How to use Unity

One of the dreams most shared by fans of the world of technology is certainly to make a video game. However, this operation is often seen as expensive, both in terms of cost and time. This is certainly true, but it must be said that in recent years everything has been “simplified” compared to the past.

In fact, although a certain commitment is still required to make a video game made as it should be, online you can find free tools that are even used by professionals in the sector. One of these is Unity : a graphics engine developed by Unity Technologies that allows you to create 3D and 2D games without necessarily requiring previous years of study (the right amount of effort, however, always takes).

If you are here now and are reading this tutorial it is because you would like to know how to use Unity , right? Then I’d say you’ve come to the right place. In fact, in this guide I will provide you with useful information to allow you at least to understand the basic operation of Unity and to approach the development of video games with this engine. If you are ready, below are all the relevant information. I just have to wish you a good read and a big good luck for everything!

Index

• Preliminary information
• How do you use Unity
  • How to use Unity 3D
  • How to use Unity 2D

Preliminary information

Before going into the details of the procedure on how to use Unity , I think it might interest you to know more about this program.

Well, you should know that Unity is a graphics engine , as well as one of the most popular programs for creating games . In any case, if you’ve come this far, you probably already know what it is. However, I would like to make some necessary premises.

First of all, people often approach Unity thinking they can master it in no time . I’ll warn you right away: no, it doesn’t work that way . You won’t find any tutorial online that will actually tell you how to create your game in a complete way: you will have to put your creativity as well as your skills into play .

However, what guides, like the one you are reading, can do is simply tell you where to start to get familiar with the program initially. Moreover, then the Web can obviously be your “friend” for various reasons: almost all developers carry out online searches when they have some particular doubts, but then obviously it is their ability and the original code to make the difference.

Also, I remind you that video games are a particularly complex medium. Try to think about it, within a title there is not only the work of developers, but also of graphic designers, music composers, voice actors and myriads of other professionals . In short, it is not at all simple.

In any case, over the years there have been groups made up of a few people (or even one person) who have managed with particular dedication to create unique “pearls” for the world of video games.

These people often took years to get their jobs done. In short, through this preamble I want to tell you: this tutorial does not pretend to teach you how to use Unity completely , but simply to get you started quickly and in some ways fun.

How do you use Unity

Having explained the general situation to you, I would say that it is time to take action. Below you can find all the indications of the case, relating both to the possibility of creating 3D and 2D games with Unity .

But first, you might be interested in knowing the installation procedure . Well, as far as Windows is concerned , just connect to the official Unity portal  and press the Download Unity Hub button . The UnityHubSetup.exe file will then be downloaded : start the latter and press in succession on the Yes , Accept and  Install buttons , then following the instructions that appear on the screen to finish the process.

As for macOS , after pressing the Download Unity Hub button , the UnityHubSetup.dmg file will be downloaded . Start, therefore, the latter and press the I agree button . A window will appear on the screen: you just have to drag the Unity Hub icon into the Applications folder . That’s all!

How to use Unity 3D

If you want to create 3D games with Unity , you must know that the graphics engine in question is particularly suitable for this type of use, so much so that it presents integrated tutorials that allow you to understand how to get started.

In this context, instead of giving you a specific example made by me, which could be useful up to a certain point, I think it is more interesting to deepen as it should be the methods recommended directly by the creators of Unity, who obviously know the program very well, and then direct you to other content that will help you to further deepen the graphic engine.

To proceed, once Unity Hub is open , click on the Learn option , on the left, to access the section where the tutorials made directly by the creators of the graphics engine are available . Here there is usually LEGO Microgame , or a basic “crash course”, created in collaboration with the creators of the famous “bricks”.

The latter does not last too long, as it takes more or less 30 minutes to complete. Moreover, from my point of view it is also one of the best tutorials, obviously free, offered directly by Unity. In any case, I remind you that this is only a guide to learn: do not use any kind of LEGO copyrighted material for your projects.

Having said that, to proceed, press on the LEGO Microgame box and click on the DOWNLOAD PROJECT button , present at the bottom left. Wait, therefore, for the download to be completed and then press the OPEN PROJECT button , in order to start the tutorial. To continue, you may be required to enter your date of birth and click the CONTINUE button , as well as accept the license terms (by pressing the AGREE & CONTINUE button ).

At this point, the Unity editor will appear on the screen with an introductory screen. Then press the Load tutorials button to proceed. By doing so, you will be guided directly by the program. In any case, in this first phase do not worry if you do not know English well (which will however be necessary in the future), that is the language used by the program: I am here to help you.

Well, in the first screen it is explained to you that in this tutorial the basics of Unity are illustrated , since the interface will be introduced and there will be a way to test the preset already made by LEGO and modify it . To proceed, click the Start button .

