Unity Creative Core

pathway

Syllabus
What is the Creative Core pathway?
This free learning path will teach you all the core elements you will
need to bring your imagination to life with Unity. Once you’ve
completed Unity Essentials as an introduction to the fundamentals
of the Unity Editor, take this pathway to learn VFX, Lighting,
Animation, Audio, UI, and other creative skills, no programming
required.

Key details of the pathway

→ A 10- to 20-week learning journey that teaches Unity
basics and is designed for anyone who wants to become
familiar with Unity and real-time content creation.
→ Unity Creative Core covers everything needed to develop
your skills in VFX, Lighting, Animation, Audio, UI, and other
creative skills.
→ By the end of this pathway, learners will have created at
least one real-time project of their choice and be
empowered to create interactive experiences.

What is the scope of this document?

This is a comprehensive syllabus overview that includes
suggestions and guidance for educators to assist in the delivery of
the Unity Creative Core pathway in their classroom or training
center.
Table of contents

Skills 3

Duration 5

Who are your learners? 5

Instructor/facilitator guidance 7

Self-paced learning time estimates 8

Course outline 13

Mission: Introduction to Creative Core 13

Mission: Shaders and materials 15

Mission: Lighting 19

Mission: Animation 23

Mission: VFX 26

Mission: Cameras 29

Mission: Cameras 32

Mission: Audio 33

Mission: UI 36

Mission: Prototyping 39

Grading and rubrics 43

Challenges 43

Exercises 44

Quizzes 45
Skills
The following skills are covered in this pathway:

Beginner Audio Design ● Implement audio in Unity

Principles ● Create interactive experiences by synthesizing audio experience
design principles
● Solve accessibility challenges in an audio design

Beginner Audio ● Produce customized results by correctly configuring audio in a

Implementation scene
● Refine existing audio in a Unity project
● Synthesize your new audio skills in response to project
requirements

Beginner User Interface ● Decide on a user interface approach for a project

● Create and configure visual UI components in a manner that will
respond appropriately to different screen sizes and resolutions
● Create and configure interactive UI components such as buttons,
toggles, and sliders, in order to implement simple UI functionality

Beginner Job Preparation ● Prepare yourself for a freelance job search

● Refine your job search priorities and goals
● Practice continuous personal and professional growth

Absolute Beginner ● Implement an iterative design process

Design Process ● Coordinate a user feedback and testing session
● Practice putting the user first

Absolute Beginner ● Plan projects in the real-time development cycle

Project Management ● Manage projects in the real-time development cycle

Beginner Render ● Choose an appropriate render pipeline for a project, given certain
Pipelines requirements
● Explain the basic concepts of real-time graphics rendering
● Given a scenario, determine the appropriate rendering methods
that should be used.

Absolute Beginner Digital ● Engage in digital citizenship best practices

Citizenship ● Act in compliance with relevant intellectual property laws

Absolute Beginner
● Conduct research using online technical documentation
Research

Beginner Critical ● Conduct critical evaluation in decision making for creative

Thinking projects

Beginner Materials ● Decide the best approach for creating materials for the URP/Lit
 shader on 3D GameObjects, given project requirements
● Create materials for the URP/Lit Shader on a 3D GameObject
● Simulate common substances with physically-based materials
● Synthesize your new shaders and materials skills in response to
project requirements

Beginner Shader
● Create a simple shader and material using Shader Graph
Scripting

Beginner Shaders ● Decide among common shaders to use for a given project

Beginner Lighting ● Implement appropriate lighting in a scene in a manner that will

simulate the real-world behavior of light
● Decide the appropriate lighting system in order to achieve
common outcomes in a Universal Render Pipeline (URP) project
● Configure ambient (diffuse environmental) lighting in order to
convey mood or enhance realism
● Generate a lightmap in order to implement baked lighting in a
scene
● Configure light sources and shadows in order to functionally light
a scene
● Configure Light Probes in order to increase the realism of baked
lighting
● Configure Reflection Probes in order to achieve accurate
reflections
● Troubleshoot common lighting errors in order to appropriately
light a scene
● Synthesize your new lighting skills in response to project
requirements

Beginner Animation ● Describe key components of an Animator Controller

Systems ● Describe the relationship between different animation
components
● Synthesize your new animation skills in response to project
requirements

Beginner 3D Animation
● Create simple keyframed 3D animation sequences
(Native Unity)

Beginner 3D Animation ● Configure Animation Clips imported from third-party 3D modeling

(Imported) software or the Asset Store for use in a project
● Configure a humanoid rig for use with the Humanoid Animation
system

Beginner Prototyping ● Determine the appropriate prototyping approach for a specific

project
 ● Decide the critical project features required in order to create a
functional prototype
● Create a functional prototype in Unity
● Integrate external assets and tools into your prototype
● Refine a prototype environment using ProBuilder
● Refine a prototype environment using Terrain
● Test a basic experience prototype
● Synthesize your new prototyping skills in response to project
requirements

Beginner Particles and ● Decide whether to use Unity's Particle Systems or VFX Graph in
Visual Effects order to produce an effect in your scene
● Produce environmental and burst effects by configuring Unity's
Particle System object
● Interpret a simple VFX Graph asset
● Synthesize your new VFX skills in response to project
requirements

Beginner Unity Cameras ● Decide which camera setup to use, given a project’s requirements
● Configure a single Unity camera in a 2D or 3D scene
● Synthesize your new camera skills in response to project
requirements

Beginner ● Evaluate whether post-processing is an appropriate tool for a

Post-Processing given goal
● Implement a particular visual style in a project by configuring a
post-processing profile
● Synthesize your new post-processing skills in response to project
requirements

Duration
Independently If completing independently, the course can take 9-10 weeks

In a classroom If completing with students in a classroom, the course can take 12-15 weeks

Teaching approaches and contexts

Who are your learners?

The Creative Core pathway is a comprehensive course for creating real-time experiences with the
Unity Editor. Users with no previous experience should start with the Unity Essentials pathway as a
primer. Depending on the profile and skill level of your learners, you can use it to facilitate a range of
different experiences to best meet their needs.

The Creative Core pathway incorporates different types of content that give you a thorough
introduction to each domain, as well as opportunities to bring those domains together in larger
projects.
In the core missions, you will learn the core skills in each creative domain, as well as critical, less
technical creator skills.
In the guided project, you will apply your new skills to a project that we provide while following a
design document.
In the independent project, you will apply your skills at the end of the pathway to a project that you
design.

