Unity 2D: Getting Started

Unity is one of the most popular game engines, especially among indie developers. You’ll need to install a few things to get going:

• Unity Hub: Manages Unity versions, projects, and tutorials. Download here.
• Unity Editor: Download editors via Unity Hub. I recommend using whatever version is LTS (Long-Term Support).
• Visual Studio: For editing C#. Visual Studio Code is a lightweight text editor while Visual Studio is a heavyweight C# application maker. I use Visual Studio Code myself with the C# extension.

Creating a 2D Project

Once you have everything downloaded, in Unity Hub’s Project tab select “New Project”. That will take you to the screen below where you can select “2D”, name your project, and choose what folder it will be made in.

Scope of Project

This tutorial alone will not show you how to make a releasable game. Rather, you will learn the basics of how a Unity Project (specifically a platformer) works. Here’s what you will learn:

• GameObjects
  • Making a player
  • Using a Rigidbody to add physics
  • Making a level with a Tilemap
  • Implementing collision
• Scripts
  • Physics and player control