First of all, it shows you the Play mode , which is the one that allows you to test the game you are creating. At the center of the editor there is in fact a window called Scene view , where you can manage all the elements of the game. At this point, press the Play icon , present at the top, to start playing, in order to test the game and switch to the Game view .

As you can see, you can now play in the window in the center. On the right there are the keys you can use: W , A , S and D or the directional arrows to move, mouse movements for the camera, space bar to jump and Tab to access the options menu. You can also jump twice, by pressing space bar again when you are already in the air.

You may have noticed that there are green items to collect scattered around the map. You just have to play a little, in order to get familiar with the title and get to the end of the proposed path. However, there is a problem: a “bridge” is missing and this does not allow you to continue, not even using the double jump.

Press, therefore, again on the Play icon , present at the top, to return to the Scene view and continue with the tutorial. At this point, you will be prompted to select the Player Minifig object , present in the left tab. Everything in the game is called GameObject and you can find and manage it in the Hierarchy section .

Now, click on the Player Minifig item and you will see all the options related to it appear on the right. In other words, the Inspector tab has appeared on the screen , which is where you can edit everything related to a particular GameObject .

In this case, the tutorial proposes to change the maximum speed of movement of the character, going to act on the Minifig Controller script , which allows the 3D model to respond correctly to the inputs entered by the player. So change the value of the Max Forward Speed option from 6 to 13 and press the Next button , in order to continue.

Now we are going to show you how to save your project progress . More precisely, you have to press on the File option , which is located at the top left and then click on the Save item . Alternatively, you can use the key combination Ctrl + S ( cmd + s on Mac).

Perfect, now it’s time to take a look directly inside the game at the change made earlier. To do this, press the Play icon , which is the one you had already used before to test the game.

You may have noticed that the character now moves much faster, although this is still not enough to reach the elevated area after the bridge. Then press the Play button again to return to editing mode .

Great, now you’ve already finished the first tutorial, which showed you the basics of the Unity interface . However, you definitely want to fix that bridge, right? Well, then press the Tutorial 2: Add a platform button to continue.

Perfect, now is the time to learn how to fix the situation. Then click on the Start button to continue. The program will show you that at the bottom is the Project area : here are all the 3D models that you can use within the game.

Obviously, in this case we are dealing with assets linked to the project in question. For the rest, you should know that this area is a bit like the Windows File Explorer , since there are all the folders and you can access the files related to the project. You can also simply drag and drop items from here into the game scene window.

The tutorial proposes you to implement a platform . Therefore, hold down the left mouse button over the Platform object and move it to the window in which you played previously. You will see that the 3D model of the platform will appear in the game: this is exactly what you needed to fix the “bridge”!

However, there is a “problem”: the view does not allow you to position the platform well, as it is facing the other way. Therefore, hold down the Alt or option button on the keyboard and move the “camera” with the left mouse button , in order to see the scene clearly. You can also zoom using the mouse wheel or the trackpad .

When you see the “bridge” clearly, press the Next button to continue. Now you are prompted to place the new platform in a strategic point , so that within the game it is possible to reach it and continue the experience. To move an object , select the appropriate mode by pressing on the four arrows icon , located at the top left, or using the W key .

You will have noticed that there are three arrows . Well, these represent how you can move the object. To be clear, holding down the left mouse button on the red arrow and moving the object, you will move it horizontally . On the contrary, using the green arrow will move it in height .

In any case, you must place the platform under the green object , so that the player can pick it up. Once this is done, hit the Next button . You will already have guessed what needs to be done now: rotate the platform correctly . So, just press on the rotation icon , present at the top left (or use the E button on the keyboard) and the axes in which you can rotate the object will appear on the screen .

The X axis is in red , the Y axis is in green, and the Z axis is in blue . In this case, the platform position is essentially already correct, except for the Y axis . So just hold down with the left mouse button on the green line and rotate the platform correctly. Once this is done, you can press the Next button to continue.

At this point, you are prompted to save the project . You should remember how to do it, but I refresh your memory: you can go to File> Save or use the key combination Ctrl + S ( cmd + s on Mac). After that, you can press the Play icon to see the changes you have made within the game.

By playing and jumping, you will see that you will now actually be able to cross the bridge . Congratulations, you have successfully fixed a game mechanic of a LEGO title. However, you will now notice that the player is stuck in front of a blue and white structure . You have to run for cover here too, by activating the lift !

Then press the Play icon to return to edit the game. Perfect, you’ve also finished the second LEGO tutorial. However, I guess you obviously want to fix this mechanic as well. To continue, then, click on the Tutorial 3: Activate the elevator button , confirming that you want to save using the Save button .

At this point, press the Start button to continue. The tutorial will explain that in this context the mechanics have been simplified just to make you understand the basics of Unity, but obviously then you will not have “special bricks” when you have to create your game.

