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

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 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

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

2671282d-69a8-4cd0-8516-1981c3e1e911:4b306cd9a886

Overview

Warning

The player can’t control the balloon

The background only moves when the game is over

No objects are being spawned 

Fireworks appear to the side of the balloon

The background is not repeating properly

Bonus: The balloon can float way too high

Bonus: The balloon can drop below the ground

Hints

Control the execution of code with common logic structures 

Level 1 Application Scripting

Joy Horvath

Instructional Designer

Identify and resolve common programming errors, such as null reference exceptions, logical errors, and misuse of API calls.

Level 1 Debugging

CWC_Chal3_Overview_U6.mp4

Apply your knowledge of physics, scrolling backgrounds, and special effects to a balloon floating through town, picking up tokens while avoiding explosives. You will have to do a lot of troubleshooting in this project because it is riddled with errors. 

The balloon floats upwards as the player holds spacebar

The background seamlessly repeats, simulating the balloon’s movement

Bombs and Money tokens are spawned randomly on a timer 

When you collide with the Money, there’s a particle and sound effect

When you collide with the Bomb, there’s an explosion and the background stops 

In this challenge, you will reinforce the following skills/concepts:

Declaring and initializing variables with the GetComponent method

Displaying particle effects at a particular location relative to a gameobject

Seamlessly scrolling a repeating background  

Select the appropriate common Unity methods to use, e.g., Awake, Start, Update, FixedUpdate, Collision, and Trigger Events, given a desired feature to code

Achieve a desired result by using Unity API methods, given Unity’s script documentation

Achieve a desired result with different parameters by using various method overloads

Distinguish a correct use of any given Unity API method from an incorrect use

Control or trigger the state of components, such as an Animator Controller, Light, AudioSource, or User Interface element by using appropriate methods

Construct an input listener, given a scenario where a specific type of input is required

Print a message consisting of concatenated strings and variable values to the console by using Unity's Debug.Log method

Compose scripts that utilize various APIs

Identify bugs caused by failure to use the correct object lifecycle method, such as Awake, Start, or OnEnable

Diagnose and fix code that compiles, but fails to perform as expected

Locate a bug in code that produces a compilation error

Recommend the fix for a compilation error

Recognize when a new namespace needs to be imported

Diagnose and fix common compilation errors

Identify errors caused by a null variable

Identify an issue in which code refers to a GameObject that has been destroyed

Identify an out of range exception

Diagnose and fix the cause of an exception

Challenge 3 - Starter Files.zip

Unit 3 - Sound and Effects

Unit 3 - Sound and Effects (Unity EdLab Edition)

Click to download the Challenge 3 starter files, extract the compressed folder, and then import the .unitypackage into your project If you forget how to do this, refer to Lesson 1.1, step 2

In the Project Window > Assets > Challenge 3 > Instructions folder, use the Challenge 3 - Outcome video as a guide to complete the challenge

When you import the challenge into your project, it is supposed to have bugs. 

The purpose of the challenge is for you to fix those bugs, which are listed below. There are also hints at the bottom of the page to help you if you get stuck.

If you cannot fix the bugs and wish to delete the challenge files from your project, in the Project window, right-click on Assets > Challenge 3 and select Delete. 

The balloon should float up as the player presses spacebar

The background should move at start, then stop when the game is over

Make bombs or money objects spawn every few seconds

Make the fireworks display at the balloon’s position

Prevent the player from floating their balloon too high 

Make the balloon appear to bounce off of the ground, preventing it from leaving the bottom of the screen. There should be a sound effect when this happens, too!

The balloon should float up as the player presses spacebar
Hint - There is a “NullReferenceExcepton” error on the player’s rigidBody variable - it has to be assigned in Start() using the GetComponent<> method

The background should move at start, then stop when the game is over
Hint - In MoveLeftX.cs, the objects should only Translate to the left if the game is NOT over

Make bombs or money objects spawn every few seconds
Hint - There is an error message saying, “Trying to Invoke method: SpawnManagerX.PrawnsObject couldn't be called” - spelling matters

Make the fireworks display at the balloon’s position
Hint - The fireworks particle is a child object of the Player - but its location still has to be set at the same location

Make the background repeat seamlessly
Hint - The repeatWidth variable should be half of the background’s width, not half of its height

Bonus - Prevent the player from floating their balloon too high 
Hint - Add a boolean to check if the balloon isLowEnough, then only allow the player to add upwards force if that boolean is true

Bonus - Make the balloon appear to bounce off of the ground, preventing it from leaving the bottom of the screen. There should be a sound effect when this happens, too!
Hint - Figure out a way to test if the balloon collides with the ground object, then add an impulse force upward if it does

Challenge 3 - Balloons, Bombs, & Booleans

1. Overview

2. Warning

3. The player can’t control the balloon

4. The background only moves when the game is over

5. No objects are being spawned

6. Fireworks appear to the side of the balloon

7. The background is not repeating properly

8. Bonus: The balloon can float way too high

9. Bonus: The balloon can drop below the ground

10. Hints

Complete this tutorial