Hello guys, if you don’t know, Unity is a powerful game engine that allows you to build both 2D and 3D games for PC, Mac, and Console. Many popular games of the last decade, like Temple Run Trilogy, Rust, Wasteland 2, Pokemon Go, and Angry Birds 2, were built using the Unity game engine.
Unity is also a cross-platform game engine, which means you can create games for multiple platforms like Android, iOS, macOS, PC, Linux, and even popular gaming consoles like Xbox, among others. Unity Game engine also allows you to create both 2D and 3D games and provides several useful features to make your game truly amazing.
If you are interested in the Unity Game engine or Game Development in general and looking for some exciting courses to kick-start your journey, then you have come to the right place.
In this article, I am going to share some of the best Unit Game Development online courses for Programmers and Software Engineers. I have chosen these courses for all kinds of programmers with a particular focus on all the people who want to learn to code for making games.
That’s why even people with zero Programming and Coding experience can start with these courses and come out as a Unity game Developer who can not only develop some truly amazing games but also get a job as a Game developer on famous gaming shops like Sony, Electronic Arts, Nintendo among others.
Do you need anything to start with Unity? Well, as I said, the courses will only teach you Unity but also how to code and how to develop games, so you literally don’t need any prior coding experience.
Still, if you know, C#, then it's well and good because Unity API is in C#, and you can develop plugins for Unity using the C# programming language.
Unity is also one of the most in-demand tech skills, and there are even Unity Certification Programs for Unity developers. Unity Certification can give you recognition for your skill and show your commitment to professional standards. You can choose Unity Programmer or Unity 3D Artist depending upon your interest level.
7 Best Unity Game Development Online Courses for Programmers
Here is my list of some of the best Unity game development courses. As I have said, these courses will not only teach you about the Unity game engine but also how to code and the basics of Game development required for any game developer. I have also included courses to learn about 2D and 3D Game Development with Unity.
1. Complete C# Unity Developer 2D: Learn to Code Making Games
This is one of the best online courses to learn Unity and Programming. This is particularly good for people who want to learn not only Unity but also coding as it first teaches you how to code and the game development, and Unity comes in.
The course is not only well structured but also very interesting, and you won’t feel bored for a single minute. Both the instructors Ben Tristem of GameDev.tv and Rick Davidson, are very experienced and enthusiastic about their teaching.
The course will also help you to learn C#, one of the popular programming languages from Microsoft and a leader for developing GUI-based applications for Windows.
It will also help you to build a solid foundation for 2D game design and game development that will help you develop your own games or get a job as a Game Developer.
Here is the link to sign up for this course — Complete C# Unity Developer 2D: Learn to Code Making Games
Talking about social proof, this course has n average of 4.6 ratings from 57K reviews from close to 290,000 students, which are unparalleled and phenomenal.
Overall, one of the best courses for all people who want to learn coding, game development, and the Unity game engine. The course is also updated for the latest version of Unity. A big thanks to both authors, Ben Tristem and Rick Davidson for creating such an excellent course.
2. The Complete C# Unity Developer 3D: Learn to Code
This is another excellent course to learn Game Development with Unity by Ben Tristem of GameDev.tv and Rick Davidson, instructor of the previous class.
You can treat this course as the next part of the previous class as the last course taught you 2D game development while this course will teach you 3D Game Development with Unity.
In this course, you will not only learn about game design with Unity 3D but also about coding, object-oriented programming, design patterns, source control, and how to work in a small team, which will help you a lot in your career.
Talking about social proof, again, this course has got rave reviews. On average, it has 4.6 ratings from close to 10,000 reviews, and more than 55,000 students have already enrolled in this course, which speaks volumes about the quality of this course.
Here is the link to sign up for this course —The Complete C# Unity Developer 3D: Learn to Code
3. Unity Certified Programmer Exam Preparation Specialization
Many of you might not know that Unity also has a certification program to become a Certified Unity Programmer or a 3D artist, which can be suitable for anyone who is looking for a job as a Unity Game developer.
This is Unity’s official series of courses on Course, another popular online learning portal, designed to prepare you for the Unity Certified Programmer exam, the certification for entry-to-mid-level Unity programmers.
In this course, you’ll gain practice and experience in each of the topics covered in the exam through hands-on problem-solving challenges.
You’ll also build two complete Unity projects end-to-end, implementing core interactivity, supporting systems, and platform optimizations.
This Coursera Specialization or series of courses are particularly useful for Unity programmers with 1–2 years of experience who want to bring their existing skills up to a professional standard.
Here is the link to sign up for this course —Unity Certified Programmer Exam Preparation Specialization
By the way, if you find Coursera courses useful, which they are because they are created by reputed companies like Google, IBM, Amazon, and the best universities around the world, I suggest you join Coursera Plus, an annual subscription plan from Coursera.
