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

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

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

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

Research your career options

Certification

What do employers look for?

Exercise: Create a career research document

Summary

Vid 3F.39_V2.mp4

In this tutorial, you’ll research career areas, job titles, and the necessary certifications and qualifications to help you identify career goals. This will help you to determine the focus and goals for your portfolio.

Explore the career choices available for you to apply the skills you’re developing in a professional role.

Identify the key skills and qualifications required to be hired in these roles.

Games

Film

Automotive

Junior Programmer: Create with Code 2

VR Curricular Framework Resources

AR Curricular Framework Resources 

Game Design Curricular Framework Resources  

Architecture, Engineering and Construction Curricular Framework Resources

Unity for Artists Curricular Framework Resources

AI, ML Curricular Framework Resources 

There are many kinds of jobs for real-time creators in the game development, film, animation, architecture, modeling, automotive, construction, medical, and education industries. There might be fields that you would enjoy even more than games! This tutorial will help you explore all of your career possibilities.

You might have previously explored the different kinds of careers possible in Roles and Careers for real-time creators. If you need to refresh your memory or didn’t complete the tutorial, take some time to review it now. 

Most real-time career opportunities fall into two broad categories: 


Art and Design: Creating the look, sound, and feel of the project with modeling, animation, lighting, audio, and other effects. 



Programming: Creating the functionality of the project, including gameplay, networking, and artificial intelligence.

By the end of the Junior Programmer Pathway, you should have the skills to apply for the following roles: 


Quality assurance technician: Find and report bugs; write test cases and plans.



Junior programmer or analyst: Write code based on documented design; modify applications to maintain functionality.



Junior software developer: Create prototypes, write code and test and develop modules and components.




Think about the roles that feel like the best fit for you, and research current job opportunities on recruitment sites. Even if you’re not interested in looking for a new role soon, this is a great opportunity to review the progress you’ve made so far and consider the directions you’d like your career to take in the future. 

As you find jobs that align will with your personal goals and career expectations, pay particular attention to:

Tip: Try searching for specific role titles, such as junior programmer, junior developer, and junior software roles specializing in C# and Unity.

Unity offers a variety of certifications to validate that you have the core skills needed for a variety of roles, and to showcase your readiness for your next career move. Certification is not required to get specific job roles — whether or not you get certified is entirely up to you. However, it's useful to understand what's available so you can determine whether a particular certification would help you as a job candidate.

Unity offers certifications across four difficulty levels and specialization tracks, focusing on programming and artist roles.

Investigate the various Unity certifications and think about whether certification is a step you would like to take in your future.

Certified User: Programmer — Validate your foundational Unity and C# programming skills.

Certified User: Artist —  Validate your 2D and 3D digital artistry skills with Unity. 

Certified User: VR Development —  Demonstrate that you’re specializing in creating virtual reality experiences with Unity.

Certified Associate: Game Developer — Showcase your job-ready Unity skills and readiness for a career within the real-time 3D gaming ecosystem.

Certified Associate: Programmer — Demonstrate core skills and competencies across programming, UI, debugging, and asset management. 

Certified Associate: Artist —  Showcase your mastery of core Unity skills and concepts to obtain your first professional role as a Unity 2D and 3D artist.

Certified Professional: Programmer — Validate your core programming skills needed to contribute to the technical execution of a project from conception through launch, and beyond.

Certified Professional: Artist — Validate your technical skills and mastery of the artistic execution of a real-time interactive software project.

Certified Expert: Programmer — Validate your advanced proficiency in Unity programming in any industry, and show the world that your technical skills and applied knowledge are top-tier. 

In the next video, you’ll find insights from experts in real-time development, who share what they look for when hiring a candidate.

You may have noticed that the key skills the experts mentioned weren’t technical: a curious mindset, and strong communication and collaboration skills. They also mentioned that they want to see what potential candidates have created —  in almost any career in real-time development, you’ll need to put together a portfolio to showcase your work. 

You’ll learn more about how to put a portfolio together later in this Learning Pathway. Until then, start to think of the projects that best showcase your skills and personal development, especially the skills that match the requirements for roles you’re interested in. 

A career research document is a great way to record your ideas and key insights as you continue exploring possible career opportunities.

As you continue your research, start your own career research document to record:

The career(s) you are potentially interested in

Specific job descriptions with qualifications within your career(s) area(s)

Expected skillsets for each career area, if there is more than one

Expected technical knowledge for each career area, if there is more than one

Your research document is a great resource to help you focus on developing the necessary skills for specific job roles you’re working towards. It’s also a useful tool to help you identify goals for a personal portfolio showcasing your skills and projects.

In this tutorial, you’ve hopefully identified some job roles you're interested in, and you’ve begun to research the knowledge and skills you’ll need for them. You’ve also explored the certification options available to validate your skills.

Next, you’ll explore portfolios and begin work to create your own. 

Career research and preparation

1. Overview

2. Research your career options

3. Certification

4. What do employers look for?

5. Exercise: Create a career research document

6. Summary

Complete this tutorial