Get started with Creator Kit: Beginner Code

Get started with code in Unity

Introduction to variables

Write your own instruction

Introduction to functions

Write your own spawn function 

Introduction to classes

 Write your own spawner class

Introduction to the public keyword and inheritance

Customize the health potions

Customize your game

Homework Submissions

WebGL Submissions - Create your first Action-RPG with C#

Live Session - Create your first Action-RPG Game with C#

Creator Kit: Beginner Code

In this activity, students customize their own 3D role-play video games using Unity technology and C# computer coding. All activity assets and step-by-step tutorials are included, helping learners to get started quickly. By the end of the project, students will have customized their own playable 3D games and have gained a better understanding of scripting, variables, functions, and classes. 

Participating in the global Hour of Code? Visit our Hour of Code Edition of this Creator Kit.

No coding experience? No problem! In this beginner project, you’ll explore the basics of C# code for Unity in the context of an action RPG. 

To get the most out of this project, you’ll have completed one of the three introductory Creator Kits (Puzzle, FPS, RPG), so you can apply your knowledge of the Unity Editor and focus on customizing the game with scripts.

Important: This learning content requires at least Unity 2019.2, and will not work correctly on older versions.

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Find the instruction for potion spawn distance

Break down the instruction

 Create your own variable

 Check your script changes

Save and test your changes

 Tutorial summary

Practice reading instructions in a script

Write your own instruction, to declare and assign a new variable

When you’ve finished, you’ll have changed the spawn distance of the potions in the Creator Kit: Beginner Code game.

Games

Hour of Code - Creator Kit: Beginner Coding

Now that you’ve explored an instruction which declares a variable and assigns it a value, you’re ready to create your own instruction!

Let’s start by changing the distance at which the potions are spawned from the PotionSpawner GameObject. First, a challenge for you:

In the SpawnerSample script, find the instruction which tells the computer where the potions should be created.  This instruction is repeated three times within the script.

Remember, don’t worry about understanding everything — use variable names, words you recognise, and variable assignment to identify the most appropriate instruction.

The instruction which controls the potion spawn distance is repeated on lines 14, 19, and 24 of the SpawnerSample script:

spawnPosition = transform.position + direction * 2; 

1.  First, work out what you know about the instruction already:

It includes an equals sign (=), which is used when a value is assigned to a variable. In this case, the variable is called spawnPosition.


The name of this variable suggests that it contains the potion spawn position. The fact that the instruction is repeated three times (the number of potions which are spawned) supports this.


2.  Next, use the Unity Scripting Reference to search for unfamiliar terms in the instruction. Search for transform.position and select the first result.

On the search result page, you’ll see an explanation that transform.position is the position property of the Transform component attached to a GameObject. This is the same GameObject that spawns the potions: PotionSpawner.


3.  The variable named direction stores the coordinates where each potion is spawned.
 

4.  The value 2 is the distance towards that direction where each potion is spawned.

This instruction assigns transform.position + direction * 2 to the variable spawnPosition, to set a different spawn position for each potion bottle.

So far, you’ve worked out that each potion is created two units of distance away from the PotionSpawner.

This is helpful, but if you wanted to spawn each potion at five units of distance, you would need to change the number in three different places. This isn’t very practical and it leaves room for errors.

To improve this, let’s replace the value with a variable:


1.  Write an instruction declaring your own variable called radius to store the distance. Add the instruction on the line following the angle variable (line 10) — this will move all the instructions below it down by one line.

The potion should spawn five units of distance away from the PotionSpawner GameObject

Each instruction needs to end with a semicolon (;)

The variable should be an int type, so that it can store whole number values


2.  Replace the value 2 in the script with the name of your new variable.

Check your variable declaration against the following solution:

Each of the instructions assigning to spawnPosition should now match the following example:

spawnPosition = transform.position + direction * radius;

Now you can test your changes at game start:


1.  Press Ctrl + S (Windows) or Cmd + S (macOS) in your code editor to save your changes to the script.


2.  In the Editor, click Play to enter Play Mode.


3.  Check the distance at which the potions are now spawned at game start. You should see that each potion is created further away from the PotionSpawner:



4.  When you’ve finished checking your changes, click Play again to exit Play Mode. Remember, changes you make in this mode won’t be saved. 


Now if you want to change the spawn distance for the potions, you just need to change the value stored in the radius variable!

Identified specific instructions in a script


Applied your own knowledge and used additional resources to work out what an instruction means


Replaced a value with a variable in a script

In the next tutorial, you’ll learn how to make things more efficient and avoid some code repetition in your script using functions.

If you’re finding this project challenging, remember that working with code is an ongoing journey. People working on games often use the same skills of deduction and research that you’ve applied in this tutorial to break down the code of more experienced programmers, to enable them to learn and create the best player experience.

Write your own instruction

1. Find the instruction for potion spawn distance

2. Break down the instruction

3. Create your own variable

4. Check your script changes

5. Save and test your changes

6. Tutorial summary

Complete this tutorial