Either way, you now need to drag the Elevator brick into the scene to continue. You will therefore be prompted to press on the bricks icon , the first at the top left, to enter the mode that allows you to connect the bricks together .

Next, hit the Next button . Now, move the blue brick over the rightmost yellow brick . Then press the Next button again to continue. You will then have to press the Play icon to test the lift .

Perfect, so you can finally use the elevator and complete the minigame . If everything has been done correctly, once you have collected the last item you will see the word You won appear on the screen . Congratulations, you have completed your first LEGO game!

However, the tutorial recommends improving it . In fact, you may have noticed that the elevator moves even when the player is not on top of it. We must therefore fix this mechanic: press the Play icon to return to the editing screen. So take a Touch Trigger from the Project section at the bottom and drag it into the game window.

The Touch Trigger is nothing more than an element that allows the lift to start only when the player “touches” it. You have to move the latter over the leftmost yellow brick and press the Connect icon (depicting the bricks, the first at the top left), in order to connect the trigger to the elevator. Once this is done, click on the Next button .

Make a save (via the File> Save menu ) and press the Play icon to see the change in action. Once finished, you can press the Play icon again to stop playing. Perfect, now you can choose whether to continue, by pressing the Tutorial 4: Change the win condition button , or to stop here, by selecting the Done option .

By pressing the latter, you will notice that there are various other LEGO tutorials at your disposal. In fact, although the game is now running, the other guides are used to explain how to modify it and learn other fundamental actions to use Unity.

The advice is clearly to continue with these tutorials , as they are very useful and, as you have seen, do not take too long. However, I have chosen to “stop” here my help in translating and explaining the LEGO tutorial, as to use Unity properly you will need to get in touch with English .

In fact, all the official Unity documentation , which you will later need to deepen the subject and develop your game, is in English (or in Spanish and a few other languages). It is therefore important to commit to this and certainly carry out, first of all, all the tutorials proposed by the program , therefore not only those related to LEGO, it is certainly a good method to take the first steps.

How to use Unity 2D

How do you say? Would you like to use the Unity graphics engine to create a 2D gaming experience? No problem, I will immediately provide you with all the necessary information on how to use Unity 2D !

Well, actually Unity also lends itself well to this type of use. Clearly the basic use of the program does not change, but I think it is right to give you “points of reference” from which to start even for games in two dimensions.

Well, just open Unity Hub , press the Learn button on the left and select the 2D Game Kit project to start taking your first steps. In fact, the latter is a tutorial integrated directly into Unity, lasting almost 2 hours , which will explain you just how to use the graphics engine for 2D.

The tutorial is obviously in English : as already explained in the previous chapter , to take advantage of Unity properly it is good to know this language, so it shouldn’t be a problem for you. In any case, if you want to learn more tutorials related to Unity, I suggest you consult the official website .

I assure you that, by “investing” the right time , in the end you will be able to reach your goal, clearly putting your creativity into play . In any case, I’m sure you already have a lot of ideas in your head. For example, I felt like making a game in which I face spiders and flying enemies.

So I took a painting they made for me in the past and used it as the protagonist . The background is a photo of my bedroom wall, while the enemies are made in minutes with a little whimsy and simple lines. I then made a soundtrack in which I repeat “He is Salvo” in loop with the autotune .

In short, I practically already have the main assets for a very simple 2D game . Obviously, often the first idea that comes to mind is not the best, but it was just to remind you that, if you are a creative, putting your “inventions” in the field with Unity, even without a budget, is possible and can represent a good “gym”.

Otherwise, this is clearly just a basic guide to using Unity . Really, I haven’t even touched the surface of what is possible with this graphics engine. However, now you know at least where to find tutorials and documentation, by the way totally free, so you have all the tools to proceed.

It just takes a lot of goodwill , but I’m sure you’ve already taken this into account. In any case, these first tutorials are also able to make you understand if this world is for you: I remind you that later on you will probably have to face much higher difficulties, also coming into contact with the world of scripting .

Not to mention the question of models . In short, you understand well that developing a video game in Unity is not an operation that is done overnight, but it takes a lot of time even just to master the tool properly.

In any case, I wanted to analyze the situation and allow you to take your very first steps in this world. I also remind you that online is full of tutorials and videos on the subject accessible for free, especially in English : in short, I hope I have opened up a world for you and have given you the desire to start. For example, even just a YouTube search can find you a ton of useful resources.

It counts that years ago there were not all these tutorials , such as that of LEGO and to start approaching Unity you most likely had to start from scripts in C # and the like (yes, we refer to programming languages ). In short, I would say that it is a “lucky” period to enter this world.

On the other hand, it is no coincidence that in recent years there are more and more independent videogame “pearls” developed with the Unity graphics engine (who said Cuphead ?). In short, I just have to make you once again a big luck for your future in the video game industry!