer

Level Designer

Level Designers specialize in creating immersive and engaging environments within video games. The arrangement of levels needs to be pleasing to the eye and also functional for gameplay. In addition, knowledge of level design allows one to control difficulty and flow. This course helps build a foundation for Level Designers by covering terrain creation, sculpting, and texturing. They will learn to build levels and game spaces, working with meshes, collisions, and importing 3D models. A strong understanding of lighting, audio, and particle effects, all included in the course, allows the Level Designer to further enhance the player experience.

See salaries and explore the career path for Level Designer

Game Designer

A Game Designer conceptualizes and designs the core elements of a video game, including gameplay mechanics, story, and user experience. This course may provide a valuable foundation for aspiring Game Designers. The course covers essential topics such as user interface navigation, viewport controls, terrain creation, lighting, materials, particle effects, and animation. A Game Designer can use these skills to create engaging game environments and interactive elements. Instruction in Unity 5 is of particular interest to a Game Designer.

See salaries and explore the career path for Game Designer

Virtual Reality Developer

Virtual Reality Developers create immersive experiences for VR platforms, often using game engines like Unity. They build interactive environments and simulations that respond to user input. A basic understanding of the Unity engine is useful to virtual reality developers of all kinds. This course provides coverage of viewport controls, terrain creation, lighting, materials, particle effects, and animation. A Virtual Reality Developer may find that instruction in audio mixing is important to them.

See salaries and explore the career path for Virtual Reality Developer

Augmented Reality Developer

Augmented Reality Developers create interactive experiences that overlay digital content onto the real world using mobile devices or specialized hardware. A basic understanding of game engines such as Unity is useful to augmented reality developers. This course provides a useful foundation, teaching the fundamentals of the Unity 5 engine, from user interface navigation to animation. An Augmented Reality Developer should pay attention to instruction in materials creation and rendering.

See salaries and explore the career path for Augmented Reality Developer

Simulation Developer

Simulation Developers create software that models real-world systems or processes for training, research, or entertainment purposes. They often use game engines like Unity to build interactive simulations. This course may be useful to Simulation Developers by teaching them the basics of the Unity 5 engine. It provides instruction in terrain creation, lighting, materials, particle effects, and animation. Simulation Developers would do well to pay close attention to the lectures on physics and collisions.

See salaries and explore the career path for Simulation Developer

Technical Artist

The Technical Artist serves as a bridge between the art and programming departments. The Technical Artist implements art assets efficiently from the artists and makes sure they work as expected in the game engine. This course may be useful to Technical Artists by teaching them the fundamentals of Unity 5. Instruction in lighting, particle effects, animation, and materials are all useful for the Technical Artist. A Technical Artist may find that instruction in pre-computed global illumination is particularly useful to them.

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Serious Game Developer

Serious Game Developers create games with purposes beyond entertainment, such as education, training, or healthcare. They use game mechanics to engage users and achieve specific learning objectives. Instruction in user interface navigation, viewport controls, terrain creation, lighting, materials, particle effects, and animation may be useful to a Serious Game Developer. A Serious Game Developer may find instruction in animation controllers and animation state machines to be particularly useful.

See salaries and explore the career path for Serious Game Developer

Gameplay Programmer

Gameplay Programmers are responsible for developing and implementing the interactive elements of a video game. They work to bring the designs of the game to life through scripting and coding. Instruction in character animation, object interaction, animation controllers, and animation state machines allows the Gameplay Programmer to design game characters and environments that can respond to user input. This course may be useful to Gameplay Programmers seeking to improve their game design.

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Interactive Designer

Interactive Designers focus on creating engaging and user-friendly experiences for various digital platforms. They design interfaces and interactions that are intuitive and enjoyable. The fundamentals taught in this course may be helpful to Interactive Designers of all kinds. The Interactive Designer might find instruction in user interface, animation, and event triggers to be particularly helpful.

See salaries and explore the career path for Interactive Designer

Animator

Animators create motion and visual effects for various media, including video games, films, and television. This course can help Animators to add animation to their game environments. Animators will be particularly interested to learn about configuring door animation, using the animation window, keyframes and curves, animating push buttons, object interaction, animation controllers, animation transitions, and animation state machines. These features will allow the Animator to fully customize their game.

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Multimedia Artist

Multimedia Artists create visual content using a variety of digital tools and platforms. They may work on animations, special effects, or interactive media projects. This course may be useful to Multimedia Artists. Multimedia Artists will find instruction in content creation tools, exporting 3D models, importing 3D models, reflection probes, and emissive lighting to be particularly useful. The course provides a foundation for using Unity 5, and the artist can take the knowledge to their workplace.

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Content Creator

Content Creators produce engaging and informative content for various online platforms, such as YouTube, Twitch, or social media. In particular, a video game streamer may find instruction in Unity of value. This course provides instruction in user interface navigation, viewport controls, terrain creation, lighting, materials, particle effects, and animation. All can be incorporated into their streams to demonstrate their expertise.

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Software Engineer

Software Engineers design, develop, and test software applications. This course may provide a helpful introduction to game engine architecture and development principles. Software Engineers who wish to get into the video game industry may find that instruction in user interface navigation, viewport controls, terrain creation, lighting, materials, particle effects, and animation will allow them to pivot to a new field. Instruction within Unity is particularly relevant.

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Quality Assurance Tester

A Quality Assurance Tester is responsible for finding and documenting bugs and issues in software, including games. Testers are expected to have a broad knowledge of the software, and this course may be useful for the Quality Assurance Tester to improve their understanding of video game design. Instruction in user interface navigation, viewport controls, terrain creation, lighting, materials, particle effects, and animation provides the Tester with a greater awareness of the parts of the system.

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Reading list

We've selected two books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in The Complete Unity 5 Intro - Learn to Build and Design Games.

Unity in Action

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Provides a comprehensive guide to Unity development, covering a wide range of topics from basic concepts to advanced techniques. It's a valuable resource for both beginners and experienced developers looking to deepen their understanding of Unity. The book is commonly used as a reference by industry professionals. It adds more depth to the course by exploring advanced topics not covered in the introductory material.

Unity in Action: Multiplatform game development in...

Kindle Edition

Crafting Interpreters

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Explores common design patterns used in game development, providing valuable insights into creating maintainable and scalable game systems. It's more valuable as additional reading than a current reference. It helps to understand the underlying architecture of games. It adds more breadth to the course by introducing software engineering principles.

Crafting Interpreters

Paperback

Crafting Interpreters

Kindle Edition

The Complete Unity 5 Intro - Learn to Build and Design Games

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What's inside

Learning objectives

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Reviews summary

Unity 5 game development fundamentals

Activities

Career center

Reading list

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