Learner age range Delivery suggestions

Lower secondary (middle school and junior ● Structured, facilitated sessions throughout,
high) which break down the self-paced technical
instructions into sessions with extension
opportunities to ensure the group keeps
pace
● Scaffolding and extension options mapped
to those sessions will help provide
differentiated learning experiences

Upper secondary (high school) ● Independent completion of the self-paced

technical learning content, with scaffolding
and extension options to provide
differentiated learning experiences
● Facilitated research and discussion
sessions on creator skills and real-time
industry exploration
● The software installation/new user
onboarding guidance is unlikely to be
required for this age range

Adult learners with no previous experience ● Independent completion of the self-paced

(higher, further, and casual education) technical learning content, with extension
options if appropriate
● Facilitated research and discussion
sessions on creator skills and real-time
industry exploration

Adult learners with previous real-time ● Unity Essentials may be useful for
engine experience reference, but it is not designed for learners
(higher, further, and casual education) in this group
Adapting Creative Core pathway content
for different teaching approaches and
contexts

Instructor/facilitator guidance

As an instructor/facilitator for a learning experience based around the Creative Core pathway, your
most valuable contributions are likely to be:

→ Modeling techniques and basic creation in Unity (this is especially the case for less technically
literate cohorts).
→ Facilitating discussion and exploration of creator skills and workplace industries.
→ Questioning to consolidate and deepen understanding.
→ Troubleshooting learner technical issues.

The following table offers some guidance on adapting this learning experience for your teaching
approaches and circumstances.

Flipped classroom / Pre-class work can be assigned by tutorial or mission within the
instruction Unity Creative Core pathway. Research tasks for creator skills and
real-time industry group discussions, presentations, or peer
review feedback sessions are also ideal for the flipped classroom.

Project-based The Unity Creative Core pathway is a project-based course at its

core. It is also an ideal prerequisite before learners begin Create
with Code, our project-based C# programming and development
course.

Inquiry-based The Unity Creative Core pathway covers software fundamentals,

and so has not been designed with inquiry-based learning as a
priority. However, the career and real-time industry information
within the pathway could provide the foundation for identifying
research questions for further inquiry-based/research-based
learning that meets the particular needs of your group.

Independent learning The Unity Creative Core pathway is designed in such a way that
learners can choose to study independently, with optional
checkpoints from the educator. The content is complete and is
presented in a mix of video and text, with all the required
resources linked in each module.
Self-paced learning time estimates
To assist you in planning the learning time, we have provided this table to illustrate the estimated time
needed for each section and unit.

Mission: Introduction to Creative Core

Tutorial Time (suggested)

Minimum Maximum

Welcome to Creative Core 10 minutes 15 minutes

Meet the Creators 10 minutes 15 minutes

Select your guided project 15 minutes 25 minutes

Get started on your guided project 20 minutes 25 minutes

Get started with Unity documentation 20 minutes 30 minutes

Develop your critical evaluation skills 20 minutes 30 minutes

Guided project setup checkpoint 5 minutes 10 minutes

Mission: Shaders and materials

Tutorial Time (suggested)

Minimum Maximum

Get started with shaders and materials 15 minutes 25 minutes

Explore meshes and rendering 20 minutes 30 minutes

Explore shaders 15 minutes 25 minutes

Manage materials in a project 25 minutes 35 minutes

Simulate solid surfaces 30 minutes 45 minutes

Map materials with textures 15 minutes 25 minutes

Create translucent and transparent effects 20 minutes 30 minutes

Add physical texture with bump mapping 15 minutes 25 minutes

Refine surfaces with more texture maps 25 minutes 35 minutes

Get started with Shader Graph 30 minutes 45 minutes

Challenge: Create your still life composition 2 hours 3 hours

Apply materials and shaders to your guided project 35 minutes 50 minutes

Mission: Lighting

Tutorial Time (suggested)

Minimum Maximum

Get started with lighting 20 minutes 30 minutes

Get started with lighting in Unity 20 minutes 30 minutes

Configure the Directional Light and skybox 25 minutes 35 minutes

Add light sources to your scene 25 minutes 40 minutes

Configure shadows in your scene 20 minutes 30 minutes

Bake a lightmap for your scene 35 minutes 50 minutes

Improve your lighting with Light Probes 35 minutes 50 minutes

Examine and complete the indoor scene 35 minutes 50 minutes

Refine and troubleshoot the indoor scene 30 minutes 45 minutes

Improve reflections in your scene 25 minutes 35 minutes

Showcase your work with lighting 35 minutes 50 minutes

Challenge: Complete a cinematic lighting study 3 hours 4 hours 30 minutes

Apply lighting to your guided project 1 hour 3 hours

Creative Core: Lighting quiz 15 minutes 25 minutes

Mission: Animation
Tutorial Time (suggested)

Minimum Maximum

Get started with animation 20 minutes 30 minutes

Create your first 3D animations 40 minutes 1 hour

Refine your animation 40 minutes 1 hour

Control animation with an Animator 50 minutes 1 hour 15 minutes

Import animation 30 minutes 45 minutes

Challenge: Bring the scene to life 1 hour 30 minutes 2 hours 15 minutes

Apply animation to your guided project 1 hour 1 hour 30 minutes

Creative Core: Animation Quiz 30 minutes 45 minutes

Mission: VFX

Tutorial Time (suggested)

Minimum Maximum

Get started with VFX 10 minutes 15 minutes

Play around with a Particle System 10 minutes 15 minutes

Create an environmental Particle System 20 minutes 30 minutes

Create a burst particle 30 minutes 45 minutes

Experiment with VFX Graph 20 minutes 30 minutes

Challenge: Add some magic to your scene 30 minutes 45 minutes

Apply VFX to your guided project 1 hour 1 hour 30 minutes

Creative Core: VFX Quiz 30 minutes 45 minutes

Mission: Cameras

Tutorial Time (suggested)

Minimum Maximum
Get started with cameras 25 minutes 35 minutes

Select your camera projection type 20 minutes 30 minutes

Control what your camera sees 15 minutes 25 minutes

Explore camera views 15 minutes 25 minutes

Explore camera shot types 10 minutes 15 minutes

Challenge: Recreate the scene 30 minutes 45 minutes

Apply cameras to your guided project 1 hour 1 hour 30 minutes

Creative Core: Camera Quiz 15 minutes 25 minutes

Mission: Post-processing

Tutorial Time (suggested)

Minimum Maximum

Get started with post-processing 20 minutes 30 minutes

Create your own post-processing profile 25 minutes 35 minutes

Challenge: Create a local volume 1 hour 1 hour 30 minutes

Apply post-processing to your guided project 1 hour 1 hour 30 minutes

Creative Core: Post-processing Quiz 20 minutes 30 minutes

Mission: Audio

Tutorial Time (suggested)

Minimum Maximum

Get started with audio 25 minutes 35 minutes

Create dynamic sound effects 35 minutes 50 minutes

Create 3D sound effects 50 minutes 1 hour and 20 minutes

Add special effects to existing audio 20 minutes 30 minutes

Accessibility considerations for audio 15 minutes 25 minutes

Challenge: Your own soundscape 45 minutes 1 hour

Apply audio to your guided project 1 hour 1 hour 30 minutes

Creative Core Audio quiz 30 minutes 45 minutes

Mission: UI

Tutorial Time (suggested)

Minimum Maximum

Get started with user interfaces 30 minutes 45 minutes

Add a title to your scene 30 minutes 45 minutes

Manage screen size and anchors 30 minutes 45 minutes

Create a menu background with images 25 minutes 35 minutes

Add basic button functionality 30 minutes 45 minutes

Add toggles and sliders 30 minutes 45 minutes

Challenge: Make a worldspace UI 30 minutes 45 minutes

Apply UI to your guided project 1 hour 1 hour 30 minutes

Creative Core: UI quiz 20 minutes 30 minutes

Mission: Prototyping

Tutorial Time (suggested)

