Getting Started with Unity

In order to use Unity, first you need to create an account. All of the tools Unity offers are available with the free Personal account.

Once you have made your account, you will want to download Unity Hub. This program gives you easy access to all current and previous versions of Unity that are still being supported. It also allows you to manage multiple Unity installations on the same machine.

I chose to install the LTS (Long Term Support) for the 2019 version of Unity, in order to better follow along with the instructor, who is using an earlier version of the 2019 edition.

Once installed, simply create a new project and you’re ready to get started!

Inside the editor, you will find a myriad of options that may seem overwhelming at first. The first thing we will want to learn is how to instantiate an object. Unity gives us several default objects to choose from under the Hierarchy tab, and we will start with a cube.

The top toolbar allows us several options to manipulate the object. The move tool allows you to move the object in a straight line in any of the three dimensions. The rotate tool allows you to rotate the object along any of the axes. The scale tool allows you to scale and stretch the object along any of the axes. The final tool allows for utilizing all of these tools at the same time.