Unity Basics and Fundamentals

In video game development, Unity has emerged as a go to tool for creating immersive gaming experiences. This article will serve as a beginner-friendly guide, starting from the basics of Unity, exploring the crucial differences between Unity and Unreal, providing guidance for beginners, installation process, and learning resources available.

This article is part of a series on getting started with game development and game engines. We recommend you read the series in order, but feel free to jump around.

1. What is an Indie Game?
2. How to become a self-taught game developer
3. The 7 Stages of Game Development
4. Indie game programming for complete beginners
5. 23+ Game Development Courses and Resources
6. How to choose the right game engine
7. Unity vs. Unreal
8. Unity vs. Godot
9. Game development with Unity
10. Unity Basics
11. Unity Free vs. Pro
12. Unity Asset Store
13. Best Unity Courses for 2024

Introduction to Unity Basics

Unity, as a leading game development platform, offers a suite of impressive features that appeal to beginner and expert developers alike. Unity’s user-friendly interface with a simple learning curve and flexible editor are standout features.

The engine supports publishing to almost all platforms, including Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and various VR and AR devices.

Unity can be run on a Windows, Mac or Linux PC with a DirectX 11 or DirectX 12 graphics card. However the requirement varies based on the complexity of the projects undertaken.

Unity uses C# as the coding language for its games but there is an option of visual scripting for non-programmers.

Unity also offers a selection of software-as-a-service capabilities known as Unity Gaming Services. Unity Gaming Services makes it easier for new developers to integrate features like Ads and Analytics into their games.

Choosing the best game engine

If you are new to game development, you are likely wondering which game engine is the best. Ultimately, the best choice is the one that you are most comfortable using and that makes it easiest for you to get set up and start developing your project.

As a beginner, you will feel constrained by the limitations of any engine. As you become more proficient, you will learn how to overcome these limitations in the engine that you picked, and you will learn that every engine has its own drawbacks that you need to work around.

Choosing Between Unity and Unreal

When deciding between Unity vs. Unreal, consider your project’s scope and requirements. Unity is known for its ease of use and strong support for mobile and indie developers. It shines in 2D game development and offers a vast asset store. Unreal Engine, on the other hand, is preferred for high-fidelity graphics and AAA game production. The Blueprint system in Unreal Engine, similar to Unity’s visual scripting, streamlines the programming process. However, it typically requires more computational resources.

Both engines are capable of developing any game that you can imagine. The choice comes down to personal preference and learning curves.

Choosing Between Unity and Godot

When deciding between Unity vs. Godot, you also need to consider similar factors as for choosing between Unity and Unreal. However, can be better suited for some indie developers depending on your preference around licensing and target platforms.

Unity is known for its ease of use and strong support for mobile and indie developers.