Minimum Maximum

Get started with prototyping 25 minutes 35 minutes

Choose a prototype idea 15 minutes 25 minutes

Plan and scope your prototype 40 minutes 1 hour

Create your graybox prototype 30 minutes 45 minutes

Build on your basic prototype 30 minutes 45 minutes

 Enhance your prototype with ProBuilder 45 minutes 1 hour

Enhance your prototype with Terrain 20 minutes 30 minutes

Test your prototype 30 minutes 45 minutes

Challenge: Complete your independent project 1 hour 1 hour 30 minutes

Plan your next steps 20 minutes 30 minutes

Entry-level freelancing for creators 15 minutes 25 minutes

Creative Core: Prototyping quiz 15 minutes 25 minutes

Course outline

Mission 01: Introduction to Creative Core

This mission is your first step on the Creative Core pathway. Start here to
learn about the topics covered, the activities required, and the skills you
will gain along the way.

In this mission, you will:

● Learn about the topics covered in Creative Core.
● Select a guided project in which to apply your new skills.
● Create a new project in Unity and make some technical decisions
about that project.
● Learn how to use other people’s works in your projects responsibly.
● Tour Unity’s technical documentation as another resource for your learning.
● Conduct critical evaluation in decision-making for creative projects.

Welcome to Creative Core

Welcome to the Creative Core pathway! In this tutorial, you

1 will learn what the Creative Core pathway is, who it’s for, and
how it’s structured.

Meet the creators who will help guide you along your
Creative Core learning journey.
2 Meet the Creators
In this tutorial you’ll:
 ● Describe a variety of different creator journeys in
real-time 3D.
● Identify job roles to consider in preparation for
refining your personal goals.
● Identify a method for evaluating your ongoing learning
journey that will help you synthesize the experience.

In the Creative Core pathway, your guided project is where

you will apply your skills. We have provided three guided
projects for you to choose from so that you don’t have to
Select your guided project come up with a concept on your own in order to get started
in the pathway. In this tutorial, you’ll select the guided
project that’s right for you.
3
By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:
● Explain the role of a design document in the design
process.
● Describe the structure and content of design
documents.

Before you begin creating in your guided project, there are a

few options to consider and technical tasks to complete,
which you’ll use for every new Unity project.
Get started on your guided
project By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:
● Define key terms of real-time graphics including
rendering, render pipeline, and scriptable render
4
pipeline.
● Identify the differences between Unity’s provided
render pipelines, including advantages,
disadvantages, and common use cases for each.
● Create a new project using a particular render
pipeline.

In your learning journey, you will (we hope!) become curious

about the many features and capabilities of the Unity Hub,
Get started with Unity Editor, packages, and scripting API. Unity provides a
documentation comprehensive library of documentation on these products
that’s available online.
5 Unity documentation is an excellent resource to review what
you have learned, investigate intermediate and advanced
features, and expand your learning.

By the end of this tutorial, you will be able to:

● Define documentation.
 ● Identify the major sections of Unity documentation.
● Find information on a specific topic in Unity
documentation.

Making the best possible decisions in a moment can

sometimes feel like a mysterious quality that some people
have and others just don’t. That’s not actually the case —
anyone can work to improve the set of skills that
Develop your critical decision-making relies on! Critical evaluation is at the heart
evaluation skills of this.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

6
● Explain the importance of critical evaluation in a
creative project.
● Identify approaches to obtain and evaluate
information required to make a decision in a creative
project.
● Consider the role of critical evaluation in your journey
as a creator.

Mission checkpoint

Mission 02: Shaders and materials

Shaders and materials let you define how your 3D objects look: their colors, reflectivity, and physical
texture. With shaders and materials, you can bring realism into your projects or express your own
artistic style.

In this mission, you will explore concepts of light and reflection, including common terms that many 3D
artists use every day. You’ll apply these concepts to create your own materials and shaders that
simulate real-world objects — and even some other-worldly objects. You’ll complete this mission by
creating a still life composition in which you can demonstrate a variety of shaders and materials.

By the time you complete this learning experience, you will be able to:
● Explain how surfaces in Unity are defined and rendered.
● Select a type of shader for your own project.
● Create materials for a common shader, using a wide variety of properties.
 ● Create your own simple shader using Shader Graph.

Get started with shaders and

materials Shaders and materials are to a 3D scene as paint is to a
painting — they are the media for expressing the artistic look
1 and feel of your real-time 3D projects. In this tutorial, you will
get acquainted with the art gallery project that we’ll use in
this learning experience.

In technical terms, shaders and materials operate on meshes,

Explore meshes and which are the surfaces of GameObjects. They instruct Unity’s
rendering renderer how to render each mesh. In this tutorial, you’ll learn
about meshes and rendering.
2
By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:
● Define a mesh, its characteristics, and its use in
rendering a 3D GameObject.
● Explain the role of shaders in the rendering process.
● Assign a material to a GameObject.

Shaders do the work of computing how meshes will be

rendered. In this tutorial, you’ll learn about the types of
shaders and see how they fit into the rendering process.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

● Determine the shader type for an object based on the
Explore shaders design requirements.
● Explain the difference between physically-based and
non-physically-based rendering and reasons for using
3
each.
● Explain the difference between a lit and unlit shader
and the reasons for using each.
● Explain vertex and fragment (pixel) shaders.
● Describe use cases for the Universal Render Pipeline
shaders provided with Unity.

Manage materials in a project You will do much of your more artistic work using materials to
color, texture, and stylize your 3D objects. In this tutorial,
you’ll learn how materials work and how to use, troubleshoot,
4 and organize them in your projects.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

● Define material.
 ● Create a new material.
● Assign a material to a GameObject.
● Manage materials as project assets.
● Fix broken (magenta) materials.

Materials define the ways that light will behave on an object.

In this tutorial, you’ll begin learning about materials by
learning how light behaves with solid objects. Along the way,
you’ll create materials for solid objects, and you’ll be able to
simulate objects in the real world.
Simulate solid surfaces By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:
● Explain specular and diffuse reflectivity.
● Distinguish between Specular and Metallic properties
5
and explain how each is configured
● Adjust the Base Map of a material using a color.
● Apply the Specular and Metallic workflows to achieve
desired effects.
● Identify the characteristics of a real-world surface to
be configured in a new material.
● Adjust material properties to simulate a given solid
substance.

Textures are 2D maps that wrap around 3D objects to create

variations in color, reflectivity, and other properties. In this
tutorial, you’ll learn how textures work, and you’ll begin
applying them to objects using materials.
Map materials with textures By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:
● Define texture and map as they are used in materials.
● Explain the maps that are configurable on the URP/Lit
6
Shader and their various effects.
● Define UVs.
● Explain how 3D modeling programs are used to create
assets for Unity materials.
● Adjust the Base Map of a material using an image.
● Given a collection of texture files, select appropriate
maps to simulate a material.

Light doesn’t only bounce off objects — sometimes it passes

through them. In this tutorial, you’ll use transparency to
Create translucent and create a translucent object that looks like glass and also use
7
transparent effects the technique of alpha clipping to create realistic looking
leaves from simple rectangular meshes.
 By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:
● Apply more maps that are configurable on the URP/Lit
Shader .
● Apply alpha clipping in a material.
● Apply the transparent surface type to a material.

Textures are commonly used to add the look of a physical

Add physical texture with texture to the surface of a mesh without changing the mesh
bump mapping itself. In this tutorial, you’ll learn how bump mapping adds the
illusion of relief to a surface.
8
By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:
● Apply more maps that are configurable on the URP/Lit
Shader.
● Add a normal map and a height map to a material.

Once you are familiar with the basic properties of the URP/Lit
Refine surfaces with more shader, you will know how to use many shaders, materials,
texture maps and textures that you’ll encounter as a 3D creator. This
tutorial will complete your education on this shader.
9
By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:
● Explain the use of Detail Inputs for the URP/Lit shader.
● Explain High Dynamic Range color.

Now that you know the basics of shading, you have the
knowledge to go even further: to create your own shader.
With Shader Graph, you can easily apply your knowledge to
Get started with Shader create new and exciting effects.
Graph
By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:
● Explain Shader Graph and its uses.
10
● Create a new shader in Shader Graph.
● Navigate in the Shader Graph editor window.
● Connect commonly used Shader Graph nodes to
create desired effects.
● Make a shader with configurable material properties.
● Make a material from a custom Shader Graph shader.

It’s time to create your own work of art! We challenge you to

Challenge: Create your still create a still life composition with a variety of surfaces,
11 demonstrating what you’ve learned about shaders and
life composition
materials.
 By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to demonstrate your
new skills in shaders and materials.

Apply materials and shaders

to your guided project

Now it’s time to apply what you have learned about shaders
12
and materials to your guided project!

Mission checkpoint

13

Mission 03: Lighting

Whether you’re exploring the architectural design of your new house,

sneaking through a haunted castle in a stealth game, or immersing
yourself in the world of cinematic animation, good lighting takes a
real-time experience to the next level. From the basics of illuminating a
space to telling evocative stories through your design, lighting will help
you get there.

In this mission, you will light an indoor and outdoor space in the Unity
Editor and learn about the fundamental principles of lighting for Unity
experiences along the way. You’ll finish by applying what you’ve learned
to complete your own lighting study.

By the time you complete this learning experience, you’ll be able to:
● Implement appropriate lighting in a scene in a manner that will simulate the real-world behavior
of light.
● Decide the appropriate lighting system in order to achieve common outcomes in a Universal
Render Pipeline (URP) project.
● Configure light sources and shadows in order to functionally light a scene.
 ● Configure ambient (diffuse environmental) lighting in order to convey mood or enhance realism.
● Generate a lightmap in order to implement baked lighting in a scene.
● Configure Light Probes in order to increase the realism of baked lighting.
● Configure Reflection Probes in order to achieve accurate reflections.
● Troubleshoot common lighting errors in order to appropriately light a scene.

Whether you’re exploring the architectural design of your

new house, sneaking through a haunted castle in a stealth
Get started with lighting game, or immersing yourself in the world of a cinematic
animation, good lighting takes a real-time experience to the
next level. From the basics of illuminating a space to telling
evocative stories through your design, lighting will help you
1
get there.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

● Describe the fundamentals of the behavior of light.
● Identify light sources in an image.

Now that you’ve explored the role of a lighting artist and the
Get started with lighting in basic behavior of light, you’re ready to think more specifically
Unity
about lighting in Unity.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

● Explain the difference between direct and indirect
2
light.
● Define the term global illumination.
● Identify Unity’s Global Illumination system for URP.
● Explain the main differences between real-time and
baked lighting in Unity.

When you create a new scene in the Unity Editor, your Scene
view loads to a bright blue sky. The Directional Light is one of
the two GameObjects created for you. These two things are
Configure the Directional the absolute basics of lighting in Unity, present by default to
Light and skybox help creators get started.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

3 ● Identify key considerations for lighting outdoor scenes
realistically.
● Describe the role of the Directional Light in a scene.
● Configure the Directional Light in a scene to achieve
common effects.
● Describe the role of a skybox in a scene.
● Create a procedural skybox.
 At the moment, the amphitheater space in the outdoor scene
Add light sources to your is lit by natural light in the scene you’re working on — now
scene you’re ready to add additional light sources.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

4 ● Identify the differences between the different types of
Light component.
● Configure Light components to achieve common
lighting effects.
● Configure the ambient (diffuse environmental) light in
your scene.

Configure shadows in your Now that you’ve configured both real-time light sources and
scene
ambient light in your scene, you’re ready to configure the
shadows.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

5
● Explain the relationship between lighting and
post-processing.
● Configure shadows in your scene to achieve realistic
effects.

Now that you’ve set up real-time lighting in your outdoor

scene, you’re ready to set up the second type of lighting for
your project: baked lighting. When you’ve implemented this
Bake a lightmap for your and made some adjustments to the lighting configuration
scene throughout your scene, you’ll have covered the basics of
lighting an outside space!

6 By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

● Configure light sources appropriately so that they can
be baked.
● Create a new Lighting Settings asset.
● Explain why any changes to the baked lighting require
an update to the lightmap.
● Customize lightmap properties for your scene.

You’ve almost finished working on the outdoor scene! In this

tutorial, you’ll learn about the role of Light Probes in making
lighting in your scene more realistic.
Improve your lighting with
7 By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:
Light Probes
● Explain how Light Probes improve the realism of
lighting in a scene.
● Place Light Probes appropriately within a scene.
● Evaluate the impact of Light Probes using a diagnostic
 view.

Now that you’ve worked on implementing lighting in an

outdoor scene, it’s time to turn your attention indoors. The
same basic principles of lighting apply to indoor
Examine and complete the environments, but just as light indoors and outdoors tends to
indoor scene
be different in the physical world, there are particular
considerations that it’s important to make when lighting an
indoor space for a real-time experience.
8
By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:
● Identify key considerations for lighting indoor scenes
realistically.
● Add emissive materials to a scene.
● Check emissive materials in a diagnostic view.
● Place Light Probes in a 3D volume arrangement within
a scene.

You’re nearly at the end of your indoor and outdoor scene

journey. So far you’ve lit the outdoor scene from scratch and
made some minor additions to the indoor scene. Now you’re
ready to refine the lighting in this scene.
Refine and troubleshoot the
indoor scene By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:
● Configure indirect lighting to improve the overall
lighting level in an indoor scene.
9 ● Identify common troubleshooting issues for
beginner-level lighting in Unity.
● Improve light leaks through exploratory adjustment of
lighting properties.
● Identify when an important model has incorrect
lightmap UVs.
● Generate lightmap UVs for a model imported without
them.

