Intro to Game Development using Unity - Part I

A 2D game will be developed from scratch - perfect beginning course for middle and high school age students!

Created byKen DeVellis

Last updated 7/2022

English

What you'll learn

Build a basic 2D game using Unity with knowledge and confidence.
Gain an understanding of the game development process.
Use your new Unity skills to create your own games.
Use your Unity knowledge to rapidly launch into learning Augmented, Virtual, and Mixed Reality (AR/VR/MR) development and more.

Course content

3 sections • 13 lectures • 1h 30m total length

Introduction1:50
This short video introduces the course and demos the final version of the 2D game that we’ll be building in the two-part series.
What is Unity?3:00
This video tutorial explains what Unity is and where to download it.
Review Questions for Section 1

Unity Interface Basics - Part I5:49
In this lesson, we start using Unity and learn how to use its built-in editor. We launch Unity, create a new project, and look at the main windows used in the game development process. We then load an image into the game, and run the game.
Unity Interface Basics - Part II7:11
In this second part of the Unity Interface Basics lesson, we learn how to create and save layouts, create some project folders, create a new scene, and then load each scene with more cartoon characters. You quickly become familiar enough with using the Unity Editor, so that we can start creating the Bird and Worm game in the very next lesson.
Still Life9:47
In this lesson, we start creating the Bird and Worm game that we’ll be building in this tutorial series. We start with a new 2D project and name it the Bird and Worm Game. Then, we get all the images for the game and import them like we did in the last lesson. Finally, we’ll add the background to the Scene and start talking about GameObjects and how to position and size them.
Still Life Starts to Move7:55
In this lesson, we take a closer look at adding and positioning GameObjects and see if we can make one of them move when the game is running. We start by adding more sprites to the game and playing with the position and scale values of their Transforms. We explain why the position, rotation, and scale of the Transform uses 3 numbers, and then describe what a Vector is. Then it’s time to add the Main character - the Bird. Normally, birds like to fly, but we start talking about movement by letting the Bird fall out of the sky.
Moving Things Around11:37
In this lesson, we take control of the Bird and start to move it around. In order to do this, we begin our journey into scripting using the C# programming language. We create our first script with Unity’s help, dissect it, explain the code syntax, and the Main Execution Cycle that Unity uses when running scripts. Then we see how the script gets user input from the keyboard arrow keys, and uses it to change the x and y position of the Bird.
Intro to Scripting - Part I8:22
In this lesson, we extend our journey into the world of scripting and introduce you to some of the basic concepts of programming. We start with variables, what they are, and how to use them. The goal of this lesson and the next, is not to make you expert programmers, but to introduce you to enough of the basics of programming so that you can better understand the scripts that we develop for this game.
Intro to Scripting - Part II8:23
We continue our brief journey into the world of scripting in this lesson and introduce you to more key programming concepts. We take another look at conditional statements, then create a function, and show how it works. We use functions right away in the next lessons when we make the Bird point in the right direction and collide with things - you’ll get a good understanding of how the functions work by seeing them in action!
Review Questions for Section 2

Point in the Right Direction4:44
It’s time to undo the Bird flying backwards, and point it in the right direction. We get the opportunity to use an ‘if-then-else’ conditional statement and a function to make that happen - It only takes a few lines of code and we use a clever trick to help us out.
Colliding with the Worm9:45
In the gaming world, when an object in a game bumps into another object, that action is called a collision. Unity provides built-in collision behavior by using Collider components, and these Collider components even let your code know when collisions occur. In our game, one of the main collisions that occurs is when the Bird collides with the Worm, so we’ll take a look at how this collision works, and what code we can create to respond to it.
Bird takes the Worm Home11:34
In this lesson, we want the Bird to take the Worm back to its launchtree, eat the worm, and get ready to go after another one. We take a look at attaching a worm GameObject to the Bird, and show and hide it at the right times with the help of more colliders. We write just a few lines of code to help make this happen.
A Quick Note0:25

Requirements

A PC or laptop computer
Download and install Unity (see lesson 2)
Curiosity…

Description

A 2D game will be developed from scratch and you’ll quickly learn the basics of game development and more.

Perfect for Middle and High School students and just about anyone else who wants to get started developing games. No programming experience at all is required - just an interest in creating a game in Unity, the same software used to create Pokemon Go and so many other best selling games! You’ll painlessly learn the basics of scripting too, because the videos introduce scripting as necessary along the way in both Part I and Part II of the course.

You’ll be amazed at how fast you can learn Unity. And, you’ll quickly become confident with all the game-creating basics. The pace of each video is designed for ease of learning, and not designed to cram as much as possible into each lesson. As an option, for those of you who want to continue game development using more features of Unity, the Part II course is available to add to your journey…

And more good news: the Unity basics, features, tools, and principles you learn in this this course apply to all Unity games and apps you may develop! So no time is wasted learning 2D first - it's super fun, easy, and fast coming up to speed in Unity and then gaining the confidence to design and attack your next game. And that next game can be an AR, VR, 3D, or whatever you want because you'll have the knowledge to learn these new features quickly. Btw, I'm thinking about creating a 3D AR version of this game that can be played on your Android or Apple phone but also on the exciting META smartglasses (and possibly others). If you think you would be interested in such a course, please send me a message that you would be interested :) Thanks.

What are students saying about this course?

AWESOME! This tutorial is clear and easy to understand. You have explained everything perfectly and I had no problems at all as well as in the last few tutorials. I have got to understand about developing games and I love it.

- The video has very good graphic's quality

- The sound is clear

- You speak nice a slow which makes me understand everything really easily

- This tutorial is really for the very beginners and I have learned new thing without problems at all.

PS: I was trying to search tutorials like this for weeks and now I found your videos, You won't even believe how proud am I because I would like to be a software or a game developer. Sorry for my English, but I am still learning. Thank You ! BlenderModeling CZ

Who this course is for:

This course is for complete beginners with no programming experience. The best, easiest, fastest, and most fun way to learn Unity - guaranteed!!!
Teenagers, middle and high school students, artists, hobbyists, and others will get a gentle introduction to game development
This course is not for users already familiar with developing games using Unity

Intro to Game Development using Unity - Part I

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Intro and where to download Unity2 lectures • 5min

Creating Game Basics7 lectures • 59min

Adding Gameplay4 lectures • 26min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: