Welcome to Unity

Unity is a game engine and editor used to make games for phones, PCs, consoles, the web and XR headsets. It handles rendering, physics, audio, input and building for each platform, while you design the game and write its behaviour in C#.

Unity 6 is the current generation of the engine. It includes the Universal Render Pipeline as the default for new 3D projects, the newer Input System, improved lighting and many performance improvements. This course uses a Unity 6 release, and everything shown works across the Unity 6 line.

The game we will build

Lantern Run is a short 3D game:

• A small robot explores a floating island.
• Glowing sparks are scattered around; collect them all before the timer ends.
• Rolling logs and patrolling drones knock you back.
• A gate opens when you have enough sparks.
• A menu, score, timer and a win screen frame the experience.

It is small on purpose. You will finish it, and finishing teaches the skills that matter: connecting systems, fixing bugs and polishing.

How Unity thinks

Unity's model is built around three ideas:

1. A scene is a level or screen: the island, the main menu.
2. A GameObject is anything in a scene: the robot, a light, the camera, an invisible trigger. On its own it is an empty container with a position.
3. Components give GameObjects their abilities. A MeshRenderer draws a model, a Rigidbody adds physics, a Collider defines a shape for collisions, and your C# scripts are components too.

So the robot is a GameObject with a model, a collider, a movement script and an animator. Build behaviour by combining components rather than writing one giant script.

Installing Unity

Download the Unity Hub, sign in with a Unity account and install a Unity 6 editor version. In the install options, add the build support module for your operating system. Visual Studio or JetBrains Rider can be installed for writing C#; VS Code also works with the Unity extension.

In the next lesson we create the project and tour the editor.