You’ve almost completed your work on the indoor scene, but

Improve reflections in your there’s a little more to do. Before you finish the indoor scene,
10 you need to make the scene more realistic by addressing
scene
issues with reflection that are currently present.
 By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:
● Explain how Reflection Probes improve the accuracy
of reflections in a scene.
● Configure a Reflection Probe.

In the previous tutorials in this learning experience, you lit an

outdoor scene and an indoor scene, developing your
Showcase your work with understanding of lighting in Unity as you did so. Now it’s time
lighting to apply your understanding of lighting in Unity to a slightly
different context: showcasing a product.

11 By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

● Identify research topics and resources to develop your
understanding of foundational lighting science and
design principles.
● Configure Light components to showcase an object in
Unity.

Challenge: Complete a In this challenge, you’ll complete a cinematic lighting study

cinematic lighting study using your own choice of inspiration.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

12 ● Identify research topics and resources to develop your
understanding of foundational lighting science and
design principles.
● Demonstrate your new skills in lighting.

Apply lighting to your guided

project

Now it’s time to apply what you have learned about lighting
13
to your guided project!

14 Mission checkpoint
Mission 04: Animation

The world around you is in constant motion. The same is true for digital
worlds. A static environment tends to appear unfinished or cold and
unfeeling; animation is all about creating the illusion of life.
In this mission, you will learn how to create animations in the Unity
Editor and how to configure animations imported from an external
program. You’ll apply these concepts to add animation to objects and
characters in your scenes, and even control when the animation gets
played.

By the end of this mission, you’ll be able to:

● Describe the relationship between different animation components.
● Create simple keyframed 3D animation sequences.
● Describe key components of an Animator Controller.
● Configure Animation Clips imported from third-party 3D modeling software or the Asset Store
for use in a project.
● Configure a humanoid rig for use with the Humanoid Animation system.

Get started with animation

In this tutorial you’ll learn about the role and responsibilities
of animators and set up your project to begin animating.

1 By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

● Define the different rig types and their uses.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn the basic principles of animation

and the tools available to you in Unity by animating a ball.
Create your first 3D This is a classic exercise for new animators, both digital and
2 traditional alike.
animations
By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:
● Set up a new Animation Clip.
 ● Record a GameObject animation using Record Mode.
● Add keyframes to an Animation Clip.
● Adjust multiple keyframes at once.

Refine your animation In this tutorial, you’ll learn about the Curve editor and explore
some basic animation principles.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

3 ● Edit the values of an Animation Curve.
● Add keyframes to an Animation Clip.
● Record a GameObject animation using Record Mode.
● Adjust multiple Keyframes at once.

In this tutorial, you’ll create a door that animates based on

Control animation with an the proximity of the player. In doing so, you’ll learn about
Animator
Animators, Animator Controllers, and basic State Machines.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

● Set up a new Animation Clip.
4
● Record a GameObject animation using Record Mode
● Add keyframes to an Animation Clip.
● Identify the purpose of a specified parameter.
● Describe the relationship between parameters and
transitions.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to configure imported

animation and use it in an already existing project.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

Import animation ● Define the different rig types and their uses.
● Describe how an avatar is used with a humanoid rig to
share animation.
● Describe how an avatar is used with an Animator
5 Controller to control animation.
● Apply imported Animation Clips to rigged models in
Unity.
● Configure a humanoid rig to share animations
between characters.
● Trim Animation Clips to access specific keyframed
sequences within them.
● Create a new Animator Controller for an imported rig.
● Share Animator Controllers between humanoid rigs.
 ● Identify the purpose of a specified parameter.
● Describe the relationship between parameters and
transitions.

Challenge: Bring the scene to

life
In this challenge, you’ll be tasked with creating at least five
new in-editor animations and configuring at least one
character to use three new imported animations that you
source yourself.
6
By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to demonstrate your
new skills in animation.

Apply animation to your

guided project

Now it’s time to apply what you have learned about

7
animation to your guided project!

Mission checkpoint

Mission 05: VFX

VFX are simulated motion effects added to enhance a scene, ranging

from a subtle splash of water to a massive fiery explosion.

In this mission, you will learn to create your own visual effects, including
fire, weather effects, and a puff of smoke.

By the time you complete this learning experience, you will be able to:
 ● Decide whether to use Unity's Particle Systems or VFX Graph in order to produce an effect in
your scene.
● Produce environmental and burst effects by configuring Unity's Particle System object.
● Interpret a simple VFX Graph asset.

VFX are simulated motion effects added to enhance a scene,

ranging from a subtle splash of water to a massive fiery
explosion. In this tutorial, you will learn what VFX are, who
makes them in the industry, and then you will tinker with a
Get started with VFX fire effect in Unity.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

● Define the acronym VFX.
1 ● Explain different applications of VFX in real-time 3D
experiences, such as gameplay and environmental
effects.
● Describe the impact that VFX can have on the level of
polish in a project.
● Understand the differences between Unity's Particle
System and VFX Graph.

More complex effects, like a campfire, might actually be

made up of multiple individual Particle Systems. A fire could
Play around with a Particle
have flames, smoke, and sparks. In this tutorial, you’ll explore
System the individual elements of a fire, and then play around with
the properties of those elements to produce a unique result.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

● Explain how individual Particle Systems can be
combined to create more complex effects.
● Understand the purpose of the three default modules
in a Particle System: Emission, Shape, and Renderer.

Create an environmental
Particle Systems are surprisingly versatile. With just a few
Particle System
changes to a Particle System’s modules, you can produce a
wide variety of effects. In this tutorial, you will create a brand
new Particle System and configure its modules to create
snow or rain in the scene.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

● Set up a new Particle System in the scene.
 ● Configure a Particle System's main properties, such as
lifetime, size, and max particles, by modifying the
Main module.
● Control the location and initial direction of particles by
modifying the Shape module.
● Control the rate and timing of particles by modifying
the Emission module.
● Control the appearance of individual particles by
modifying the Renderer module.

Some VFX are triggered by a user’s actions, which makes the

application feel more responsive and dynamic. In this tutorial,
you will create a new smoke burst effect, then allow the user
to generate that effect whenever they want to ignite or
extinguish the fire.
Create a burst particle
By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:
● Create a single burst of particles, rather than a
continuous emission over time by using the Bursts
section of the Emission module.
● Add randomness to a Particle System by using the
Random Between Two Constants feature.
● Change the color of a particle over its lifetime by using
the gradient editor and the Color Over Lifetime
module.
● Change the size of a particle over its lifetime by using
the Curve editor in the Size Over Lifetime module.

VFX Graph is a powerful feature that allows users to create

incredibly complex effects and simulations, which are still
highly optimized. In this tutorial, you will add a few new VFX
Experiment with VFX Graph Graph effects to your scene and play around with their
properties in the VFX Graph editor.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

● Understand the differences between Unity's Particle
System and VFX Graph in order to select the
appropriate tool for a given use case.
● Recognize whether a particle effect has been created
using the Particle System or VFX Graph.
● Add a new VFX Graph asset to the scene.
 ● Explain the role of each of the four default context
nodes in a VFX Graph asset: Spawn, Initialize Particle,
Update Particle, and Output Particle.
● Navigate in the VFX Graph editor window by using the
keyboard and mouse.
● Perform simple edits to an existing VFX Graph asset,
such as changing the emission rate or particle lifetime.

