Introduction to Unit 9

Explore the production cycle

Reimagine your game on multiple platforms

Iterate on the player controller

Source new assets

Unity pro tips

Unit 9 - Iterate on your game

In this unit, you’ll reflect on the process so far, iterate on the player controller, swap out the assets in your game, and then you’ll learn some Unity tips and tricks to take your skills to the next level.

Unit 9 - Iterate on your Game

Welcome to the course

Install the Unity Hub and Editor

Get started with the Unity Editor

Create a balanced primitive structure

Introduction to Unit 2

Setting up the Game

Moving the Player

Moving the Camera

Setting up the Play Area

Creating Collectibles

Detecting Collisions with Collectibles

Displaying Score and Text

Adding AI Navigation

Building the Game

Fill out a Game Design Document

Introduction to Unit 3

Get started with audio

Create 3D sound effects

Add special effects to existing audio

Challenge: Your own soundscape

Add audio to your game

Introduction to Unit 4

Get started with VFX

Play around with a Particle System

Create an environmental Particle System

Create a burst particle

Challenge: Add some magic to your scene

Add VFX to your game

Introduction to Unit 5

Get started with user interfaces

Add a title to your scene

Manage screen size and anchors

Create a menu background with images

Add basic button functionality

Add toggles and sliders

Challenge: Make a worldspace UI

Add UI to your game

Introduction to Unit 6

Get started with animation

Create your first 3D animations

Refine your animation

Control animation with an Animator

Import animation

Challenge: Bring the scene to life

Add animation to your game

Introduction to Unit 7

Get started with shaders and materials

Explore meshes and rendering

Explore shaders

Simulate solid surfaces

Map materials with textures

Create translucent and transparent effects

Add physical texture with bump mapping 

Challenge: Create your still life composition

Add materials to your game

Introduction to Unit 8

Get started with lighting

Get started with lighting in Unity

Configure the Directional Light and skybox

Add light sources to your scene

Configure shadows in your scene

Bake a lightmap for your scene

Improve your lighting with Light Probes

Examine and complete the indoor scene

Refine and troubleshoot the indoor scene

Showcase your work with lighting

Add lighting to your game

Prepare for the UCA Game Dev exam

Finalize your project

Unit 1 - Unity fundamentals

Unit 2 - Program a basic game

Unit 3 - Audio

Unit 4 - VFX

Unit 5 - UI

Unit 6 - Animation

Unit 7 - Materials

Unit 8 - Lighting

In this unit, you will create your first Unity project, get comfortable using the Unity Editor, and then design your first scene. 

Unit 1 - Get started in Unity

In this unit, you will create a simple game called Roll-a-Ball that will be the foundation for your personal game project, which you will work on for the entire course.  

In this unit, you’ll learn how to implement audio effects in Unity. Then you’ll apply those new skills and add audio to your own game. 

In this unit, you’ll learn how to implement visual effects (VFX)  in Unity. Then you’ll apply those new skills and add VFX to your own game. 

Unit 4 - Visual Effects

In this unit, you’ll learn how to create user interfaces (UI) in a Unity project. Then you’ll apply those new skills and add UI to your own game. 

Unit 5 - User Interfaces

In this unit, you’ll learn how to create and control animations in a Unity project. Then you’ll apply those new skills and add animations to your own game. 

Add physical texture with bump mapping

In this unit, you’ll learn how to add custom materials, including a repeating pattern and a normal map to simulate height and surface texture. Then you’ll apply those new skills and add animations to your own game.

In this unit, you’ll learn how to add lighting to your scene to make things more polished and visually pleasing. Then you’ll apply those new skills and add lighting to your own game.

In this unit, you’ll make sure you’re ready to take the certification exam and make any final adjustments to your game to make sure it meets the goals outlined in your Game Design Document.  

Unit 10 - Prepare for certification and publishing

This course is designed to help you prepare for the 

Unity Certified Associate: Game Developer

In this course, you will master the fundamental skills needed for game development with Unity, including programming in C#, designing immersive audio and stunning visual effects, crafting intuitive user interfaces, and applying unique animations, materials and lighting.

