Unity is a popular cross-platform game engine that enables you to create interactive 2D and 3D experiences for various platforms, including Android, iOS, PC, AR/VR devices, and more. Unity has become one of the leading game engines in the industry.
Versatility: Unity supports multiple platforms, which makes it easy for you to deploy your creations to various devices without significant code changes.
Scripting languages: It allows you to write code in C#, UnityScript (a variant of JavaScript), and Boo, which provides flexibility in choosing a preferred programming language.
Asset store: The Unity asset store offers a huge collection of pre-made assets, such as 3D models, animations, textures, scripts, and plugins, giving you access to ready-to-use content.
2D and 3D capabilities: It provides tools for both 2D and 3D game development, offering sprite management, physics, animation, and powerful rendering capabilities for creating visual experiences.
Unity editor: The editor enables you to design and build game scenes, manage assets, and implement game logic without writing code.
Animation system: This allows you to create complex animations for characters and objects, supporting both
AI and navigation: Unity provides you with tools for implementing artificial intelligence (AI) and navigation, allowing you to create intelligent and interactive characters.
Unity cloud services: Unity offers cloud-based services, including Unity collaborate for version control and Unity cloud build for automated build and deployment processes.
Unity’s ease of use, flexibility, and extensive documentation have contributed to its popularity in various industries beyond game development, such as architectural visualization, film and animation, simulations, and more.
Creating a project in Unity is very simple, here's a quick demonstration on how to do it.
Editor versions refer to the different releases or versions of the "Unity Editor," which is the graphical interface and development environment used to create, edit, and manage Unity projects. Each version of the Unity Editor comes with various features, bug fixes, improvements, and sometimes even new tools. Unity regularly releases updates to the editor.
Open the Unity hub and click on new project.
On the top, you will see the editor version being used for the editor. You can change the editor version by clicking on it.
Unity offers a variety of templates for you to choose from to create your projects. These templates include:
2D: This provides pre-made project templates tailored for 2D game development. These templates come with a 2D scene, including a 2D camera, physics settings, and a sample player character. Games like Hearthstone and cup heads have been created through Unity 2D.
2D (URP): This template is ideal for creating 2D games and projects using the
2D mobile: The 2D Mobile template is specifically tailored for 2D games and applications on mobile devices. It optimizes the project settings to ensure smooth gameplay for 2D mobile projects.
AR template is designed for creating Augmented Reality (AR) experiences. It includes the components you need to integrate AR features into your project, allowing you to develop interactive and immersive AR applications.
VR template is ideal for creating Virtual Reality (VR) experiences. It includes the necessary configurations to develop immersive VR applications compatible with various VR devices.
3D: Unity also offers project templates designed for 3D game development. These templates include a 3D scene, a camera configured for 3D perspective, and basic physics settings. By using this template, you can quickly start building your 3D games.
3D (URP): Similar to the 2D (URP) template, the 3D (URP) template is designed for 3D projects but utilizes URP for optimized rendering performance across multiple platforms.
3D mobile: This template is optimized for creating 3D games and experiences on mobile devices. It comes with settings and optimizations to ensure smooth performance on mobile platforms.
3D (HDRP): The 3D (HDRP) template is targeted toward high-quality 3D projects utilizing a
Once you choose your template, give your project a name, and click on create project.
Note: Learn more about Unity render pipelines.
Creating a project in Unity is a great gateway to unleashing your creative potential and bringing your ideas to life. By following the steps outlined above, you'll be on your way to crafting captivating worlds, interactive experiences, and engaging games. From choosing the project template that suits your vision to sculpting intricate landscapes and scripting dynamic gameplay, Unity empowers you to let your imagination run wild.
Test what you learned
The universal render pipeline is utilized in which Unity template(s)?
2D Mobile Template and 3D (HDRP) Template
2D (URP) Template and 3D (URP) Template
AR Template and VR Template
3D (HDRP) Template and VR Template
Free Resources