Unity Game Design and Coding - Level 1
In this amazing, interactive class, kids learn how to create video games using Unity - the most popular, professional game engine in the world. Students learn the basic fundamentals of game design and coding with C# while mastering Unity.
STEAM K-12: Coding & Game Design Classes
Average rating:
4.8
Number of reviews:(453)
Popular
What's included
16 live meetings
13 hrs 20 mins in-class hoursProjects
1-2 hours per week. includedCertificate of Completion
includedClass Experience
This class is a great entry point into the world of game design and coding. In this extremely accessible course, students will journey through the entire game development process from concept to design to development to porting & publishing on mobile platforms. Please note this class is a continuation course of Unity Game Design & Coding - Level 0. We still start at the beginning with basic Unity fundamentals but this class is more advanced and covers completely different kits and technologies from Unity Game Design & Coding Level 0. This class uses the UNITY Engine, a FREE and professional game engine that is simple to get into, but powerful enough that multi-million dollar companies such as Nintendo use. UNITY Engine was created to allow both hobbyists and professional developers the ability to create original games such as UNITY Engine uses the well known C#. UNITY Engine is one of the most popular and accessible software suite for both aspiring and professional developers to create cross platform games such as platformers, RPG's, Action, Adventure, Arcade, Racing, First-Person games, etc. The best part? These games can be deployed to a variety of platforms from Windows, Mac, and Linux to mobile Platforms like iPhone, iPad and Android to even CONSOLE GAMES such as PS4/PS5, Xbox, Switch, etc. In this course, students will first learn the basics of using the UNITY Engine Engine and begin building a full-fledged 2D game from start to finish. Students will be provided with all the necessary tools and resources and guided through the entire game development process. Students will be encouraged to be as creative and original as possible throughout the entire course. What differentiates these classes from others is that this course focuses on the digital arts as well: Visual Arts, Graphic Design, Audio & Music Production, Reading and Creative Writing. Intro to Game Design & Coding With UNITY Engine is truly a STEAM (Science Technology Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) course. By the end of this class, students will have have not just created their own video game from scratch, but also be able to play it on any desktop computer or mobile device.
Learning Goals
UNITY Engine is a great entry into design and programming skills. This class builds from the Intro to Video Game Design with Unity and focuses on 2D and 3D Video Game Design, Coding in C# and Development over the course of 8 weeks.
Students will follow a kid-friendly process similar to real video game designers who create the games they play at home!
Students will learn how to design, develop and produce games with Unity Engine's interface and prefabs (C# scripts)
Students will learn programming and logic to code character, enemy behaviors and reactions to events in their games through If/Then Statements, Switches, Variables and Loops, all done through a clickable, drag and drop interface.
Students will learn the basic fundamentals of game design.
Students learn more advanced coding techniques and algorithms to enhance gameplay mechanics such as power-ups and custom graphical user interfaces.
Students learn to use the tools available in UNITY Engine such as C# Plugins, Animation,
Students will create interesting terrain, towns, villages and dungeons.
Students will write dialogue for their in-game stories and in-game non-playable characters (NPC’s)
Students will make use of Graphic Design techniques and programs such as GIMP/Photoshop and Powerpoint (Slides/Keynote) to enhance the visual appeal of their game.
Students will learn about the importance of audio and sound design and implement appropriate music and sound effects into their games. Students complete game design planning through a Master Design Document process, prior to starting their final projects.
Students will learn how to PORT their games and PLAY them on their iPhones or Android devices.
Syllabus
16 Lessons
over 8 WeeksLesson 1:
Unity Engine Fundamentals & 2D Game Kit
Installation, Troubleshooting and the Basics of the Unity Engine 50 mins online live lesson
Lesson 2:
2D Game Kit
Basics of the FPS Microgame and Unity Fundamentals. 50 mins online live lesson
Lesson 3:
2D Game Kit
2D Action/Adventure Game Design, C# Coding, Physics, Assets, etc. 50 mins online live lesson
Lesson 4:
2D Game Kit
2D Action/Adventure Game Design, C# Coding, Physics, Assets, etc. 50 mins online live lesson
Other Details
Parental Guidance
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THIS CLASS - PARENTS PLEASE READ:
- This is a Game Development class that primarily uses the Unity Game Engine and Visual Studio Code to teach game design and coding respectively.
