Six great Unity tutorials for beginners
It’s difficult to become an expert on any piece of software. They’re always feature-rich and capable of doing so much that you feel like you could never be confident using them.
This isn’t the case, though! Every great designer, developer, or editor was once a beginner like you. We know it’s not easy to start out on a new piece of software, so we’ve compiled a list of six of the most impactful Unity tutorials for beginners to save you the hassle. These are all video tutorials and aimed at people who are absolute beginners to the Unity game engine, so if this doesn’t describe your situation then you might be interested in one of these links instead:
With that said and done, let’s get started.
1. "How to Make Beautiful Terrain in Unity 2020, Beginner Tutorial" by UGuruz
Learning how to create high-quality forest-type terrain in around 15 minutes doesn’t sound possible, but this tutorial from UGuruz will get you well on the way. You'll learn how to sculpt, texture, and add trees & grass to bring a natural element to your game’s scenery.
Assets used in the video are provided in the description. These are also completely free to download, meaning you can follow along with the tutorial in real time.
UGuruz has a number of other tutorials on his channel, though most of these are targeted at more intermediate-level students. Go give them a watch if you’re interested in learning more about what Unity is capable of!
2. "Unity in 100 Seconds" by Fireship
This tutorial is the shortest on our list at just two minutes long. In it, Fireship gives a quick rundown of the history and functions of Unity before hopping into a brief tutorial that teaches you how to make a simple bowling-style game using C#.
If this is your first time taking a step into game development, this tutorial is perfect as it’s high quality and extremely easy to follow, even for a complete beginner. You don’t even have to spend much time watching it either; it’s called Unity in 100 Seconds, after all!
You can find more game development content on the Fireship channel or follow them on Twitter.
3. "How to make a Video Game" by Brackeys
We might be cheating with this one since it’s technically a series of 10 videos, but they were too good not to add. Each video covers a part of the game development process for an endless runner-style game from the installation process, gameplay, adding UI, and more. Episodes average 5-10 minutes in length, so it’s not even a heavy time commitment!
Brackeys, unfortunately, isn’t creating content anymore, but almost all of its past tutorials are still useful with minor UI changes being the main difference between versions of Unity.
You can go follow them on Twitter where they still host game jams in their community Discord (and we’d highly recommend getting involved in game jams if you want to become a game developer).
4. "9 EASY Steps to create a multiplayer game with Unity & Photon" by Blackthornprod
This tutorial may seem a bit more advanced than the others we’ve listed, but it’s a lot simpler than it seems. Blackthornprod’s short and concise video covers basic multiplayer implementation within Unity using Photon, a multiplayer platform, which allows you to create free servers for your game.
The video production is top class, with stylized graphics to support the key points made along with a video overlay so you can see exactly what is happening every step of the way.
Blackthornprod has taught thousands of people how to make games through its Udemy course selections. It has even created over 40 free games! Follow Blackthorn’s Twitter to keep up to date with its latest developments.
5. "Awesome Third Person Shooter Controller! (Unity Tutorial)" by CodeMonkey
In this simple tutorial, Code Monkey runs through how to create a basic third-person shooter complete with mechanics including aim logic, animations, and projectiles.
One of the best parts about this tutorial is that it’s a perfect level for Unity beginners, but could also help people with more experience that have never created a 3D game in this style before.
Code Monkey is another familiar face among Unity tutorials and even won an official award for creating them. It’s also published a total of eight games as an indie developer, so you can trust in the host’s expertise. Drop them a follow on Twitter to keep up to date.
6. "LOD Explained" by Ketra Games
This short five-minute tutorial by Ketra Games explains and runs through how you can use level of detail (LOD) settings in your game. Utilizing LOD can help your game’s performance greatly, especially if it has large areas to explore.
Learning how and why to take advantage of it early in the creation process will be a huge benefit to you, your future players, and everyone’s systems.
Ketra Games is a small group of indie devs that have been creating YouTube tutorials for just under two years. Their guides are top quality and well explained. If you want to learn more about Unity game creation, go check out the other videos on their channel. If you find their content useful, be sure to follow them on Twitter.
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That’s our list! Six excellent tutorials to help you find your footing in Unity.
Good luck out there, and be sure to check the below links for additional support or even job openings if you’re ready to put that knowledge into practice.
