Introduction to real-time 3D experience design

Set up version control

Explore the sample project

Principles of object-oriented programming

Create a scene flow

Implement data persistence between scenes

Implement data persistence between sessions

Quiz: Manage scene flow and data

Submission: Data persistence in a new repo

Learn about data persistence and an introduction to the core pillars of object-oriented programming.

In this mission, you’ll learn about data persistence, or how to manage the loading and unloading of data between both scenes and sessions. Along the way, you will be introduced to the core pillars of object-oriented programming, which will help you structure your code throughout the mission. There will only be one practical example throughout the mission, which will build on the new functionality you create with each tutorial. At the end of this mission, you’ll take everything you learned and apply it to a new project by building a persistent score system for a small game.

Manage Scene Flow and Data

Unity Junior Programmer

Kickstart your programming career with Unity's Junior Programmer Pathway. Learn coding fundamentals, C#, and game development to create your first interactive projects. Start learning for free!

Junior Programmer Pathway - Learn Coding & Game Development | Unity Learn

We recommend that you have basic knowledge of Unity or complete 

Ready to code? This guided learning Pathway will take you from zero to job-ready!

Welcome to Junior Programmer! Designed for anyone interested in learning to code or obtaining an entry-level Unity role, this pathway assumes a basic knowledge of Unity and has no math prerequisites. Junior Programmer prepares you to get Unity Certified so that you can demonstrate your job-readiness to employers.

Junior Programmer

Course Introduction

Install Unity Software

Unit 1 - Introduction

Lesson 1.1 - Start your 3D Engines 

Lesson 1.2 - Pedal to the Metal

Lesson 1.3 - High Speed Chase

Lesson 1.4 - Step into the Driver's Seat

Challenge 1 - Plane Programming

Lab 1 - Project Design Document

Introduction to project management and teamwork

Quiz 1

Learn how to create new C# scripts, call basic functions, and use variables to modify the results of those functions.

In this first mission in the Junior Programmer pathway, you will program a car moving side-to-side on a floating road, trying to avoid (or hit) obstacles in the way. In addition to becoming familiar with the Unity editor and workflow, you will learn how to create new C# scripts and do some simple programming. By the end of the Unit, you will be able to call basic functions, then declare and tweak new variables to modify the results of those functions.

Player Control

Unit 2 - Introduction

Lesson 2.1 - Player Positioning

Lesson 2.2 - Food Flight

Lesson 2.3 - Random Animal Stampede

Lesson 2.4 - Collision Decisions

Challenge 2 - Play Fetch

Lab 2 - New Project with Primitives

Quiz 2

Mod the Cube

Quiz: Create with Code 1

Gain familiarity with some of the most important programming and Unity concepts, including if-then statements, random value generation, arrays, collision detection, prefabs, and instantiation.

In this Mission, you will program a top-down game with the objective of throwing food to hungry animals - who are stampeding towards you - before they can run past you. In order to do this, you will become much more familiar with some of the most important programming and Unity concepts, including if-then statements, random value generation, arrays, collision detection, prefabs, and instantiation. In completing this Unit, you will learn how to program a basic game with the ability to launch projectiles and maneuver the player to keep the game alive.

Basic Gameplay

Unit 3 - Introduction

Lesson 3.1 - Jump Force

Lesson 3.2 - Make the World Whiz By

Lesson 3.3 - Don't Just Stand There

Lesson 3.4 - Particles and Sound Effects

Challenge 3 - Balloons, Bombs, & Booleans

Lab 3 - Player Control

Quiz 3

Learn how to add music, sound effects, and visual particle effects to transform the experience of your project.

In this Mission, you will program a fast-paced endless side-scrolling runner game where the player needs to time jumps over oncoming obstacles to avoid crashing. In creating this prototype, you will learn how to add music and sound effects, completely transforming the experience of your projects. You will also learn how to create dynamic endless repeating backgrounds, which are critical for any side-scrolling games. Finally, you will learn to incorporate particle effects like splatters and explosions, which make your games so much more satisfying to play.

Sound and Effects

Unit 4 - Introduction

Lesson 4.1 - Watch Where You’re Going

Lesson 4.2 - Follow the Player

Lesson 4.3 - PowerUp and CountDown

Lesson 4.4 - For-Loops For Waves

Challenge 4 - Soccer Scripting

Lab 4 - Basic Gameplay

Quiz 4

Learn how to implement new gameplay mechanics including powerups and increasing difficulty.

In this Mission, you will program an arcade-style Sumo battle with the objective of knocking increasingly difficult waves of enemies off of a floating island, using power ups to help defeat them. In creating this prototype, you will learn how to implement new gameplay mechanics into your projects, which are new rules or systems that make the game more interesting to play. On one hand, you will learn to program a powerup, which give the player a temporary advantage. On the other hand, you will learn to program increasingly difficult enemy waves, which make survival more challenging for the player. A good balance of powerups and increasing difficulty make for a much more interesting gameplay experience.

Gameplay Mechanics

Unit 5 - Introduction

Lesson 5.1 - Clicky Mouse

Lesson 5.2 - Keeping Score

Lesson 5.3 - Game Over

Lesson 5.4 - What’s the Difficulty?

