Unity Essentials: Install Unity

Open the Unity Essentials project

Explore the Editor Interface

Master 3D scene navigation

Pass the Scene view flying test

Design a mural in the Scene view

Editor Essentials: More things to try

Mission 1 Quiz

Unity Essentials: Editor Essentials Quiz

Explore a playground scene and design a mural to get comfortable with the Unity interface.

This tutorial series introduces you to the essential skills of navigating the Unity Editor.

You'll learn to navigate 3D space in a playground scene, using Flythrough mode and tools like Move and Rotate to design a mural.

Once you master these skills, you’ll have the foundation required for confidently creating in Unity.

Editor Essentials

Unity Essentials Pathway

Searching for Diamonds

Galactic Explorer

Essential Unity Practice Project

Master the basics of Unity with the Unity Essentials Pathway. Perfect for beginners, this free learning journey introduces game development, 3D content creation, and Unity's core tools. Start building today!

Unity Essentials Pathway - Learn Game Development for Beginners | Unity Learn

Unity Essentials is the perfect place to start for beginners to Unity. No previous experience is necessary.

New to Unity? This guided learning Pathway includes everything you need to get started.

Designed for anyone new to Unity, this guided learning journey is your first step toward creating confidently in the Unity Editor and bringing your visions to life. In this learning Pathway, you’ll design different rooms of a house, learning the essentials of one key skillset as you complete each room.

Unity Essentials

Add furniture to the kid’s room

Make a bouncy ball

Make a tower of prefab blocks

Adjust the lights, background, and camera angle

3D Essentials: More things to try

Mission 2 Quiz

Unity Essentials: 3D Essentials Quiz

Design a kid's bedroom with a bouncing ball and a tower of collapsing building blocks.

In this tutorial series, you'll explore Unity's capabilities by designing a kid's bedroom scene with dynamic elements like a bouncing ball and a tower of blocks. You'll learn new skills in 3D navigation, object customization, and using Unity's physics system. 

You’ll also create prefabs, adjust lighting, and capture your scene with a camera. 

This foundational knowledge is vital to creating any type of Unity project.

3D Essentials

Create an immersive soundscape

Audio Essentials: More things to try

Mission 3 Quiz

Unity Essentials: Audio Essentials Quiz

Add immersive sound to a kitchen scene with a variety of different types of audio.

In this Audio Mission, you will learn the fundamentals of implementing different types of audio into Unity scenes. You’ll learn how to set the tone with background music, how to add realism with sound effects, and even how to implement spatial audio in a 3D scene.

Audio Essentials

Add a movement script

Create a rotating collectible

Collect the collectible

Programming Essentials: More things to try

Mission 4 Quiz

Unity Essentials: Programming Essentials Quiz

Add code so that a player character can explore a living room and gather collectibles. 

In this Mission, you’ll program a simple interactive experience where you control a character in a living room scene and move around to collect objects. 

You'll be able to choose from a variety of characters and collectible objects. In our example, we'll use a robot vacuum that maneuvers to pick up dirt around the room.

Programming Essentials

Set up a 2D room

Complete your 2D Puzzle Game

Add an animated pet

2D Essentials: More things to try

Unity Essentials: 2D Essentials Quiz

Create a top-down minigame similar to the 3D living room experience, but in 2D.

In this 2D Mission, you'll create a top-down 2D version of the interactive living room scene you created earlier. 

Just like in the 3D scene, you'll control a character, and try to collect all the objects in a room. By completing this scene, you'll learn how working in 2D is similar to working in 3D, but also how it’s different.

2D Essentials

Build your portfolio project

Publish to WebGL

Challenge: Add a bonus scene

Capture a video of your project

Share your project

Combine all of your scenes together into one cohesive portfolio project that you can share with others. 

It's time to collect all your good work together into a singular portfolio piece that you and others can play!

A portfolio, especially in the realm of real-time 3D (RT3D) and game development, is not just a collection of work, but a practical way of demonstrating your familiarity with essential tools and concepts. 

In this Mission, you will package all of your work from this Pathway into a single playable experience that you can easily share with others.


Publishing Essentials

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Download and unzip the project file

Add the project to the Unity Hub

Open the project from the Unity Hub

Tips for using the Unity Editor

Create and manage Unity versions and projects in the Hub.

Creating and Managing Unity projects

Neal Grigsby

Product Manager at Unity

Ready to get started with Editor Essentials? In this tutorial, you'll learn how to:

You'll also gain some tips and tricks for using Unity along the way!

Games

Film

Automotive

Understand the role of Unity Hub in creating and managing projects.

Explain the purposes and uses of the sections of the Hub interface.

Explain the uses of the 3D, 2D, and microgame templates in the Hub.

Create a new Unity project using a template in the Unity Hub.

Add a Unity project from another source to the Unity Hub.

