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

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

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

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Create project and switch to 2D view

Create good and bad targets

Toss objects randomly in the air

Replace messy code with new methods

Create object list in Game Manager

Create a coroutine to spawn objects

Destroy target with click and sensor

Lesson Recap

Control the execution of code with common logic structures 

Level 1 Application Scripting

Joy Horvath

Instructional Designer

CWC_U5.L1.S1_U6.mp4

CWC_U5.L1.S2_U6.mp4

CWC_U5.L1.S3_U6.mp4

CWC_U5.L1.S5_U6.mp4

CWC_U5.L1.S4_U6.mp4

CWC_U5.L1.S6_U6.mp4

CWC_U5.L1.S7_U6.mp4

It’s time for the final unit! We will start off by creating a new project and importing the starter files, then switching the game’s view to 2D. Next we will make a list of target objects for the player to click on: Three “good” objects and one “bad”. The targets will launch spinning into the air after spawning at a random position at the bottom of the map. Lastly, we will allow the player to destroy them with a click!

A list of three good target objects and one bad target object will spawn in a random position at the bottom of the screen, thrusting themselves into the air with random force and torque. These targets will be destroyed when the player clicks on them or they fall out of bounds.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

Switch the game to 2D view for a different perspective

Create a Game Manager object that controls game states as well as spawning

Create a List of objects and return their length with Count

Use While Loops to repeat code while something is true

Use OnMouseDown to enable the player to click on things

Implement simple logic in code by using if and if-else statements

Control the execution of code by using logical operators such as AND and OR in conditional statements

Control how many times certain lines of code run by using for loops, foreach loops, and while loops

Control the order and timing of executed code by using coroutines

Control the execution of code by using switch statements

Modify the values of numeric variables by using mathematical operators

Control the execution of code with common logic structures

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

Initialize variables of a given data type, including ints, floats, doubles, bools, strings, arrays, lists, and dictionaries

Select the correct data type for a variable in a given situation

Select appropriate variable modifiers including public, private, static, protected, and const

Implement appropriate data types

Deduce the purpose and expected result of a given block of code

Accomplish a specific task by constructing a viable method declaration, given a list of keywords and syntax elements

Structure methods by using void and return

Demonstrate ability to implement a given feature in code by recommending data types and logic flow for a new method

Write code that integrates into an existing system

Reduce redundancy and improve code's readability by correctly naming variables and methods

Describe common naming conventions including PascalCase and camelCase

Cultivate a code style that is efficient and easy to read

Prototype 5 - Starter Files.zip

Unit 5 - User Interface

Create with Code - Unit 5: User Interfaces (UI)

One last time… we need to create a new project and download the starter files to get things up and running.

Open Unity Hub and create an empty “Prototype 5” project in your course directory on the correct Unity version. 
If you forget how to do this, refer to the instructions in Lesson 1.1 - Step 1

Click to download the Prototype 5 Starter Files, extract the compressed folder, and then import the .unitypackage into your project. 
If you forget how to do this, refer to the instructions in Lesson 1.1 - Step 2

Open the Prototype 5 scene, then delete the sample scene without saving

Click on the 2D icon in Scene view to put Scene view in 2D. 

(optional) Change the texture and color of the background and the color of the borders

The first thing we need in our game are three good objects to collect, and one bad object to avoid. It’ll be up to you to decide what’s good and what’s bad.

From the Library, drag 3 “good” objects and 1 “bad” object into the Scene, rename them “Good 1”, “Good 2”, “Good 3”, and “Bad 1”

Add Rigid Body and Box Collider components

Create a new Scripts folder, a new “Target.cs” script inside it, attach it to the Target objects

Drag all 4 targets into the Prefabs folder to create “original prefabs”, then delete them from the scene

Now that we have 4 target prefabs with the same script, we need to toss them into the air with a random force, torque, and position.

In Target.cs, declare a new private Rigidbody targetRb; and initialize it in Start()

In Start(), add an upward force multiplied by a randomized speed

Set the position with a randomized X value

Instead of leaving the random force, torque, and position making our Start() function messy and unreadable, we’re going to store each of them in brand new clearly named custom methods.

Declare and initialize new private float variables for minSpeed, maxSpeed, maxTorque, xRange, and ySpawnPos;

Create a new function for Vector3 RandomForce() and call it in Start()

Create a new function for float RandomTorque(), and call it in Start()

Create a new function for RandomSpawnPos(), have it return a new Vector3 and call it in Start() 


The next thing we should do is create a list for these objects to spawn from. Instead of making a Spawn Manager for these spawn functions, we’re going to make a Game Manager that will also control game states later on.

Create a new “Game Manager” Empty object.

Create a new GameManager.cs script, attach it to the Game Manager GameObject in the Hierarchy window, then open it.

Add a new using Directive to the list of namespaces at the top of your script:
using System.Collections.Generic;

Declare a new public List<GameObject> targets;, then in the Game Manager inspector, change the list Size to 4 and assign your prefabs.

Important: Make sure that you spell the GameObject as “Game Manager” with a space, but the script as “GameManager” with no space. You’ll need to reference that GameObject name later. 

Now that we have a list of object prefabs, we should instantiate them in the game using coroutines and a new type of loop.

Declare and initialize a new private float spawnRate variable.

Create a new IEnumerator SpawnTarget () method 

Inside the new method, while(true), wait 1 second, generate a random index,  and spawn a random target.

In Start(), use the StartCoroutine method to begin spawning objects.

To fix the error under IEnumerator, add the following using directive to the top of your code:
using System.Collections;

Now that our targets are spawning and getting tossed into the air, we need a way for the player to destroy them with a click. We also need to destroy any targets that fall below the screen.

In Target.cs, add a new method for private void OnMouseDown() { } , and inside that method, destroy the gameObject

Add a new method for private void OnTriggerEnter(Collider other) and inside that function, destroy the gameObject

Random objects are tossed into the air on intervals

Objects are given random speed, position, and torque

If you click on an object, it is destroyed

We’ll add some effects and keep track of score!

Lesson 5.1 - Clicky Mouse

Overview Video

1. Create project and switch to 2D view

2. Create good and bad targets

3. Toss objects randomly in the air

4. Replace messy code with new methods

5. Create object list in Game Manager

6. Create a coroutine to spawn objects

7. Destroy target with click and sensor

8. Lesson Recap

Complete this tutorial