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Create a Space Shoot 'Em Up With Unity

Learn how to create and program your very own side-scrolling Space Shooter game using Unity, an industry-standard game development program used by many large gaming studios and indie developers across the world.

In this course you won’t just be learning programming concepts, but tying these concepts to real game development uses. You will have access to a course forum where you can discuss the topics covered in the course as well as the next steps to take once the course is complete.

This course has been designed to be easily understandable to everyone, so whether you’re a complete beginner, an artist looking to expand their game development range or a programmer interested in understanding game design, this course will help you gain a greater understanding of development.

At the end of this course you will have developed the ability to create such game elements as:

Full movement and firing mechanics
Scrolling Backgrounds
Enemies with multiple movement patterns
Spawning waves of enemies and space debris
Power Ups
Music & Sound Effects
A Fully-featured Boss Battle
Fully interactive menus
Tracking scores and high scores
and more...

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What's inside

Syllabus

Introduction

Asset Files

Setup

Setting Up The Project

Quick Guide To the Unity Layout

The Player & Backgrounds

Importing Assets

Moving The Ship

Keeping The Player On Screen

Saving The Scene

Adding a Background

Scrolling the Background

Adding Depth & Moving Objects

Making Solid Meteors

Shots & Explosions

Creating a Laser Shot

Firing Shots

Auto firing

Shot Impact Effects

Destroying Meteors

Particle Explosion Effect

CHALLENGE - Create Player Explosion Effect

Health

Player Health System

Enemies

Making Enemies

Enemy Movement

Better Movement

Creating Enemy Shot

Making Enemies Fire

Giving Enemies Health

CHALLENGE - More Enemies

Enemy Waves & Lives

Making Waves

Spawning Waves

CHALLENGE - Making More Waves

Dying & Extra Lives

Respawn Invincibility

Setting up Game Over Screen

Activating & Using Game Over Screen

Showing Lives

Showing Health

Score Tracking

High Score

Power Ups

Creating a Shield

Picking up shield

Speed Boost

Double Shot

Enemies dropping PowerUps

Music & Menus

Adding Music

Ending Level

Controlling The Player After Level End

Adding EndScreen Info

Pause Menu

Reusing Objects in new scenes

Main Menu

The Boss

Bringing in the Boss

Hurting the Boss

Showing Boss Damage

Boss Attacking

Setting up battle phase

Completing Boss Battle Phases

Setting up a Big Explosion (& Fixing Animation Bug)

Defeating the Boss

Finishing The Game

Game Complete Screen

Building The Game

BONUS: COMPLETE PROJECT FILES

Completed Project Files

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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 Create a Space Shoot 'Em Up With Unity with these activities:

Review C# Fundamentals

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Reinforce your understanding of C# syntax and programming concepts. This will make learning Unity scripting much easier.

Browse courses on C# Scripting

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Review basic C# syntax and data types.
Practice writing simple C# programs.
Familiarize yourself with object-oriented programming concepts.

Brush up on Linear Algebra

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Review linear algebra concepts to better understand game object transformations. This will help you understand how objects move and rotate in 3D space.

Browse courses on Vectors

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Review vector addition and scalar multiplication.
Understand matrix multiplication and its applications.
Learn about transformations in 2D and 3D space.

Follow Unity Tutorials

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Work through Unity's official tutorials to gain hands-on experience. This will help you become more familiar with the Unity editor and its features.

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Choose a Unity tutorial relevant to 2D game development.
Follow the tutorial step-by-step, paying attention to the explanations.
Experiment with the code and settings to understand how they work.

Four other activities

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Practice Scripting Movement

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Practice scripting different movement patterns for game objects. This will improve your ability to create dynamic and engaging gameplay.

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Implement basic movement using transform.Translate.
Experiment with different movement speeds and directions.
Implement more complex movement patterns using forces and physics.

Create a Simple Prototype

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Start a small, personal project to apply what you've learned in the course. This will help you solidify your understanding and build your portfolio.

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Design a simple game mechanic or feature.
Implement the mechanic using Unity and C#.
Test and refine the mechanic until it's polished.

Write a Dev Blog Post

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Document your game development journey and share your insights with others. This will help you reflect on your learning and build your online presence.

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Choose a topic related to your game development experience.
Write a clear and concise blog post about the topic.
Share your blog post on social media and relevant forums.

Contribute to a Unity Asset

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Contribute to an open-source Unity asset to gain experience working on a larger project. This will help you learn about collaboration and best practices.

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Find an open-source Unity asset that interests you.
Identify a bug or feature that you can contribute.
Submit a pull request with your changes.

Career center

Learners who complete Create a Space Shoot 'Em Up With Unity will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Hobbyist Game Developer

A hobbyist game developer creates games for personal enjoyment, often working on projects in their spare time. This course would directly support building a complete game. By guiding students through the process of creating a space shooter game, the course gives them the knowledge and confidence to pursue game development as a hobby. One who wishes to develop games as a hobby may find this course perfect.

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Game Developer

A game developer designs and codes video games for various platforms. This often involves creating the core mechanics, implementing game logic, and ensuring a smooth and engaging player experience. This course, focused on creating a space shooter using Unity, directly aligns with the skills needed for a game developer. The course's syllabus which includes movement and firing mechanics along with spawning enemies and implementing UI, gives aspiring game developers the foundational knowledge to build interactive games. Those who wish to pursue a career as a game developer may find this course helpful.

