Should you learn Unity for game development?

If you’re thinking about learning Unity for game development, you should probably consider whether it’s worth your time.

Unity is a powerful tool for creating games. It has become the industry standard for developing 2D and 3D games. If you want to get into game development, learning Unity is probably the best way to start.

There are multiple ways for someone to start learning about Unity. You can either learn by doing it or you can use online courses. There are countless tutorials and online classes that you can use to learn.

One of our favorites, and personally the one we used to learn about Unity, is called WantoDev.

We found their online classes to be very easy to follow and the chosen professor had a really good ability to explain complicated things in a simple way.

But, is it worth learning Unity for game development? We are going to say Yes! It is absolutely worth it.

Unity is the most widely used 3D game engine in the world, and its popularity has grown rapidly over the years.

Nowadays, almost every major Indie game studio uses Unity to develop its games.

So, If you want to become a professional game developer keep reading cause we will be talking about everything you need to know about Unity game development.

What is Unity?

Unity is a game engine developed by Unity Technologies. The company was founded in 2004 and has since grown to become one of the most popular game engines available today.

Unity allows developers to create 3D games using C#, which is a programming language similar to Java. This makes it easier than ever before to develop games quickly and easily.

The main advantage of Unity is that it provides a set of tools that allow users to create their own content.

For example, you can import assets such as models, textures, music, etc., and combine them together to create a fully functioning game.

Another benefit of Unity is that it is cross-platform. That means that you can develop a game once, and then export it to multiple platforms including Android, iOS, Windows, Mac.

Why Use Unity?

As mentioned above, Unity is a powerful tool that allows you to create games quickly and easily. However, there are several reasons why you should consider using it.

First of all, it is completely free. There are no monthly fees, and you don’t need to purchase anything to use it.

Secondly, it is very easy to learn. Unlike other game engines, Unity does not require you to learn a complicated coding language. Instead, it uses a visual interface that makes it very simple to use.

Thirdly, it is extremely versatile. While Unity was originally designed for creating 2D games, it now supports 3D games as well.

Finally, it is highly customizable. You can customize almost every aspect of your game, from its look and feel to its gameplay mechanics.

How to Get Started Using Unity

If you are just getting started with developing games, you may want to try out Unity first. To get started, you can download the Unity editor for free.

Once you have downloaded the editor, you can start making games right away. From here, you can select a template for your game.

The templates include things like 2D games, 3D games, mobile apps, and web applications. Once you have selected a template, you can simply drag and drop items onto the canvas to add them to your game.

What are the advantages of Unity?

Advantages of using the Unity game engine for game development

It is a free to use game engine

Unity offers its users a free and a pro version of their game engine. The free version comes with plenty of features to make games with.

Of course, if you wish to develop more high-end games, the pro version will be the better option for you.

The pro version comes with more advanced features such as 3D composition and gives you access to Unity Cloud Build which lets you store your project’s data on the cloud so the various members of your team can compile projects faster.

It is compatible with multiple platforms

Unity 3D is a game engine that is compatible with all of the most used Operating Systems like Android, all the gaming consoles, iOS…

Because of this incredible compatibility, it is very easy to create games for all the platforms available without any hassle.

Unity engine comes with its own Asset Store

The Asset store available to Unity users gives developers so much when it comes to helping with character creation, buildings and any other design element of the game.

What are the disadvantages of Unity?

Disadvantages of using the Unity game engine for game development

It uses a lot of memory

Unity uses a lot of memory, this can result in a few errors on mobile devices and create debugging issues.

Terrain Editing

When world editing the engine seems to lag behind when compared to other game engines available out there.

Some games that used the Unity game engine

Is it hard to learn Unity?

Unity is not super hard to learn. It is fairly easy to use but it will require a lot of work from your side of things.

You see, Unity professionals (like the one we met in the Wanto.Dev online courses) talk about Unity as a canvas meaning that you can more or less do whatever you want in Unity but the catch is that “whatever you want” has to be done by you.

Other game engines use more of a template approach.

We would say that learning Unity is deceptively easy. By this we mean that it can be very easy to just make something really quickly and see results.

Obviously, if you have experience in programming languages or have worked with other game engines, things will be a lot easier for you.

You can build simple games like Slender Man for example in a matter of hours.

However, if you wish to make a more complicated and complex game, it will require a lot more time and knowledge from you.

The core functionality of Unity takes almost no time to learn, but if you plan on developing actual games, it will take a substantial amount of time and investment for you to be good enough.

Luckily for you, we live in the internet age and information is always just a few clicks away. There are tons of tutorials out there for any level of experience.

We advise you to use something like WantoDev, they have a very good beginner-friendly course on Game Development with Unity.

How long does it take to learn Unity?

Everything in life takes time to learn so don’t expect to become a Unity master overnight because it is not going to happen.

Learning Unity or any other game engine requires a lot of technical skills. This means that the time it takes for someone to learn Unity will depend on how well you acquire new skills, your current skills and knowledge as a developer, and lastly, your level of interest and motivation to learn.

If you already have experience in the different areas of the game development world, the learning process will be faster as you already know your way around it.

It can take between 3 to 6 months to fully learn Unity. The professor from the Wanto.Dev online course that taught us about Unity game development told us it took him over a year to feel fully capable of working with the Unity game development engine.

How to Learn Unity

With over 2 million active users and creators, the Unity game engine is among the most popular game development platforms available.

Because of this extreme popularity, finding a community to help you on your way to learning everything about Unity is not hard.

From Youtube video tutorials to thorough online courses and a bit of a do it yourself mentality, anyone can learn about Unity game development.

It is, however, crucial that you have a plan before you start the learning process. We understand this, so below is our little guide to help you get started.

Become familiar with the game engine: Do your research and see other people’s opinions of the game engine. Learn the layout and the things you can do with Unity.

Find Online courses: We already spoke about the Wanto.Dev Online Courses for developers, so that would be a good starting point.

Of course, the choice is yours. There are plenty of choices out there when it comes to online courses. Find the one that suits you better.

Keep practicing: Learning a new skill requires practice. It is the only way to succeed, so keep practicing and writing code in your free time.

Get a Unity Game Development certification: Once you feel confident in your skills, it is time to get certified.

The good thing about the Wanto.Dev online course for Unity is that you get a certificate at the end of it. This is the main reason why we keep mentioning it.

Does Unity have a good future?

Unity is a fairly recent game development engine, it has been available for just slightly over a decade but that hasn’t affected its success.

Unity came, saw and conquered the game development world. It isn’t just assisting indie game developers in creating their games, it has become a new standard when it comes to making new games.

Now we won’t lie to you, the future is always uncertain but Unity as a game development engine is here to stay.

The future of the engine will obviously depend on the popularity and value of the games that are made by using it. For now, we will be saying that Yes, Unity does have a good future.

Employment and salaries for a Unity developer

The number of jobs related to video games has increased significantly since the early 2000s. In 2021 alone, video game developers earned €24 billion. This figure is expected to increase further in 2022.

With the rapid growth of the gaming industry, demand for skilled programmers is growing at an unprecedented rate.

If you want to build a career in the field of video games, then learning Unity would certainly be beneficial.
You don’t really have to worry about finding a job. Not only is this an immensely popular game engine in the game development world, but it is also used for other non-game-related jobs.

There are always companies hiring Unity Developers full-time all year round.

When it comes to salary, it highly depends on the market you are in and your level of experience.
Based on what we could find online, Unity programmer salaries range from 30k-40k for an entry-level job and 80k-90k for a senior programmer.