Challenge: Add some magic

to your scene
VFX have the power to add intrigue, mystery, and whimsy to
your environments. In this tutorial, you will attempt to add a
sense of magic to your scene with fireflies, shooting stars, or
some other effect of your choice.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to demonstrate your

new skills in particles and visual effects.

Apply VFX to your guided

project

Now it’s time to apply what you have learned about VFX to
your guided project!

Mission checkpoint
Mission 06: Cameras

Cameras are your eyes into an interactive experience. They can be fully
dynamic, fixed, or tied to a character. In this mission, you’ll explore the
different camera types common to interactive experiences. You’ll also
learn some basic camera shot terminology and practice recreating
iconic scenes from popular media.

By the end of this mission, you’ll be able to:

● Decide which camera setup to use, given a project’s
requirements.
● Configure a single Unity camera in a 2D or 3D scene.

Get started with cameras In this project, you’ll learn how to work with cameras both
from a technical and design perspective.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

● Distinguish between various camera viewpoints in
1 order to give end users the appropriate orientation to
the scene.
● Explore the effects of camera setup on the user’s
experience.

Select your camera projection In this tutorial, you’ll learn about projection settings: the
type parameters that control how the camera renders what
appears inside its frame.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

● Identify use cases for a perspective camera view in a
2D or 3D scene.
● Identify use cases for an orthographic camera view in
2
a 2D or 3D scene.
● Capture the desired view of the scene by controlling
the position and rotation of the Main Camera.
● Set up a camera for a specified/predetermined point
of view.
● Set up a perspective camera view in a 3D scene.
● Set up an orthographic camera view in a 3D scene.

3 Control what your camera In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to fine tune what appears
 sees within the camera view with clipping planes, culling masks,
and environment properties.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

● Fill in the background of the Main Camera view.
● Control the field of view of the Main Camera by
adjusting the frustum.
● Control the depth of view of the Main Camera by
configuring the clipping planes.

Explore camera views In this tutorial, you’ll explore some of the most popular
camera views and learn about when they’re best used.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

● Identify use cases for a perspective camera view in a
2D or 3D scene.
● Identify use cases for an orthographic camera view in
4
a 2D or 3D scene.
● Explore the effects of camera setup on the user’s
experience.
● Distinguish between various camera viewpoints in
order to give end users the appropriate orientation to
the scene.

Explore camera shot types In this tutorial, you’ll learn about some of the most popular
camera shot types and how they can be used to contribute
to the overall mood of a scene.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

● Distinguish between various camera viewpoints in
order to give end users the appropriate orientation to
5 the scene.
● Identify use cases for a perspective camera view in a
2D or 3D scene.
● Identify use cases for an orthographic camera view in
a 2D or 3D scene.
● Explore the effects of camera setup on the user’s
experience.

Challenge: Recreate the In this final challenge, you’ll be tasked with recreating one of
scene your favorite scenes from media in Unity.
6 By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to demonstrate your
new skills in cameras.
 Apply cameras to your guided
project

Now it’s time to apply what you have learned about cameras
7
to your guided project!

Mission checkpoint

7
Mission 07: Post-processing

Post-processing is just like applying filters to a photo you take with your
phone. This can make your scene look more beautiful and interesting.
In this mission, you will use post-processing to achieve a particular look
and feel in a scene.

By the time you complete this learning experience, you will be able to:
● Evaluate whether post-processing is an appropriate tool for a
given goal.
● Implement a particular visual style in a project by configuring a
post-processing profile.

Apply cameras to your guided Post-processing is just like applying filters to your photos. It
project can make your scene look more beautiful, interesting, or
stylized. In this tutorial, you’ll learn when and why you might
use post-processing, then open Unity and enable
post-processing in your scene.

1 By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

● Define post-processing and the purpose of a
post-processing profile.
● Explain the purpose of post-processing, including
visual style and visual fidelity.
● Set up post-processing in a scene.

Create your own A post-processing profile can radically alter the visuals in
post-processing profile your scene. In this tutorial, you will create your own
post-processing profile to achieve a particular visual style in
the project.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

2 ● Use common post-processing effects, such as Bloom,
Depth of Field, Tonemapping, and color adjustments.
● Modify a post-processing profile to achieve a
particular style.
● Appreciate the tradeoff between improved visuals and
the cost to performance that comes with
post-processing effects.
 ● Describe the purpose of a post-processing profile.

Challenge: Create a local A local volume allows you to define a completely different
volume visual style within a single scene. In this tutorial, you’ll create
a new post-processing profile and apply it to a particular
area of the scene.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

3 ● Add a new local post-processing volume to the scene
and edit its boundaries.
● Describe scenarios where a global volume or local
volume would be more appropriate.
● Demonstrate your new skills in post-processing.

Apply post-processing to
your guided project

Now it’s time to apply what you have learned about

4
post-processing to your guided project!

Mission checkpoint

5
Mission 08: Audio

Audio is one of the most overlooked aspects of interactive

development, but it’s also one of the first things that can disrupt a user’s
immersion if it’s done poorly — or worse, if it’s completely forgotten
about.
In this mission, you will learn how to implement audio effects in Unity by
creating a soundscape for an outdoor scene. You’ll create ambient
audio effects, trigger sounds with events, and modify sounds with
special effects.

By the end of this mission, you’ll be able to:

● Implement audio in Unity.
● Produce customized results by correctly configuring audio in a scene.
● Create interactive experiences by synthesizing audio experience design principles.
● Refine existing audio in a Unity project.
● Solve accessibility challenges in an audio design.
● Create a particular visual style in a project by configuring a post-processing profile.

Get started with audio In this project, you’ll bring a scene to life using audio effects.
You’ll explore the different ways audio is perceived and
implement ambient and event-based sound. You’ll also learn
a bit about accessibility considerations for audio and how
you can build a more inclusive experience by implementing
closed captioning.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

● Describe the science of audio in digital environments.
1
● Recommend audio source file formats that can be
used in a given project.
● Explain the role of audio in supporting narrative and
worldbuilding.
● Explain the difference between diegetic and
nondiegetic sound.
● Describe the primary types of audio found in real-time
projects.
● Explain the role of audio in developing atmosphere.
 Create dynamic sound In this tutorial, you’ll begin the process of creating a complex
effects soundscape by adding footstep sound effects to the player
character.

2 By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

● Choose time-based or action-based methods, such as
triggers or events, to play audio clips.
● Explain the role of audio in developing atmosphere.

Create 3D sound effects In this tutorial, you’ll add sound to the waterfall and
customize it to suit the scene’s needs.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

● Explain the role of audio in supporting narrative and
worldbuilding.
3
● Explain the role of audio in developing atmosphere.
● Simulate different types of audio sources by applying
custom roll-offs.
● Describe the science of audio in digital environments.