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Unity Developer

A Unity developer specializes in using the Unity game engine to create interactive experiences, including games and simulations. Their expertise lies in scripting gameplay elements, optimizing performance, and integrating assets into the Unity environment. This course provides a strong introduction to Unity development by guiding students through the creation of a space shooter game. Learning to implement features such as scrolling backgrounds, enemy waves, power-ups, and boss battles within Unity can help aspiring Unity developers build a solid portfolio and demonstrate their skills. One interested in becoming a Unity developer may find this course helpful.

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Indie Game Developer

An indie game developer works independently or as part of a small team to create and publish their own video games. They often wear multiple hats, handling programming, art, design, and marketing. This course is particularly valuable for aspiring indie game developers. By learning to create a complete game from scratch—including movement, enemies, scoring, and UI—individuals can gain the confidence and skills needed to embark on their own game development projects. One interested in pursuing a path as an indie game developer may find this course immensely helpful.

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Gameplay Programmer

A gameplay programmer focuses on implementing the interactive elements of a video game, such as character movement, combat systems, and artificial intelligence. This involves writing code that brings the game's design to life and ensures a fun and engaging player experience. This course aligns well with the responsibilities of a gameplay programmer. The course covers essential gameplay mechanics, including player movement, firing projectiles, enemy AI, and power-up implementation. Anyone wishing to become a gameplay programmer may find this course very useful due to its discussion of gameplay elements.

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Game Designer

A game designer is responsible for conceiving and designing the overall vision and mechanics of a video game. This involves creating game concepts, defining rules, and designing levels to provide an engaging and entertaining player experience. This course, though focused on implementation, gives insight into common design patterns. Creating a space shooter from scratch involves considerations about game progression, difficulty, and reward systems. Someone who wishes to become a game designer may be helped by grasping implementation details.

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Mobile Game Developer

A mobile game developer specializes in creating games for smartphones and tablets. While this course doesn't explicitly focus on mobile optimization, the core game development principles learned in this course are transferable to mobile platforms. The course provides a practical introduction to game development with Unity covering game mechanics, UI design, and asset integration, which can form a foundation for mobile game development. Aspiring mobile game developers may find this course a starting point on their path.

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Simulation Developer

A simulation developer creates realistic and interactive simulations for training, research, or entertainment purposes. The skills learned in this course, such as creating movement mechanics, implementing object interactions, and designing user interfaces, are highly applicable to simulation development. The course's focus on using Unity, a versatile engine, further enhances its relevance to this field. Someone looking to create simulations may find this course helpful.

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AI Programmer

An artificial intelligence programmer develops the AI systems that control non-player characters and other dynamic elements within a game. This course directly supports this path by providing a look into enemy movements. The course includes the creation of enemies with varied and complex movement patterns. Understanding this would enable the AI programmer to script more complex movements. One who wishes to become an AI programmer may find this course helpful.

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VR Developer

A virtual reality developer creates immersive experiences using VR technology, often utilizing game engines like Unity. This course helps VR Developers learn Unity in a game context. The course provides hands-on experience with creating interactive game elements, implementing movement and interaction mechanics, and designing user interfaces. All these are relevant to VR development as well. Aspiring VR developers may find this course helpful despite its limited scope.

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AR Developer

An augmented reality developer creates applications that overlay digital content onto the real world, often using mobile devices or specialized AR headsets. This course may help AR developers learn how to program interaction in Unity. The course provides hands-on experience with creating interactive game elements, implementing movement and interaction mechanics, and designing user interfaces. These are also applicable skills for an AR developer. One who wants to become an augmented reality developer may find this course of use.

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Software Engineer

A software engineer designs, develops, and tests software applications. While not specific to game development, the skills learned in this course, such as programming logic and problem-solving, are transferable to software engineering roles. Concepts of software architecture and design appear in game development as well and are implemented using logic similar to that found in other contexts. The practical experience of building a complete game from scratch can be a valuable asset in demonstrating coding proficiency. One who wishes to transition to software engineering may find that this course helps in gaining a practical understanding of software development workflows.

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Technical Artist

A technical artist bridges the gap between artists and programmers, ensuring that art assets are efficiently integrated into a game engine and that artistic visions are technically feasible. This course may support the development of technical skills useful in game development. Learning about asset use, game construction, and the architecture of Unity may be helpful for a technical artist. One who wishes to pursue a path as a technical artist may find this course useful.

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Computer Science Teacher

A computer science teacher educates students on programming, algorithms, and software development. While this course doesn't directly cover teaching methodologies, the practical game development skills learned can enrich a computer science curriculum or provide engaging examples for students. The course's hands-on approach to creating a space shooter game can be adapted into classroom projects or demonstrations, making learning more interactive. One who wishes to become a computer science teacher may find this course enriching.

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Tools Programmer

A tools programmer creates software that helps other game developers such as artists streamline their workflows. While this course is focused on game creation, the lessons about architecture and asset management may be useful for a tools programmer. The focus on Unity may teach one how to connect code with a game engine. An aspiring tools programmer may learn from this course.

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Reading list

We haven't picked any books for this reading list yet.

Game Engine Architecture, Third Edition

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Covers shaders and effects in Unity. It great resource for beginners who want to learn how to create custom shaders and effects.

Game Engine Architecture, Third Edition

Hardcover

$$$

Game Engine Architecture, Third Edition

Kindle Edition

Contemporary Nationalism

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Covers best practices for using Unity in production. It great resource for experienced Unity users who want to learn how to create high-quality games.

Create a Space Shoot 'Em Up With Unity

What's inside

Syllabus

Save this course

Activities

Career center

Reading list

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