Game Dev with Unity

Explore & Discover

Explore what Unity can actually make before you write a single line of code. Visit **Unity's** official YouTube channel and watch the "Made with Unity" showcase videos — you'll see mobile games, 3D adventures, VR experiences, and even animated films all built in the same free tool. Then browse **Itch.io** and filter games by "Unity" to play small projects made by indie developers. Download **Unity Hub** (free at unity.com) and install Unity 6 with the Personal license — it is completely free for students. Open the editor and just click around: look at the Scene view, the Inspector, the Hierarchy. Don't try to build anything yet — just get curious. Write down three types of games you might want to create. You're ready for the next step when you have Unity installed and can open a new empty project without help.

Learn the Basics

Learn Unity's core concepts through **Unity Learn** (learn.unity.com) — it's completely free and made by Unity themselves. Start the "Unity Essentials" pathway, which covers the editor interface, GameObjects, Components, and basic C# scripting. Watch **Brackeys'** YouTube channel — even though he stopped posting in 2021, his beginner tutorials are still the clearest Unity introductions online. Learn what a **GameObject**, **Component**, **Transform**, **Rigidbody**, and **Collider** are — these five concepts are the building blocks of every Unity game ever made. Follow along and build the small examples in the tutorials rather than just watching. You're ready for the next step when you can explain what a Component is and attach a Rigidbody to a cube that falls due to gravity.

Build Your First Project

Build a complete (but tiny) 2D game from start to finish. Follow **Brackeys'** "How to make a 2D Game in Unity" tutorial series on YouTube — it walks you through building a simple platformer with a player character, platforms, and a win condition. Use free assets from **Unity Asset Store** (filter by "free" and "2D") for your sprites and sounds so you can focus on learning code, not art. Your finished game needs at least three things: a player that moves, something that can end the game (falling off, getting hit), and a way to win. Export it using Unity's Build Settings so it runs as a standalone file. You're ready for the next step when you have a playable .exe or WebGL build of your first 2D game that someone else can play.

Experiment & Iterate

Take your 2D game and add three meaningful features you design yourself — not from a tutorial. Ideas: a score counter, multiple levels, an enemy that moves, a timer, collectible items, or a high score screen. Each feature requires you to write original C# code. Use **Unity Documentation** (docs.unity3d.com) and **Stack Overflow** to solve problems you get stuck on — looking things up is exactly what professional developers do. Have two people playtest your updated game and watch them play silently. Notice what confuses them or what they find boring. Fix the most important problem they revealed. You're ready for the next step when your game has three self-designed features and you can explain the C# code behind each one.

Advanced Techniques

Build a 3D game or add advanced systems to your 2D game. For 3D, follow **Unity's** "Create with Code" free course on learn.unity.com — it teaches physics, camera control, particle effects, and animation. Learn to use **Unity's Animator** to add character animations from **Mixamo** (free at mixamo.com), which has hundreds of free 3D character animations. Study **scriptable objects** for data management and **Unity Events** for clean code architecture — search these terms on **Jason Weimann's** YouTube channel. Add a proper main menu, pause menu, and game-over screen with scene transitions. These polish elements are what separate a prototype from a real game. You're ready for the next step when your game has a fully functional main menu, at least one animated character, and a clear win/lose flow.

Final Project Showcase

Publish your finished game publicly and build a developer portfolio. Upload your game to **Itch.io** — create a proper game page with a description, screenshots, and instructions. Record a one-minute gameplay trailer using **OBS Studio** (free) and upload it to YouTube. Write a development blog post on **Itch.io's** devlog feature describing what you built, what was hard, and what you learned. Submit your game to a Unity-focused game jam on Itch.io for community feedback. Create a free **GitHub** account and upload your Unity project files — this is your professional portfolio. If you're in Utah, look into the **Utah Game Developers** Discord or student showcases at the **University of Utah's Entertainment Arts & Engineering** program. You're ready for the next step when your game is live on Itch.io with a public URL you can share with anyone.