Add special effects to In this tutorial, you’ll create an echo effect using an audio
existing audio reverb zone.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

● Add special audio effects to a scene.
4
● Describe the science of audio in digital environments.
● Explain the role of audio in developing atmosphere.
● Control the priority of different audio sources in a
scene by setting Priority settings.

Accessibility considerations In this tutorial, you’ll add closed captioning to your scene to
for audio add an extra level of accessibility to your project.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

5 ● Add subtitles to a Unity project.
● Recommend optimization techniques for audio, given
a target platform.
● Choose time-based or action-based methods, such as
triggers or events, to play audio clips.
 ● Add special audio effects to a scene.

Challenge: Your own

soundscape In this final challenge, you’ll take everything that you have
learned and create a soundscape for a new environment.

6
By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to demonstrate your
new skills in audio.

Apply audio to your guided

project

Now it’s time to apply what you have learned about audio to
7
your guided project!

Mission checkpoint

Mission 09: UI

A user interface is what allows a user to interact – or interface – with an

application. A UI often includes images, text, buttons, toggles, sliders,
or dropdowns.
In this mission, you will design your own title screen and functional
settings menu.

By the time you complete this learning experience, you will be able to:
● Decide on a user interface approach for a project.
 ● Create and configure visual UI components in a manner that will respond appropriately to
different screen sizes and resolutions.
● Create and configure interactive UI components, such as buttons, toggles, and sliders, to
implement simple UI functionality.

Get started with user A user interface (UI) is what allows a user to interact with a
interfaces program, and a UI designer is responsible for making those
interactions as clear and enjoyable as possible. In this
tutorial, you’ll learn a bit more about what UI design is and
the tools available in Unity to help you create UIs. Then, you’ll
open your project and begin customizing your scene.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

1
● Define “UI” and the role of user interfaces in real-time
3D experiences.
● Differentiate between UI design and other related
disciplines, like User Experience Design and
Information Architecture.
● Distinguish between Unity's three available UI
systems: uGUI (or Unity UI), IMGUI (or “Immediate
Mode” GUI), and UI Toolkit.

Add a title to your scene Text is arguably the most critical element of any UI. So, when
you add text elements, you should also make sure it’s easy
for everyone to read. In this tutorial, you’ll add title text to
your project, then make sure it meets basic accessibility
requirements.

2 By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

● Add text elements (labels) to the screen.
● Customize text element styling in the Inspector.
● Recall essential accessibility considerations for UI,
such as font choice, text size, color contrast, and
content.

Manage screen size and You can spend a ton of time making your UI look perfect on
anchors your screen, but what happens if someone opens your
application on a screen with a different size or a different
3
shape? In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to consider the
screen’s aspect ratio and use Canvas Anchors to make sure
your UI elements stay where you want them to.
 By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:
● Preview different aspect ratios for your project.
● Understand the role of the Canvas GameObject in
designing a UI.
● Position 2D elements on screen by using the Rect
Transform component and Rect tool.
● Control how UI elements scale, rotate, and reposition
relative to other objects on screen by editing the
anchor and pivot points.
● Anchor a UI element to different parts of a Canvas by
using presets and by positioning it manually.
● Control how the entire UI responds to changes in
screen resolution by understanding different Canvas
Scaler modes.

Create a menu background Images are critical in the design of UIs, from simple
with images backgrounds and icons to more complex heads up displays
and dashboards. In this tutorial, you will add custom images
for your settings menu background and button, making sure
they still look good if they’re stretched in different directions.

4
By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:
● Add Image elements.
● Apply and configure UI sprites.
● Apply and configure materials to an Image
component.

Add basic button A button is the simplest and most common interactive UI
functionality element. Without buttons, you couldn’t get very far. In this
tutorial, you will make your buttons functional using Unity’s
Event System.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

5
● Understand the role of the EventSystem GameObject
in developing interactive UIs.
● Identify use cases for buttons in various UIs.
● Implement simple button functionality by using the
Event System.
 Add toggles and sliders As a UI becomes complex, you will inevitably need to
implement toggles and sliders, which each give the user a
unique way to interact with an application. In this tutorial, you
will add a toggle that allows the user to turn music on and off
and a slider that allows them to control the volume.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

6
● Identify use cases for Sliders and Toggles in UI
design.
● Implement simple toggle functionality by using the
Event System.
● Implement simple slider functionality by using the
Event System.

Challenge: Make a A worldsspace UI can exist in the three dimensional world,

worldspace UI just like any other GameObject. This allows you as a UI
designer to create completely different types of interactions,
compared with a traditional Screen Space UI. In this tutorial,
you will learn more about the use cases for worldspace UIs,
then design a new version of your UI in world space.
7
By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:
● Identify the use cases for different Canvas render
modes: Screen Space - Overlay, Screen Space -
Camera; World Space.
● Demonstrate your new skills in user interfaces.

Apply UI to your guided

project

Now it’s time to apply what you have learned about user
8
interfaces to your guided project!

9 Mission checkpoint
Mission 10: Prototyping

Before you get caught up in developing your dream project, it’s

important to start a little smaller and create a prototype. Prototyping
gives you the opportunity to work out what should really be at the heart
of the real-time experience you want to make and to test out different
approaches to achieve that.

In this mission, you’ll learn about some different approaches to

prototyping and explore an example we’ve created as you work on your
own prototype. This learning experience is about process rather than a
set outcome; if you’re new to prototyping, we hope you’ll find something
useful no matter what you want to create!

By the time you complete this learning experience, you’ll be able to:
● Determine the appropriate prototyping approach for a specific project.
● Decide the critical project features required in order to create a functional prototype.
● Create a functional prototype in Unity.
● Integrate external assets and tools into your prototype.
● Refine a prototype environment using ProBuilder and Terrain.
● Test a basic experience prototype.

Get started with prototyping Before you get caught up in developing your dream project,
it’s important to start a little smaller and create a prototype.
Prototyping gives you the opportunity to work out what
should really be at the heart of the real-time experience you
1 want to make and to test out different approaches to achieve
that.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

● Explain the purpose of prototyping.
 ● Explain the difference between rapid and evolutionary
prototyping.

Choose a prototype idea You’ve explored the background of prototyping, now it’s time
to get specific. You might have a specific idea for a prototype
already in mind, a range of concepts to choose between, or
be uncertain where to start. Wherever you’re starting from,
we’ll guide you through the process.
2
By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:
● Identify a prototype concept.
● Identify target users for a prototype.
● Write an elevator pitch for a prototype.

Plan and scope your Now that you’ve identified an idea and your target audience,
prototype you can start planning your prototype in a lot more detail.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

● Explain the importance of scoping and incremental
3 iteration in the prototyping process.
● Identify key features and requirements for a
prototype.
● Scope which features are required to deliver a
minimum functional prototype.

Create your graybox Planning complete, you can now get started working in Unity!
prototype You’ll start by working on a graybox of your prototype, where
primitive 3D shapes (which are often gray) are used to block
out the scene so you can implement the basic functionality.
4
By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:
● Graybox a basic functional prototype.
● Import a third-party character controller.