You'll start by creating a design document for your own game, then gradually build a working prototype. Throughout the course, you'll enhance your game using the skills you acquire, taking it from a simple idea to a finished product.

Towards the end of the course, there is dedicated time for a comprehensive review of everything you’ve learned to ensure you’re fully prepared to ace the exam

When you're done with the course, you will not only have the skills to pass the Unity Certified Associate exam and continue creating your own games, but you'll also have a fully realized game that you've designed and created from scratch.

2022.3

UCA: Game Developer - Certification Prep Course

287147a5-8b0e-5cee-a54b-e931dad6ffcb:hZGUzJc5TfSRjIpWBB8xLg

Overview

Pro tips: the Hierarchy window

Pro tips: the Inspector window

Pro tips: Project window

Pro tips: Scene view

Pro tips: Game view

Next steps

increment-snapping.mp4

snap-to-vertex.mp4

In this tutorial, you'll uncover advanced techniques to refine your workflow across the Unity environment. You'll explore pro tips for the Hierarchy window, the Inspector, Project, Scene, and Game views. You’ll also learn about leveraging visibility toggles, optimizing asset navigation, and perfecting object positioning. 

By now, you've surely picked up a lot of efficient workflows for creating in Unity. But there are probably a few tips and tricks you may have missed. These little techniques can add up to help you level up your skills as a Unity developer. 

In this tutorial, we will take a deeper dive into the Unity environment,  one window at a time. We will explore some useful tips and tricks that can streamline your workflow and make your development process even more efficient.

Stock photo of a person with their hands on a keyboard and mouse.

As your game projects grow more complex and the list of GameObjects in the Hierarchy window becomes longer, efficient navigation becomes crucial. Let's take a look at some features that you might not have discovered yet.


In the Hierarchy window in Unity, the scene visibility and pickability options can be found to the left of each GameObject's name. The eye icon represents the visibility toggle, while the hand icon represents the pickability toggle.

The scene visibility toggle (eye icon) allows you to quickly show or hide a GameObject in the Scene view without affecting its active state in the actual game. This is useful for decluttering the Scene view during development and editing. For example, you might want to toggle your UI canvas as invisible — look at the difference in the image below.

The pickability toggle (hand icon) allows you to enable or disable the selection of a GameObject in the Scene view. When pickability is disabled (hand icon crossed out), you won't be able to select the GameObject by selecting it in the Scene view. This is helpful for preventing accidental selection and modification of certain GameObjects while working on a scene. You might consider making your ground GameObject not pickable, for example.


In the Hierarchy window, you can search for GameObjects by their name or by the type of components attached to them. To search by name, simply enter the name into the search box at the top of the Hierarchy window. To search by component type, use the "t:" prefix followed by the component name in the search box. 

For instance, if you want to find all GameObjects with a Light component in your scene, enter "t:light” into the search box. To locate GameObjects with an AudioSource component, type "t:audiosource”. 

Using this search method can be more reliable than searching by name because GameObject names might not always be consistent, while component types provide a precise way to filter the results.


Using empty GameObjects as headers and folders

Empty GameObjects can serve as useful organizational tools in the Hierarchy window. By creating empty GameObjects, you can effectively divide the list of GameObjects, thereby making the Hierarchy window easier to navigate. Additionally, using empty parent GameObjects allows you to expand or collapse lists of GameObjects, adding another layer of organization to your Hierarchy window. You can see examples of both of these techniques in the screenshot below.

Hierarchy window with the visibility and pickability toggles highlighted.

Two images side by side to show what happens when a GameObject is marked as invisible in the Hierarchy. On the left, the Title_Canvas GameObject has an eye icon and there is a large gray rectangle in the Scene view. On the right, the eye icon has a line through it and the large gray rectangle is no longer visible in the Scene view. 

The Hierarchy window with t:audiosource typed into the search bar.

