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

Lesson 1.1 - Start your 3D Engines 

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

Lab 2 - New Project with Primitives

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

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Overview

Before you begin

Welcome to the project

Explore the simulation

Review the project brief

Your goal in this mission

Next steps

In this tutorial, you’ll take some time to review the project briefly and explore the Unity project for the application you’re going to work on. You’ll also consider all the resources that are available to support before you begin. 

Designed for post-secondary and K-12 educators at accredited academic institutions teaching Unity in the classroom, the Unity Educator plan provides you with free access to the same real-time 3D development tools used by professionals to support your students.

Included in this plan are Unity Pro, cloud-based collaboration, cloud build, free Unity assets, and much more!

Junior Programmer Pathway Facilitator Kit.zip

Junior Programmer Pathway Facilitator Kit (Google Drive)

Unity Educator Hub

The Unity Junior Programmer Pathway Facilitator Kit includes everything you need to successfully bring this Pathway into your learning context including a syllabus, complete lesson plans, standards alignment, teacher preparation guide, and more. 

Project_Brief.pdf

Junior Programmer: Manage scene flow and data

Now that you’ve set up version control, you’re ready to explore the main project that you’ll use to both practice programming and connect the principles of object-oriented programming (OOP) with your own code.

Before you continue, open the version of the project that you created in the previous tutorial:

1.  Check that you have installed Unity 2020.3 LTS or higher. If it’s not installed, a warning notification will be displayed below its listing in the Unity Hub with a prompt to install the correct version. 

The Unity project you will be working on is a resource management simulation application. Resource management is at the heart of a popular genre of games, but these simulations are also commonly used in educational contexts (for example, to explore sustainability and economics) and in industry. 

This type of project is a particularly good fit to help you explore programming systems and architecture, as they often include:

User interaction, to enable them to influence the simulation

Transitions between scenes, to enable further customization by the user

Systems designed for extension, to increase the complexity of the simulation

The warehouse-themed simulation that is the core of the resource management application

We have provided a basic resource management simulation in this project. Let’s take a moment to explore it:


1.  In the Project window, go to Assets > Scenes and open the Main scene. 


2.  Select Play to enter Play mode and review the simulation.

Two different types of Resource Pile (objects on a pallet), which both produce resource items at a speed of 0.5 per second



Three Transporter Units (forklifts), which transport resources to a defined base (the space in front of the truck marked with a red circle)

Left-click any Transporter Unit or Resource Pile to bring up a user interface information overlay with its details. 


Note: You can use your arrow keys (or WASD) to move the camera around the warehouse space.

4.  Left-click a Transporter Unit — a green arrow icon will appear above it to indicate that you have selected it.

5.  Right-click one of the two Resource Piles. The Transport Unit will begin moving towards the Resource to collect its resource units and transport as much as it can carry to the drop point.

6.  Experiment with what you can do with the Transport Units! Try sending one to a different place in the warehouse or changing its associated Resource Pile when it’s active. 

7.  When you’ve finished, remember to select Play again to exit Play mode.  

An overlay window is open in the upper-left of the Scene view; a green arrow is visible over the Transporter Unit center bottom of the Scene view.

Now that you’ve reviewed the basic functionality of the simulation, it’s time to go deeper. We’ve created a project brief, which will guide you through:

The basic functionality of the simulation

The additional functionality you’ll implement over the next two missions in this pathway

Take some focused time to go through the brief:

2.  Review the document with the project open in Unity Editor, so you can refer to the project as you do so. 

3.  You might find it useful to open the script files and explore them in more detail — how much do you know about what they do, based on your previous work in this pathway?

In this mission, you’ll focus on getting the application functionality working. You’ll implement:

The necessary scene flow and user interface buttons

Data persistence between scenes, so the user can choose a color in the starting menu and apply it to the Transporter Units (forklifts) in the simulation

Data persistence between sessions, so the last color a user chooses is pre-selected when they launch the application again

For your final submission, you’ll apply your learning and implement data persistence in a simple game project. 

In the next mission, you’ll then focus on object-oriented programming principles as you refine code and add new functionality to the simulation.

Want to customize as you go? Please do! Although the focus of this mission is Programming Systems and Architecture, you’ll find opportunities here to customize the project and consolidate your skills you learned in previous missions — we’ll highlight some clear opportunities for you, but take initiative and be bold!

Remember, this project brief is a resource that’s available to you throughout this learning experience. Refer back to it if you need to refresh your memory of the project, or want to get a high level view of what you’ll be working on.


In the next tutorial, you’ll explore the basic principles of object-oriented programming that underpin your work in this second half of the Junior Programmer pathway.

Explore the sample project

1. Overview

2. Before you begin

3. Welcome to the project

4. Explore the simulation

5. Review the project brief

6. Your goal in this mission

7. Next steps

Complete this tutorial