Build on your basic prototype Now that you’ve got a basic graybox prototype, it’s time to
develop it so it’s closer to the final experience that you want
5 to deliver.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

 ● Explain the importance of scoping and incremental
iteration in the prototyping process.
● Evaluate a prototype against key requirements.
● Refine a prototype experience.
● Identify third-party assets and resources for a
prototype.
● Create an asset inventory.

Enhance your prototype with ProBuilder is a package that you can use to build, edit, and
ProBuilder texture custom geometry (3D shapes) in Unity. You can use it
to create all sorts of objects in your environment that go
beyond combinations of primitives.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

● Explain how ProBuilder can support prototype
6
development.
● Create meshes using ProBuilder.
● Configure geometry to make basic scenery for a
prototype.
● Set a Collider for a mesh.
● Set a mesh as a trigger.

Enhance your prototype with Terrain is the landscape of an interactive experience. Unity
Terrain 2020.3 LTS includes a series of Terrain features that you can
use to create a custom landscape that’s right for your
prototype.

7 By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

● Explain how Terrain can support prototype
development.
● Create a new Terrain.
● Customize Terrain for your prototype.

Test your prototype

Testing is a critical aspect of refining and completing your
prototype.

8
By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:
● Explain the importance of different types of testing in
prototype development.
 ● Complete acceptance tests against prototype
requirements.
● Identify unexpected behavior in a prototype.
● Conduct user testing for a prototype.

Challenge: Complete your

independent project
In this challenge, you’ll apply what you’ve learned throughout
the Creative Core pathway to your prototype.
9
By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to demonstrate your
new skills from each domain in the Creative Core pathway.

Plan your next steps As you finalize and prepare to submit your independent or
guided project, take some time to reflect on your
accomplishments and explore possibilities as a real-time 3D
creator.

10 In this tutorial you will:

● Plan to update your portfolio to support changing
priorities and skills.
● Research sources of continuous learning in real-time
3D.

Entry-level freelancing for Freelancing is an excellent way to pursue a career as a

creators real-time creator. Freelancing can expose you to a wider
variety of projects and teams, and the pace of freelancing
can accelerate your career. However, it can also be
challenging. It demands a high degree of professionalism and
flexibility. If you’re up for the challenges of freelancing but
don’t know how to get started, this tutorial is for you.

11
By the time you complete this tutorial, you’ll be able to:
● Identify the key challenges and opportunities of
entry-level freelancing roles in real-time 3D industries.
● Research entry-level freelance roles that align with
your personal experience and goals.
● Make a plan to build a portfolio to help launch a
freelance career.
 Mission checkpoint

12

Grading and rubrics

Overview

This pathway provides three avenues of assessment: quizzes, a guided project using provided assets,
and an optional independent project.. Beyond this, learners are also encouraged to create their own
projects in parallel with the guided projects.
● 40%: Guided Project| 10 x 4% each
● 40%: Independent project | 10 x 4% each
● 20%: Quizzes | 10 x 1% each
* Note that these weight values are only suggestions

Guided project

Weight 40% (10 x 4% each)

Students are given a choice between 3 different projects. In each module,

Description they will apply the skills and knowledge from that module on this project in
a guided fashion.

To give students an opportunity to apply the skills they have learned in a

Purpose practical but controlled way.

4 - Excellent 3 - Good 2 - Fair 1 - Unsatisfactory

- All tasks from the - Most tasks from the - Some tasks from the - Barely any tasks from
module are completed module are completed module are completed the module are
- All functionality - All functionality - Some functionality completed
present and operating present and operating missing and overall - Most functionality
 exactly as expected mostly as expected not operating as absent
- Project demonstrates - Project takes users expected - Project does not
a clear design into account - Project shows some demonstrate an
sensibility and takes - Project achieves evidence of taking awareness of the user
users into account learning objective users into account - Project does not
- Project achieves - Project partially demonstrate goal or
learning objective achieves learning learning objective at
objective all

Independent project

40% (10 x 4% each)

Weight

Students are encouraged to create their own project that runs in parallel
Description with the guided projects. In each module they will apply the skills and
knowledge from that module to their own project.

To give students an opportunity to apply the skills they have learned in a

Purpose practical and less controlled environment.

4 - Excellent 3 - Good 2 - Fair 1 - Unsatisfactory

- All tasks from the - Most tasks from the - Some tasks from the - Barely any tasks from
module are module are module are the module are
implemented in the implemented in the implemented in the implemented in the
independent project independent project independent project independent project
- All functionality - All functionality - Some functionality - Most functionality
present and operating present and operating missing and overall absent
exactly as expected mostly as expected not operating as - Project does not
- Project demonstrates - Project takes users expected demonstrate an
a clear design into account - Project shows some awareness of the user
sensibility and takes - Project achieves evidence of taking - Project does not
users into account learning objective users into account demonstrate goal or
- Project achieves learning objective at
learning objective all
 - Project partially
achieves learning
objective

Quizzes

Weight 20% 10 x 2% each)

Description Students complete up to 10 multiple choice questions.

To give students the opportunity to apply and check their knowledge in a

Purpose decontextualized environment, which will also help prepare them for the
Unity Certified User exam.

4 - Excellent 3 - Good 2 - Fair 1 - Unsatisfactory

9-10 out of 10 correct 7-8 out of 10 correct 5-6 out of 10 correct Fewer than 5 out of 10
correct

Optional growth mindset rubric

Derived from the work of Stanford University Professor Carol Dweck, “growth mindset” is the
understanding that we can incrementally develop our abilities and intelligence indefinitely through
practice and effort. The opposite of a growth mindset is a “fixed mindset”: the belief that your
intelligence and abilities are fixed or limited. A fixed mindset can be dangerous for learners because it
can cause them to give up. A growth mindset underpins the desirable learning behaviors of resilience
and grit, i.e., perseverance when learning becomes difficult.

Growth Mixed Fixed

- Look forward to the next - Take on challenges after - Do not want to take on
challenge having success in related challenges alone
- See mistakes as temporary challenges - See mistakes and failures as
setbacks; something to be - Motivated by feedback when proof the task is too difficult
overcome it isn’t too critical and if you and not worth pursuing
- Reflect on what you learned are comfortable with the - Avoid feedback or see it as a
and apply that learning person providing feedback reason to give up
- Invite feedback and criticism - Open to strategies that help - Do not demonstrate any
and apply it to improve your to meet a challenge but tend effective strategies for
project to work on things you are accomplishing project tasks
- Use different strategies and already “good at” or goals
ask others about their - Persevere with prompting and - Show little or no persistence
strategies support through challenges
- Show stamina while working - Ask questions about things in - Do not ask questions or seek
on your project until it is Unity that you feel more guidance and support
complete confident with but less likely - Do not take risks
- Ask specific questions, to do so if it is outside your
including questions about comfort zone
your own thinking, and - Take risks if the task is
challenge others’ ideas already fairly familiar to you
- Show confidence in taking
risks and happily share
mistakes you make and what
you learn