The Hierarchy window with two highlighted GameObject. One is called “======= DYNAMIC ========” and the other is called “Pick Ups”. Both of these GameObjects help organize the Hierarchy.

The Inspector window is more than just a place to adjust the properties of GameObjects; it can also be a powerful organizational tool. Let's look at a few features that can help you stay organized.


Icons can be assigned to GameObjects in the Inspector window. This feature is particularly useful for empty GameObjects that you want to visualize in the Scene view but that would otherwise be invisible, like a spawn point.

To add an icon, select the GameObject and then open the Icon dropdown next to its name in the Inspector window. You can choose from Unity's built-in icons or even use your own custom icons.

Asset labels help you categorize and organize your assets according to your workflow. By using these labels, you can filter assets in the Project window, making it easier to find specific items. Adding labels such as "In-game" for prefabs used in your game project can improve organization and asset management. To add a new label, select an asset in the Project window, and in the Inspector window, select the Add Label button, then enter or select the desired label. It will then appear as a label at the bottom of the Inspector window.

Blue circular icon representing an empty GameObject in the Scene view.

Tag named “In-Game” added to a GameObject called Pick Up. 

The Project window is where all your assets are stored. As your project grows, you'll accumulate a large number of assets, so navigating them efficiently becomes essential.


The Icon size slider at the bottom right of the Project window allows you to adjust the size of your asset icons. Larger icons are helpful for quickly previewing models or materials, while the list view is more beneficial for scanning, sorting, and organizing assets.

Search by type or label and save searches

Similar to the Hierarchy window, you can search multiple ways in the Project window. You can search by name, of course, but you can also use the toolbar to search for asset type or even custom labels in the Project window. This feature allows you to filter your assets based on specific criteria, making it easier to locate what you need. You can also then save and reference those favorite searches in the Favorites dropdown.

You can also search by type or label in the search box manually. To search by type, use the "t:" prefix followed by the asset type. For a label, use the “l:” prefix instead.

Icon size slider highlighted in the Project window.

“In-Game” Search highlighted as a Favorite view in the Project window. The search filter options are highlighted in the Project window toolbar.

The Scene view is your main canvas for building your game. There are many useful features and shortcuts here that can speed up your workflow.


The toolbar at the top of the Scene view contains various tools for manipulating GameObjects and navigating the scene.

Each tool also has a tooltip that tells you what it does. Rather than going through each one here, you should spend some time now exploring these tools and familiarizing yourself with their functions. You can also use the manual for more guidance on each tool you’re curious about. 


Increment snapping allows you to move, rotate, or scale GameObjects by specific increments. This is extremely helpful for precisely positioning and aligning your GameObjects. Hold the Ctrl key (macOS: Cmd key) while moving, rotating, or scaling a GameObject to use increment snapping.

You can also fine-tune the amount of each increment in the Increment Snapping dropdown in the Scene view toolbar. 


Vertex snapping is a feature that allows you to precisely align GameObjects based on their vertices. This can be especially useful when you need to place an object directly on top of another one.

To use this feature, with the move tool enabled, hold the V key. You can then select specific vertices of the selected GameObject. To snap a vertex to a surface on another Mesh, hold Shift+Ctrl (macOS: Shift+Cmd) while you drag the GameObject over another surface. This requires some pretty complex keyboard maneuvers, but with some practice, you’ll get it!

The Game view is where you test your game. There are many features and shortcuts in the control bar that can enhance your testing process. Just like you did with the Scene view, rather than going through each one here, you should take some time to explore the control bar, experiment, and learn what each option does. 

You can also use the manual for more guidance on any tool you’re curious about. 

You've just learned some very useful tips and tricks for working efficiently in Unity. The more you practice these techniques during actual game development, the more ingrained they'll become in your workflow, making your development process smoother and more enjoyable.

Unity pro tips

1. Overview

2. Pro tips: the Hierarchy window

3. Pro tips: the Inspector window

4. Pro tips: Project window

5. Pro tips: Scene view

6. Pro tips: Game view

7. Next steps

Complete this tutorial