Unity is one of the most widely used game engines for building interactive experiences, games, and simulations. It is approachable for beginners but powerful enough for professional development across mobile, desktop, AR, VR, and console platforms. This guide walks through the basic setup and the first steps needed to start building in Unity.
Install Unity and Unity Hub
The easiest way to manage Unity installations is through Unity Hub, which handles engine versions and projects.
- Go to the Unity website and download Unity Hub.
- Install and launch the application.
- Sign in or create a Unity account.
Inside Unity Hub:
- Open the Installs tab
- Click Install Editor
- Choose a stable LTS (Long Term Support) version
LTS versions are recommended because they are more stable and receive longer support.
During installation, select the modules for the platform you want to build for. For most people starting out, installing Windows or Mac build support is sufficient.
Create Your First Project
Once Unity is installed:
- Open Unity Hub
- Go to the Projects tab
- Click New Project
Choose a template. The most common options are:
- 3D Core – standard 3D environment
- Universal Render Pipeline (URP) – modern graphics pipeline
- 2D Core – optimized for 2D games
For beginners, 3D Core or URP are good starting points.
Give the project a name and choose a location on your computer, then create the project.
Unity will open the Editor, which is the main development environment.
Understanding the Unity Editor
When Unity opens, you will see several panels. These make up the core workflow.
Scene View
This is where you build and arrange your world. You can move around the scene and position objects.
Game View
This shows what the camera sees when the game runs.
Hierarchy
The hierarchy lists every object in your scene. These are called GameObjects.
Inspector
The inspector shows properties of the selected object. You modify components and settings here.
Project Window
This contains all assets in your project, such as scripts, models, textures, and materials.
Creating Objects
Everything in Unity is built from GameObjects.
To create a simple object:
- Right click in the Hierarchy
- Choose 3D Object
- Select Cube
A cube will appear in your scene.
In the Inspector, you can adjust:
- Position
- Rotation
- Scale
These values make up the Transform component, which every object has.
Moving Around the Scene
Navigation in the Scene view is essential.
Common controls include:
- Right mouse + WASD to move like a first person camera
- Middle mouse drag to pan
- Scroll wheel to zoom
- F key to focus on the selected object
These controls allow you to inspect and build your environment quickly.
Adding Components
Unity objects gain functionality through components.
For example, to make physics affect an object:
- Select the cube
- Click Add Component
- Search for Rigidbody
Now gravity will affect the cube when the game runs.
Components are the modular building blocks of Unity systems.
Running the Scene
To test your scene, click the Play button at the top of the editor.
Unity enters Play Mode, which simulates the game.
You can interact with objects, observe physics, and test gameplay behavior. Press the Play button again to exit Play Mode.
Changes made during Play Mode are not saved to the scene unless explicitly applied.
Next Steps
Once you are comfortable with the editor, the next areas to explore are:
- Creating materials and lighting
- Writing C# scripts to control objects
- Importing 3D models and assets
- Understanding prefabs for reusable objects
- Learning basic physics and collisions
Unity has a large ecosystem of tutorials and documentation, and most features are built around combining components, scripts, and assets into interactive systems.
Starting with small experiments is the fastest way to understand how the engine works.