Challenge 5 - Whack-a-Food

Lab 5 - Swap out your Assets

Quiz 5

Introduction to user feedback and testing

Learn how to implement a User Interface - or UI - into your projects, such as a title screen and score display.

In this Mission, you will program a game to test the player’s reflexes, where the goal is to click and destroy objects randomly tossed in the air before they can fall off the screen. In creating this prototype, you will learn how to implement a User Interface - or UI - into your projects. You will add a title screen with a difficulty select menu that will control how challenging the gameplay is, you will add a score display that will track how many points the player has earned, and you will add a Game Over screen, which will allow the player to restart and try again. In learning these skills, you will be able to create a fully “playable” experience that the user can enjoy from start to finish without having to restart the application to try it again.

User Interface

Next Steps - Introduction

Lesson 6.1 - Project Optimization

Lesson 6.2 - Research and Troubleshooting

Lesson 6.3 - Sharing your Projects

ECS Survival Guide

Career research and preparation

Introduction to portfolios

Debug the App

Counting Prototype

Quiz: Create with Code 2

Prepare to continue developing your Unity and C# skills independently, including learning how to complete your personal project.

In this Mission, you'll prepare to continue developing your Unity and C# skills independently, including learning how to complete your personal project and how to prepare for the Unity Certified User: Programming exam, which you can take through your school program, if available.

Publishing Your Project

Abstraction in object-oriented programming

Inheritance and polymorphism in object-oriented programming

Encapsulation in object-oriented programming

Profile code to identify issues

Job preparation: Junior Programmer

Quiz: Apply object-oriented principles

Submission: Programming theory in action

Deep-dive into the pillars of object-oriented programming and their application, then learn how to profile and optimize code.

In this mission, you’ll refactor the inventory project you completed in the previous mission using the pillars of object-oriented programming as a guide. You’ll deep dive into the inner workings of each pillar individually, so you can better understand its value in developing applications. Next, you’ll learn how to profile your code to identify any optimization bottlenecks that would slow down the final build of your application. To close out this mission, you’ll develop a small application for your portfolio that uses fully optimized code built on OOP principles. 

When you complete this mission you will complete the Junior Programmer pathway - CONGRATULATIONS!

Apply Object-Oriented Principles

2e771b48-cb23-4116-b06c-19f9e28ea3cf:6e298ecb6fdb

Write code to implement systems and structures for complex projects.

Level 2 Application scripting

Joy Horvath

Instructional Designer

Demonstrate an understanding of core version control functionality in order to maintain, integrate, and modify projects kept in repositories. 

Level 1 Version control

This quiz will assess your understanding of the concepts covered in the Junior Programmer: Manage scene flow and data mission.

Call the appropriate start-up methods in the initialization sequence of the app

Save user data in a the shutdown sequence of the app

Load the next scene when triggered by an event

Create the scene flow in an application state

Ensure data is preserved throughout an application session by using the Unity DontDestroyOnLoad method

Modify a GameObject with a script that contains the variables to be saved between Scenes

Recognize when to use static classes, singletons, and static variables to implement data persistence

Implement data persistence across scenes and user sessions

Identify the different version control solutions that can be used to maintain a project

Describe how version control is used to maintain a project

Prevent code loss by correctly resolving merge conflicts

Prototype or experiment with different code concepts by using branching

Communicate your changes on the project to the team by using commit messages

Access, modify, and contribute to a project by using core version control functionality

Maintain a project by correctly implementing version control

Which of the following is considered a Version Control solution?

Github is a free online version control solution that integrates with Unity and is used by developers around the world.

Which of the following is not typically done by a version control solution?

Manage contributions from all team members.

Revert back to a previous version of the project, if necessary.

Automatically resolve simple syntax errors in scripts. 

Track where changes to the project have been made over time.

Version control solutions do not typically automatically do anything to your project - instead, it tracks and manages changes you and your team make to it.

When would a “merge conflict” arise? 

When there is an error in a line of code that will cause additional errors when merged with the rest of the application.

When two different files are saved to the same repository with incompatible programming languages.

When changes are made to the same line of the same file on different branches of a repository.

When two contributors push the exact same file with the exact same code at the exact same time.

When two contributors make changes to the same line of code that are incompatible with each other, you are given the option to resolve this conflict by choosing which version to keep or by making an entirely new version.

What does it mean to “checkout a branch” within a version control solution?

Removes a branch from the current repository.

Creates a new duplicate branch in the repository.

Gives you “view” access to a branch of the repository.

Updates your working directory to match the version stored in a branch.

Checking out a branch updates the files in your working directory to match that branch. This is very convenient for working on new experimental features with no fear of breaking existing functionality.

What is a “commit message” within a version control solution?

A warning message that is shown to a contributor before they commit their changes to a repository.

The requirement to “commit” that you have verified certain functionality. 

A message that accompanies a “commit” to a repository explaining a change that was made.

A message that is sent to all contributors requesting that they commit their changes to the repository.