- Planning, design, art, coding, math, science, music writing, reading, logic, coding, social science, etc., are some of the many topics covered in this class - NOT JUST CODING (like in real game / software development).
- This is not a drop in class. Each class session and class level leads into the next.
- Unity Engine is professional software and we do our best to make it accessible to everyone. Please be patient as this is a group class and everyone is at different levels (this is a GREAT thing).
- Troubleshooting is a major part of software/game development. You do not just write code and expect things to happen. There will be a lot of troubleshooting and learning why things fail in this class. PLEASE BE PATIENT as this is a massive part of the LEARNING PROCESS and of teaching SOFTWARE ENGINEERING skills.
- Game development is very complex and does not happen in a bubble. Multiple programs will (must) be used. These programs include (but are not limited to) Unity Hub, Unity Engine (Game Development), Visual Studio Code (Coding) and more. These programs are also updated frequently (sometimes weekly) so there is a a lot of downloading, installing and troubleshooting in this class - just like in real professional game development.
- Coding is NOT the sole focus of this class. While there will be coding (and it significantly increases by class level), coding alone does not make a video game.
- Finally and most importantly, this is class is both EDUCATIONAL and FUN!!!!!!!!
Supply List
For this course, students will use the UNITY Game Engine. To install the Unity Game Engine you must first install Unity Hub (https://unity3d.com/get-unity/download). After installing Unity Hub, sign in with Google and/or create a unique Unity ID. On the left hand side of Unity Hub you will see an option that says "Installs". Click on the installs tab and then click the blue "Add" button on the top right corner. Install the latest "LTS" release (2019 as of this writing). This will install the actual Unity Game Engine. Unity runs on most Windows, Mac and Linux machines but the better your video card (GPU) and the more RAM you have (8GB bare minimum) the better the experience (regardless of platform). Please try and install the UNITY Engine PRIOR to class starting. Please see link above for downloading and installing. Please be aware that UNITY is a professional software suite (that's great for kids!) but it does require a decent computer. The more RAM and the faster the hard drive (SSD's) the better it'll perform and the happier our learners will be! URLs for primary software used in this class: Unity - https://unity3d.com/get-unity/download Visual Studio Code - https://code.visualstudio.com/download Blender - https://www.blender.org/download/ GIMP - https://www.gimp.org/downloads/
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Sources
Download Unity HUB and Unity Engine from here: https://unity3d.com/get-unity/download
To install Unity for this class, it is a two step process.
1. First you must download Unity Hub (https://unity3d.com/get-unity/download). Once it is downloaded, open the program to install it (it'll be in your downloads folder).
2. Once you’ve installed Unity Hub, open it and go to the “Installs” tab on the left. Then click the blue “Add” button, select the 2020 LTS version (the first one that pops up on the list). Once this step is finished, Unity will be installed.
Joined October, 2020
4.8
453reviews
Popular
Teacher expertise and credentials
STEAM K-12 is an organization focused on coding and game design classes for K-12 Learners and professional learning opportunities for K-12 Educators. In our classes, kids learn to code, design video games and build software. Our learners have fun while learning the critical skills of tomorrow. We strive for the highest quality instruction. All of our teachers are either credentialed/experiences K-12 educators and/or have a background in Computer Science/Tech. Sometimes both!
STEAM K-12 was founded in 2020 by Giancarlos Alvarado - a certified K-12 Educator and Professional Senior iOS Developer from San Diego, California. Giancarlos has has over 14 years of classroom experience in K-12 with degrees from Rutgers University and The College of New Jersey; has developed and published 10 apps on iOS since 2015, and is currently working on his first PlayStation 5 title to be released in 2024. Giancarlos has been teaching coding and video game design classes since 2006. Reviews
Live Group Course
$36
weekly2x per week, 8 weeks
50 min
Completed by 962 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 11-16
3-8 learners per class
