Unity is a 3D/2D game engine and powerful cross-platform IDE for developers. Let’s break down what this means. As a game engine, Unity is able to provide many of the most important built-in features that make a game work. That means things like physics, 3D rendering, and collision detection. From a developer’s perspective, this means that there is no need to reinvent the wheel. Rather than starting a new project by creating a new physics engine from scratch–calculating every last movement of each material, or the way light should bounce off of different surfaces.

What makes Unity even more powerful though, is that it also includes a thriving “Asset Store.” This is essentially a place where developers can upload their creations and make them available to the community. Want a beautiful looking fire effect but don’t have time to build one from scratch? Check the asset store and you’ll probably find something. Want to add tilt controls to your game without going through the laborious process of fine tuning the sensitivity? There’s probably an asset for that as well! All this means that the game developer is free to focus on what matters: designing a unique and fun experience, while coding only the features unique to that vision.

Unreal uses C# to handle code and logic, with a whole bunch of classes and APIs unity to Unity that you will need to learn. The good news is that it’s possible to get an awful lot done in Unity without needing to handle a lot of code. That said, understanding how to program will create many more options for what you can achieve, and Unity gives you the flexibility to change almost everything.

Still, users don’t need to have extensive coding knowledge to be able to use Unity. C# is relatively beginner-friendly, so you can get by without using a lot of code, but Unity will give you a good introduction to C# if it’s new to you or you want more exposure to the language

Unity isn’t the only game development platform out there, so how does it measure up to its competition? Other popular game development engines include Cryengine or Unreal, and each one has its own strengths and weaknesses.

For starters, Unity works well as both a 3D and 2D development tool. Additionally, Unity handles graphics really well so that you can even adjust gaming experiences to lower-grade hardware.Plus, Unity can be used to develop games across multiple platforms, such as PC, iOS, and other game consoles.

However, like any engine, Unity game development has its weaknesses. While the graphics are good, they don’t lend themselves as well to top-end graphics. But, when compared to other engines like Cryengine or Unreal which aren’t as beginner-friendly, Unity is more welcoming to developers of all skill levels.

After learning C#, it’s relatively simple to get started with Unity game development. All you need to do is download Unity and get a license. There are free versions for you to get started with, or paid versions if you need more functionality or you’re on a team and you need more seats.

Unity can run on Windows, OS X, and Linux, so make sure you have a compatible device. Beyond that, your skills or video game production background doesn’t really matter all that much since Unity can be used by anybody, from beginners to developers with more experience. So download the engine and get started to see what it’s all about