Setting up 3D Beginner

Welcome to the John Lemon’s Haunted Jaunt: 3D Beginner Project! In this project, you won’t just discover how to create the game — each of the 10 tutorials also explains the principles behind every step. No previous experience is needed, which makes John Lemon’s Haunted Jaunt the perfect start to your journey with Unity.

In this first tutorial, you’ll explore the Unity Editor and get ready to begin making your own stealth game.

Before you can create a new Project, you’ll need to have the 2019.1 version of the Unity Editor installed. To do this, install the Unity Hub by visiting Download Unity Personal on the Unity website. For advice on using the Unity Hub, see the Unity Hub documentation.

Please note! The following steps have been written for users to download this project carefully using the instructions below. If you have already downloaded John Lemon's Haunted Jaunt via the Hub's 'Learn' tab, you will need to set your Preferred Unity editor to 2019.1.

To create a new Project for your game:

1. Open the Unity Hub.

2. Log in with your Unity account.

3. Click the New button in the top right corner.

4. Enter a Project name — let’s call this Project "3D Beginner".

5. Set the Unity Version to 2019.1.

6. Choose the folder where you want to save your Project.

7. Make sure the Template is set to 3D.

8. Click Create project.

Before you explore the Unity Editor, let’s import the Asset files you’ll need for this Project. All of these files are on the Unity Asset Store, which enables Asset creators to provide tools or files to other Unity Users. To access this, go to Window > General > Asset Store.

The Asset Store will open inside your Editor.

To load the Assets into the Scene:

1. In the search bar, enter "3D Beginner: Tutorial Resources" and click on the search result.

2. On the 3D Beginner: Tutorial Resources page, click Download and wait for the download to finish.

3. Click Import.

4. A warning dialogue box will appear saying that your Project Settings will be overwritten. This is what you want — click Import to continue. This opens the Import Unity Package window, which lists all the files.

5. Click Import to bring the files into your Unity Project.

That’s it! Now that you’re all set up, let’s explore how the Editor works.

The Unity Editor can be intimidating when you’re just beginning to explore, but this guide will help you find your way around it easily. If you ever forget where something is located, you can come back to this tutorial at any time.

Project window

The Project window lists all the files and directories in your current Project. These files include all the images, sounds, 3D models and other items used in your Project. They are collectively known as Assets.

Console window

The Console window shows you the warnings and errors that your game is producing, and can give you useful information for fixing those errors. By default, the Console window tab is next to the Project window tab. You can move it by dragging and dropping the Console tab to dock the window next to the Project window.

Hierarchy window

In Unity, games are made up of Scenes. Think of a Scene as a level in your game or a different environment. Within every Scene, you have a list of objects that have a place within that Scene (for example, the characters and scenery). These objects are called GameObjects in Unity.

Scene view

The Scene view is a live preview window. It shows your currently loaded Scenes and all the GameObjects in the Hierarchy window. You can use this window to place and move GameObjects in your Scene. Clicking on a GameObject in the Scene view will highlight it in the Hierarchy window.

Game window

The Game view is hidden as a tab next to the Scene view by default. While the Scene view allows you to move GameObjects and look around your entire Scene, the Game view shows you what the player will see when they play the game. This is determined by what the camera in your Scene is looking at.

Currently there is nothing visible in the Scene, so you can’t see anything in the example image:

Inspector window

When you select a GameObject in another window, the Inspector window will display all of the data relating to that object. Unity uses an Object - Component model, which means that you can add different components to GameObjects to change their features. For example, a Camera component allows the player to have a view into the scene.

All GameObjects start with a Transform component that allows you to specify their position and rotation in the Scene. Other components are optional and you can add them as needed.

The Toolbar

The toolbar includes a range of useful tool buttons to help you design and test your game.

Play buttons

Play

Play is used to test the Scene which is currently loaded in the Hierarchy window, and enables you to try out your game live in the Editor.

Pause

Pause, as you have probably guessed, allows you to pause the game playing in the Game window. This helps you spot visual problems or gameplay issues that you wouldn’t otherwise see.

Step

Step is used to walk through the paused scene frame by frame. This works really well when you’re looking for live changes in the game world that it would be helpful to see in real time.

Manipulating objects

These tools move and manipulate the GameObjects in the Scene window. You can click on the buttons to activate them, or use a shortcut key.

Hand Tool

You can use this tool to move your Scene around in the window. You can also use middle click with the mouse to access the tool.

Move Tool

This tool enables you to select items and move them individually.

Rotate Tool

Select items and rotate them with this tool.

Scale Tool

You guessed it — this is the tool to scale your GameObjects up and down.

Rect Transform Tool

This tool does lots of things. Essentially, it combines moving, scaling and rotation into a single tool that’s specialized for 2D and UI.

Rotate, Move or Scale

Again, this tool does lots of things. It also enables you to move, rotate, or scale GameObjects, but is more specialized for 3D.

Another handy shortcut that you may want to remember is the F key, which enables you to focus on a selected object. If you forget where a GameObject is in your Scene, just select it in the Hierarchy, move your cursor over the Scene window, and press F to center it in the Scene window.

Navigating with the mouse

When you’re in the Scene window, you can also:

• Left click to select your GameObject in the Scene.
• Middle click and drag to move the Scene view’s camera using the hand tool.
• Right click and drag to rotate the Scene view’s camera using flythrough mode — a variation of the hand tool. While doing this, you can also move the camera left and right using A and D, forward and back using W and S, and down and up using Q and E.

For more advice on moving GameObjects in the Scene view, see Scene View Navigation.

Default Layouts

You can lay out your Unity Editor in several ways. Each layout has its own advantages and you’ll find out which layout works best for you.

To switch layouts, select Window > Layouts (or use the Layouts drop-down menu in the top right corner of the Editor). You can choose from the following layouts:

2 by 3
This layout lets you see both your Scene view and Game view together with your Inspector, Project view and Hierarchy in columns to the right.

4 Split
This layout is good for looking at 3D models from different angles.

Tall
This layout makes the Scene view and Inspector nice and clear.

Wide
This layout pushes the Hierarchy, Project window and Assets to the bottom of the Editor.

Default
This layout makes your Scene or Game view take up most of the Editor, and there’s also room for your Assets, Hierarchy and Inspector on either side.

It’s all about personal preference. The tutorials for John Lemon’s Haunted Jaunt all use the Default layout with the Console window docked on the side of the Project window (as you saw in the Console window section of this tutorial).

Summary

Now you know a bit more about how the Unity Editor is organized — when tutorials refer to the Project window, you’ll know exactly where to look to find it. You’ve also added the Assets for your game to the Project. In the next tutorial, you’ll begin to create your game by starting work on the player character.