This single subscription gives you unlimited access to their most popular courses, specialization, professional certificate, and guided projects. It cost around $399/year but it's completely worth of your money as you get unlimited certificates.
4. The Ultimate Guide to Game Development with Unity
This is another excellent course to learn Unity Game developing on Udemy. This course is created by Jonathan Weinberger in partnership with Unity Technologies, the company behind the Unity game engine.
Like the first two courses, this will also teach you how to develop games with the Unity game engine from ground zero. You will learn by installing Unity software and then learn C# Programming by developing 2D and 3D games with this comprehensive guide.
The course is particularly good at learning some of the critical game development skills like creating power-ups, laser beams, speed boosts, and shields. Applying shaders that transform your game backgrounds, creating enemies with necessary AI behavior, collect and destroy game objects, implementing sound effects, background music, particle effects, and much more.
The course also got, on average, 4.5 ratings from more than 32,000 students, which is fantastic.
Here is the link to sign up for this course — The Ultimate Guide to Game Development with Unity 2019
5. Unity Game Dev: Fundamentals [Pluralsight]
Pluralsight has a range of online courses to learn Game Development with Unity, which contains both beginner and advanced level courses to learn Unity for Game Development
In this Path, you will learn to develop a high-quality 3D game for web, PC, Mac, or even Linux using Unity, as it’s cross-platform and allows you to develop games even for Android and iOS devices.
Here are the main things you will learn:
- Learning the Unity Interface
- C# Scripting in Unity
- Unity Animation Workflows
- Unity Physics Simulations
- AI Pathfinding
- Material Creation Workflows
- Lighting and Light Baking Techniques
- Audio
- Creating User Interface Elements
- Gameplay Programming Workflows
As I have said before, Game development can be fun and very rewarding when you go viral on the iOS App Store or Android Market, remember Angry Bird, Flappy Bird, Candy Crush, etc.
Here is the link to sign up for this course — Unity Game Dev: Fundamentals
Btw, you would need a Pluralsight membership to get access to this course, which costs around $29 per month or $299 annually (14% discount).
If you don’t have Pluralsight membership, I encourage you to get one because it allows you to access their 5000+ online courses on all the latest topics like front-end and back-end development, machine learning, etc. It also includes interactive quizzes, exercises, and the latest certification material.
They also provide a 10-day free trial without any commitment, which is a great way to not just access this course for free but also to check the quality of courses before joining Pluralsight
6. The Ultimate Guide to 2D Mobile Game Development with Unity
This is another awesome course to learn about 2D Game Development with Unity. In this course you will learn the following things:
- How to paint your worlds with Unity TileMap
- Master intermediate C# concepts, including the Singleton Design Pattern, Abstract Classes, and Interfaces
- How to code a complete 2D game from scratch using C# and Unity
- How to implement 2D animation workflows
- How to create modular systems
- How to monetize your mobile game with Unity Ads
- How to publish your mobile game
Talking about social proof, more than 15,000 students have joined this course and it is one of the highest-rated courses on 2D Game development using Unity on Udemy.
Here is the link to sign up for this course — The Ultimate Guide to 2D Mobile Game Development with Unity
7. RPG Core Combat Creator: Learn Intermediate Unity C# Coding
This one is another awesome course on Udemy to learn about how to build combat for Role Playing Game (RPG) in Unity. This course will also help you to improve your C sharp, code architecture, game & level design.
Here are the main things you will learn in this course:
- How to create core combat mechanics for melee, ranged, and special attacks.
- More advanced C# techniques such as interfaces, delegates, and co-routines.
- How to create pathfinding systems and patrol paths for enemies and NPCs.
- How to create a detailed level with terrain, enemies, triggers, lighting, particles, and props.
- How to balance the player and enemy stats (eg. health, damage, movement, attack speed, and more).
- Advanced game design, project management, and code architecture strategies.
Talking about social proof, more than 75K students have joined this course and it has on average 4.7 ratings from close to 7000 participants which are simply mind-blowing. I highly recommend this course if you want to build combat and RPG games.
Here is the link to sign up for this course — RPG Core Combat Creator: Learn Intermediate Unity C# Coding
That’s all about some of the best courses to learn Unity Game engine and Game Development in general. Game development can be fun and very rewarding when publishing a hit game into the Web like Facebook or iOS App Store and Android Play Store.
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Thanks a lot for reading this article so far. If you like the Unity and Game Development online courses, then please share them with your friends and colleagues. If you have any questions or feedback, then please drop a note.
P. S. — If you are interested in Game Development and looking for some free stuff to start with, then you can also check out — Introduction to Game Development with Unity, a free course on Udemy. This course is completely free and all you need is a free Udemy account to join this course.
