top 25 free video tutorials

Unity is a game engine that allows you to create computer games and applications. It is used to create games such as Slender: The Arrival, RPG Shadowrun Returns, one of the most colorful games of the last decade Ori and the Blind Forest, Outer Wilds and others. Despite the fact that the platform is used by professional developers, Unity is perfect for teaching children, since in the process not only technical skills and the ability to code in C# are developed, but also many other important competencies:

• Logical and problem-solving thinking. During the coding process, a child learns to analyze problems, break them down into smaller components, and find solutions.

• Creative thinking and encouraging fantasy. Children and teenagers can create their own worlds and characters, come up with stories from their heads, and select game mechanics for them.

• Communication and teamwork. It is a misconception that developers work alone. Moreover, if we are talking about creating games, then entire teams are involved, and communication between them determines the effectiveness of the entire project. So, Unity for children will be an excellent school of teamwork.

So the benefits are obvious. Another question is where to study? There are many offers like “Unity Course from Scratch”, and the number of schools offering development programs is very large. We suggest that you start with free online Unity training courses. Below we have collected 25 lessons that describe in detail all the key features of the program. With due diligence and interest, you can master them all and this will be a good basis for further in-depth training. And those who have already worked with Unity will find here a couple of interesting lessons from teachers of the online school “Pixel” to create games or interesting non-obvious functions.

Installing Unity

You can watch these video tutorials either separately or together. It all depends on your level of knowledge and goals. If a teenager or child was not familiar with this game engine before and is starting to learn Unity from scratch, you can watch this one lesson on the analysis of the interface and the program itself, what it is needed for, how to install and start using it. If the student already has development skills, and has made simple projects in Unity, then you can try to create a couple of games from this video course. The task can be complicated: do not completely repeat what the teacher says and shows, but put your own values ​​​​in variables, change the directions of movement, for example, or create your own scenes.

Unity Development Training: Creating Animations

A lesson on how to create a simple character animation. It is shown using a simple sprite loaded from the Unity gallery as an example. Since this is a game engine, you will be working with the C# programming language. The video shows how to use it to create a script for a fast run of the game character, as well as how to use the Scale function to reduce and increase objects. It is important that if, for example, in Scratch we work with two coordinate axes – “x” and “y”, then in the case of Unity, another axis is added – “z”, because you need to work in a three-dimensional plane. But in this video, you will not need a three-dimensional axis, but in further lessons – yes. All materials required for this lesson can be downloaded from the links in the video description (on YouTube or RuTube).

Free Unity Course Lesson: Creating a Teleport

Here the teleporter is two cubes located in different parts of the space, which the hero can use as a teleporter, that is, entering one object, he exits from another. To make it, you need to install two cubes on the stage with the specified characteristics and be sure to check the box “Remove gravity” (Use Gravity). If you do not do this, the cubes will simply fall through the ground. Movement in the player's teleporter (in the video it is a yellow ball) is regulated in the Player and Cube tabs (since in this case we chose a cube when creating it).

Spawning objects in Unity

The word “spawn” migrated from computer games, where the phrase “spawn” means “to be reborn”. In the game engine of the Unity programming course, spawning objects is determining their location in space. In Unity, this is done using actions and writing a script on canvas. Here you can also learn how to make prefabs – object templates, that is, “samples” of objects. This is convenient when using an object several times, since all its properties are saved.

Triggers in Unity

Triggers are needed to collect bonuses in the game or to cause damage to the player (character). For the lesson, a scene with a character has already been prepared, you can download it from the link in the description (on YouTube or RuTube) and then install it on your computer. The video shows how to create a trigger, configure its physics through the Rigidbody menu using the example of a capsule. The script in this case is written for the process when the object enters the capsule. The script menu can be found in the Assets section. See the video for detailed settings.

Timer in Unity

The next lesson on learning C# from scratch in Unity concerns two ways of creating a timer. In the first case, the text that is displayed on the timer is added using canvas — hereinafter text. Then the corresponding values ​​for the output of the countTime function are written in the script. And since we are talking about a timer, we set the output for every second. The second way is using a coroutine. A coroutine is a function that can work simultaneously with a particular program code. It can be called at different times and in different periods of time.

