Unity Primer

Installing Unity

Head to unity3d.com and download the relevant instance of Unity.
Make sure you install the necessary components, particularly Vuforia Augmented Reality Support and the relevant packages for any particular platform you wish to develop for.

Creating a Project

To create a new Unity Project, open Unity and select create a New Local Project. Projects > On Disk > New Project

Asset Packages can be added during this step based on the existing asset packages that have been previously downloaded.

User Interface

Once a project has been created, the main Unity Interface will be displayed.

The Unity Interface is comprised of five main elements shown below in Figure 3.0:

Toolbar
Hierarchy Window
Inspector Window
Project Window
Scene View

The Toolbar contains Unity's most important working features.

The icons on the left are used for manipulating both objects and the scene view.
The central controls are used for debugging (playing) your scene.
Similar to Adobe Cloud, the right-hand dropdown menus provide access to different window layouts or configurations and layer visibility settings.

The Hierarchy Window

The Hierarchy Window lists all objects currently in the scene, and is used to show which objects are dependent upon others.

The Inspector Window

The Inspector Window is located on the right of your screen and is generally used to display the properties of a selected object.

In Figure 3.3, the inspector functions as a properties pane, with the ability to perform transformations on and alter the properties of particular objects, but usually this window can also also serve other functions. In Figure 3.3.1 the Unity Inspector Window serves as a Tutorial Guide.

The Project Window

The Project Window is located at the bottom of the screen. It is generally used to display the asset library which are within a project folder.

Assets should first be loaded in to this project window prior to being dropped in to a scene, so that the application is self-contained.

The Scene View Window

The Scene View Window is a representation of your scene, and is located in the center of your display. The scene can be manipulated using the controls in the top-right of the toolbar.

The scene view window can be either a 2D or 3D rendering of a project, depending on the type of project being created.

Understanding Unity Components

This is a Work in Progress Section based on materials available on the Unity Manual.

Scenes

Scenes contain the environments and menus of your game. Think of each unique Scene file as a unique level. In each Scene, you place your environments, obstacles, and decorations, essentially designing and building your game in pieces. Scenes can be created, saved and loaded like you would a file in the Project Window.

Saving Scenes

Scenes need to be saved as well as Projects.

To save the Scene you’re currently working on, choose File > Save Scene from the menu, or press Ctrl + S (Windows) or Cmd + S (masOS).

Unity saves Scenes as Assets in your project’s Assets folder. This means they appear in the Project window, with the rest of your Assets.

GameObjects

The GameObject is the most important concept in the Unity Editor.

Every object in your game is a GameObject, from characters and collectible items to lights, cameras and special effects. However, a GameObject can’t do anything on its own; you need to give it properties before it can become a character, an environment, or a special effects by adding components

A GameObject can contain any number of components. Unity has many built-in components, and you can create your own by writing C# scripts.

Depending on what kind of object you want to create, you add different combinations of components to a GameObject.

You can think of a GameObject as an empty cooking pot, and components as different ingredients that make up the recipe of your game. Unity has lots of different built-in component types, and you can also make your own components using the Unity Scripting API.

This section explains how GameObjects, components and the Scripting API fit together, and how to create and use them.

Assets

An asset is representation of any item that can be used in your game or project. An asset may come from a file created outside of Unity, such as a 3D model, an audio file, an image, or any of the other types of file that Unity supports. There are also some asset types that can be created within Unity, such as an Animator Controller, an Audio Mixer or a Render Texture .