For communication between developers, it is best practice to include a “commit message” every time a “commit” is made to a repository, explaining the changes made to a repo and the context for that change.

Which of the following would represent a typical workflow with a version control solution?

checkout, add, clone, branch, commit, push

clone, branch, checkout, add, commit, push

clone, add, checkout, branch, push, commit

checkout, clone, branch, add, push, commit

You would typically clone the repo to your local machine, create a new branch to work on a new feature, checkout that branch to switch to that branch, add changes to stage them, commit those changes, then push those changes to github. 

In Unity’s Scripting reference, the following is shown for the LoadScene function: SceneManager.LoadScene

public static void LoadScene(int sceneBuildIndex, SceneManagement.LoadSceneMode mode = LoadSceneMode.Single);

public static void LoadScene(string sceneName, SceneManagement.LoadSceneMode mode = LoadSceneMode.Single);

Which of the following would be a valid implementation of the LoadScene method? 
 

In Unity’s Scripting reference, the following is shown for the LoadScene function: SceneManager.LoadScene public static void LoadScene(int sceneBuildIndex, SceneManagement.LoadSceneMode mode = LoadSceneMode.Single); public static void LoadScene(string sceneName, SceneManagement.LoadSceneMode mode = LoadSceneMode.Single); Which of the following would be a valid implementation of the LoadScene method? 
   

SceneManager.LoadScene(0, “SceneName”);

SceneManager.LoadScene(“SceneName”, 0);

SceneManager.LoadScene(0, LoadSceneMode.Additive);

SceneManager.LoadScene(LoadSceneMode.Single);

The only option that meets the parameter criteria is (int, LoadSceneMode). None of the other options could possibly be valid.

When would you want to use the DontDestroyOnLoad function?

When you want an object to ignore all Destroy() calls on it. 

When the application first loads and you want an object to retain the values it had from a previous time it was run.

When you want to save information about a particular GameObject or component between scenes. 

When you don’t want a particular GameObject to destroy any other objects in the scene while it is being loaded.

When loading a new level all objects in the scene are destroyed, then the objects in the new level are loaded. In order to preserve an object during level loading, call DontDestroyOnLoad on it.

The following code is intended to reload the scene every 3 seconds, then display the number of times it has reloaded in the console with “Reload number 0”, then “Reload number 1”, “Reload number 2”, etc. every time it is reloaded.   

public int reloadNumber = 0;

void Start()
{   
  Debug.Log("Reload number " + reloadNumber);   
  reloadNumber++;
  StartCoroutine(WaitAndReload()); 
}   

IEnumerator WaitAndReload()
{
  yield return new WaitForSeconds(3);
  SceneManager.LoadScene (SceneManager.GetActiveScene().name); 
}

However, the increased reloadNumber variable is not being retained when the scene is reloaded, so it prints “Reload number 0” every time instead of incrementing it by 1 every time.  What change would need to be made in order to make the program work as desired?  
 

The following code is intended to reload the scene every 3 seconds, then display the number of times it has reloaded in the console with “Reload number 0”, then “Reload number 1”, “Reload number 2”, etc. every time it is reloaded.    public int reloadNumber = 0;

void Start()
{   
  Debug.Log("Reload number " + reloadNumber);   
  reloadNumber++;
  StartCoroutine(WaitAndReload()); 
}   

IEnumerator WaitAndReload()
{
  yield return new WaitForSeconds(3);
  SceneManager.LoadScene (SceneManager.GetActiveScene().name); 
} However, the increased reloadNumber variable is not being retained when the scene is reloaded, so it prints “Reload number 0” every time instead of incrementing it by 1 every time.  What change would need to be made in order to make the program work as desired?  
   

Make the reloadNumber variable a constant. 

Make the reloadNumber variable protected. 

Serialize the reloadNumber variable with a “SerializeField” attribute. 

Static variables values are retained across scenes.

The below is an example of the Singleton design pattern implemented for a GameManager:   

public class GameManager : MonoBehaviour 
{
   void Awake()
   {     
      if (Instance == null)
      {       
         Instance = this;
         DontDestroyOnLoad(gameObject);
      }    
      else     
      {       
         Destroy(gameObject);
      }     
   } 
       
   public static GameManager Instance { get; private set; }
   
}

Which of the following is true about this class? 

The below is an example of the Singleton design pattern implemented for a GameManager:    public class GameManager : MonoBehaviour 
{
   void Awake()
   {     
      if (Instance == null)
      {       
         Instance = this;
         DontDestroyOnLoad(gameObject);
      }    
      else     
      {       
         Destroy(gameObject);
      }     
   } 
       
   public static GameManager Instance { get; private set; }
   
} Which of the following is true about this class?   

It can be accessed from any other class with GameManager.get(). 

It will automatically be added as a component to every object in the scene. 

It can be instantiated as many times as you want in a scene. 

It can be accessed from any other class with GameManager.Instance. 

Since this is a static class, there can only ever be one instance of it. This allows you to access it from any other script without making a new instance of it by simply calling GameManager.Instance(). 

Quiz: Manage scene flow and data

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Question 4

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