Move an object with the mouse

In this Unity tutorial, you will learn how to move objects in Unity with the mouse (Mouse Drag). Why might you need the drag method? If we are, for example, making a Tamagotchi game, then to feed it, you just need to drag the food with the mouse. To do this, we need to create a panel in the canvas space, adjust it to the size and add a picture. Next, the script opens and all the necessary tags are applied (the video describes step by step which ones). The main objective of the lesson is to teach how to set a condition for a certain value of variables. Simply put, when we press the left mouse button, the drag value becomes true. And it becomes false when we release the mouse button. After all the settings, the project can be launched and the object can be moved.

Learn Unity for Free: Create a Character Life Bar

In any game there is a so-called character health bar, life strip, etc. This is what shows the player's vitality, the number of lives left. This tutorial shows how to make such a bar in Unity. It all starts with creating a panel on canvas. Using the Scale tool, it needs to be reduced to the size of the strip. Next comes working with variables directly in the C# script. The task here is to use code to make the health values ​​in the bar either subtract or restore from the influence of certain conditions (this could be a collision with an enemy object, for example, etc.).

Saving a game in Unity 3D

This tutorial shows how to make a save method in Unity. This applies, for example, to saving points or levels in a game. The PlayerPrefs method, a built-in system of the game engine, will help with this. For the tutorial, a ready-made scene with a background can be downloaded inside the description of the video. The video also shows how to create buttons that will add points, display text and load. Also, for each of them, you need to set three separate functions in the script so that they work.

How to Make a Runner Game in Unity

Runner is familiar to many children. In games of this genre, the movement does not stop, and the player cannot change the speed. All that is possible is to successfully overcome obstacles that become more difficult with increasing speed. To make such a game in Unity, you need to download graphics from the Asset Store, create level generation in the game through the background spawn and set up the background in the script through GameObject. Then the character is programmed and obstacles are created on the map. More details on how to do this are in the video tutorial.

How to Export a Game from Unity to PC or Android

The lesson is devoted to how to build your project either for a PC or for Android. To do this, you must first open the Buildsetting file. By default, the project is created in Unity according to the PC requirements. To do this, you need to add scenes that will ultimately be displayed in the application. If you need to publish your application in the Play Market, you will need a little more settings, since you need to adapt the project to the capabilities of the smartphone. More details in the video.

How to upload a game to the marketplace

The lesson begins with opening the BuildSetting file. Please note that the Android platform must be used. Next comes the setup and output of scenes that will participate in the release of the application. This means that when the application is on the phone, the scenes we need must be in the initial assembly. After that, you need to go to PlayerSetting and specify the company name, the name of the game that will be displayed on the user's phone. Next, an icon is added, the version of the application, the screen orientation is determined and the output to the marketplace is configured. The video shows step-by-step instructions, so follow them and you will not make a mistake in the settings.

How to make a jump in Unity

A jump can be made for both a 2D and a 3D project. For 3D, a scene is created, and a sphere acts as an object, for which physics must also be configured later. The jump is configured in the Bool variable script. This is necessary so that there is no double jump when the player is in the air. When he only touches the ground, then the jump will occur. Next, the jump conditions are configured and the required values ​​are substituted into the variables. In order to create a jump in 2D, there is already a prepared scene with a sprite (you can download it inside the video). The configuration is done through BoxCollider.

How to Make a Character Move in 2D and 3D Games

This Unity programming tutorial covers character control in a 2D and 3D game. For 3D, a scene is created, a sphere as a character (watch the video to see how to set up the physics of an object). Then a script is created using the Create — C# command. The script name must be given in English. From the video, you will learn how to set up variables that will be responsible for the character's movement.

For 2D, you can take ready-made scenes. The movement is configured through the Move, GameObject, Collider tool.

LineRenderer (Line Renderer)

Line Renderer is a line renderer that takes an array of two or more points in 3D or 2D space. This tutorial covers 2D space. There are two scripts that handle different types of drawing. For example, Line Point means drawing by points. And if you enable DraftLine, you can draw continuously. DraftLine also allows you to draw a continuous line. The video includes a detailed breakdown of both scripts, variable settings, and output results. Try following the teacher first, and then build your own project.