Open an existing Unity project from the Unity Hub.

Explain the differences between and purposes of LTS and TECH Stream releases.

Install a version of the Unity Editor using the Unity Hub.

Update a project to a newer version of the Unity Editor using the Unity Hub.

Understand what version control is and why it is essential in real-time development among teams.

2.1 Understand the role of Unity Hub in creating and managing projects.

2.2 Explain the purposes and uses of the sections of the Hub interface.

2.3 Explain the uses of the 3D, 2D, and microgame templates in the Hub.

2.4 Create a new Unity project using a template in the Unity Hub.

2.5 Add a Unity project from another source to the Unity Hub.

2.6 Open an existing Unity project from the Unity Hub.

2.7 Explain the differences between and purposes of LTS and TECH Stream releases.

2.8 Install a version of the Unity Editor using the Unity Hub.

2.9 Update a project to a newer version of the Unity Editor using the Unity Hub.

2.10 Understand what version control is and why it is essential in real-time development among teams.

Work with projects in the Unity Hub

Essentials-Download-U6.zip

Mission 1 - Editor Essentials

Follow these steps to download and unzip the Unity project for this pathway:

1.  Download the Essentials-Download-U6.zip file. 

Tip:  You can also access this file using the link under Materials at the top of this page.

2.  Unzip the project .zip file to a folder on your hard drive.

To extract on Windows: right-click the downloaded file and select Extract All.

To extract on Mac: double-click the downloaded file. 

Tip:  You can save Unity projects to any file location, but you might find it easier to use the Unity Hub's default location, where the Hub stores other projects by default. To find this location, open the Unity Hub, and select open your Preferences using the gear icon near your profile dropdown (your initials). 

Next, you'll add your project to the Projects tab of the Unity Hub. From there, you'll be able to open it easily among all of your other Unity projects.


1.  In the Unity Hub, select the Projects tab.

2.  Open the Add dropdown and select Add project from disk. 


3.  Navigate to the "Essentials Project" folder inside the “Essentials Download” folder you unzipped previously, and then Select Folder. 

Tip: To select the right folder, look for an "Assets" subfolder, then select the parent folder of "Assets".

The “Essentials Project" project will appear in the list available on your Projects tab.

In many cases, projects you add to the Hub won't use precisely the same version of the Unity Editor as you have installed. When this occurs, you'll see a warning in the Editor Version column of the Projects tab. 

You'll take care of this issue in the next step, when you open the project.

The projects view of the Unity Hub with the Add project from disk setting selected via the Add options dropdown.

The Projects view of the Hub with a warning showing for a project that requires a version of the Unity Editor that isn't installed

To open a project from the Unity Hub's Projects tab, just select it. If you already have the project’s exact version of the Unity Editor installed, the project will open, and you'll be ready to go!

When there is an Editor version warning like the one shown above, you'll see the following message:

Simply select one of the Unity Editor versions you have already installed, listed in the Installs section of the window.

Important:  Ensure that the Unity version you select is equal to or newer than the one used to create the project you're opening. For example, if the project was created with Unity 6.000.16f1, you should use 6.000.16f1, 6.000.17f1, or any later version.

The upgrade process can take some time. You might see additional messages about adding files to your computer or changing the Unity Editor version of the project. Choose the options that will continue your upgrade to the version you selected.

When the upgrade process is complete, the project will open in the Unity Editor.

Note:  You might see an invitation to upgrade to the latest LTS version of the Unity Editor. Select No, because you have already selected your Unity Editor version.

The warning message that appears when you try to open a project but the exact Unity Editor version for that project is not installed


The missing editor version warning with an installed version selected.

The Unity Editor window when you open the Essentials project for the first time

Before you embark on using the Unity Editor, here are a few tips that might help you use it more easily while you learn.


If you have only one monitor, you can use browser extensions to set up this Unity Learn window (the one you're reading now) and the Unity Editor side-by-side, so that it's almost like your Unity Learn tutorials are in a window in the Editor! 

Try learning Unity with a single screen.


Did you know that you can set up multiple desktops on most computers, and easily switch between them? With multiple desktops, you can set up the Unity Editor on one virtual desktop, and then change desktops to view your browser and other windows.

Try the virtual desktop method for your computer:

Learn and use shortcut keys to quickly switch between applications and windows, making it more convenient to navigate different tasks. For example, switch between open windows by pressing Alt+Tab on Windows, or Cmd+Tab on a Mac.


If possible, use an external monitor or secondary device like a tablet or smartphone to access Learn tutorials, documentation, videos, or chat while working in Unity on your main screen.

Open the Unity Essentials project

1. Download and unzip the project file

2. Add the project to the Unity Hub

3. Open the project from the Unity Hub

4. Tips for using the Unity Editor

Complete this tutorial