Car simulator on Unity 3D

In this Unity tutorial in Russian from scratch, you will learn how to make a car simulator using a simple racing game as an example. The work begins with the Asset Store tab. If it is not there initially, you can open it through the Window tab. The object – in this case, it is a car – is loaded from the internal library. Next comes work with prefabs, Box Collider, and physics settings. The car's movement is written in the script along three coordinate axes.

Terrain in Unity 3D

The lesson is dedicated to creating Terrain. A ready-made package is used for work, which needs to be downloaded and loaded into the program (the link is in the description under the video). It contains brush textures, brushes themselves, layers and textures. The video shows how to work with each of the tools to get a beautiful landscape for a future project.

Teaching Children Unity: How to Make Dialogues

Dialogues in the game are needed to complement the storyline or give a hint to the player. Sprites have already been prepared for the lesson: character, dialogue window, ground and object to which the character will approach. All these sprites can be downloaded from the link in the description or prepared by yourself by analogy.

How to Make an NPC in Unity

NPC is a non-player character that cannot be controlled by the player. They are present in the vast majority of games and are needed to develop the plot, interact with the player, etc. The lesson covers creating an NPC that will automatically approach the character.

Free Online Unity Course for Kids: Making Inventory

Inventory in the game has useful functions: it can be weapons, minerals, materials and any other items from which the player gets something. The video shows an example of items as inventory that are created for the player (in this case for the sphere): gold, arrows and a sword. During the lesson, you will be able to customize the inventory panel and write a script for the player so that he can use them.

Making a shooter in Unity

For the tutorial, you will need a package of standard assets that can be found in the Asset Store by typing “standard asset” in the search bar. The character is taken from the Prefab, which already has a body, Collider, physics, a script for movement and movement. The sounds that it will make when walking are also located here, and it also has a camera inside that will follow it. You also need to find a weapon for the shooter in the Asset Store. For convenience, you can search by category. Scripts are configured on ready-made sprites: movement and trajectory, bullet spawn, etc.

Flappy Bird on Unity 3D

A tutorial on creating a Flappy Bird minigame. You will need several sprites: a bird, obstacles for the character to fly through, and a background. The video shows how to set up a background so that it covers the entire space inside the camera. It also covers layers, Collider components, Scale and Move tools. The video will show you what a parent object and the jump function are.

How to make character selection in Unity

In this lesson, we will analyze how to make a character selection. You will need several sprites: a background, a ground sprite on which one, two or any number of characters will stand. After preparing the scene, the Sprite Renderer component is added so that the characters are displayed in the project. It must be added to the GameObject via the Components menu. Next, the panel for selecting characters is configured in the script.

Opening a store in Unity

In the in-game store, the player can purchase, for example, inventory (watch the video tutorial on creating it above in the list). At the end of this tutorial, you will be able to create a store with the purchases that were in the tutorial on inventory.

Unity Character Controls in Bomberman

Unlike the usual smooth turns in the direction of movement, the turn in the Bomberman game is carried out sharply in the desired direction. The lesson shows detailed steps on how to create a 3D project with similar control yourself. Ready-made models from the Asset Store are used, you can download the same one from the link in the description or find any other you like.

Animation

This tutorial shows how to make a door open on a button and disappearing platforms. It all starts with creating a 3D object and setting its dimensions. To create an animation, you need to find the animation in the Window tab and click Create. You can name it the same as in the video tutorial or come up with your own name. The animation is recorded using the record button. To understand that the recording has started, look at the timeline: it should be highlighted in red.

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With such step-by-step repetition, the child will be able to create his first project without having any special knowledge or skills. And if everything works out (and most likely it will, because the lesson can be reviewed several times), then his interest in development will only become stronger. After this, you can already think about advanced courses, where the process of creating games and programming in C# is studied in more depth.

In the meantime, turn on the video and dive into the interesting world of game development.

The material was prepared by the programming school for children “Pixel”, we teach many areas, including developing games on Unity for children aged 10-14.