Welcome to another episode of the Community Component! Whether you are a seasoned developer or just starting out with Unity, these incredible community contributors will make your life with Unity both easier and more fun. Check out these inspiring community creators!

Get your game jam on

As most of the world has been in varying forms and stages of lockdown for months, online game jams have surged in popularity – and rightfully so. Game jams are fun, and they can help a developer of any level finish a prototype on a tight timeline.

If you want to take part in a community game jam and finish strong, check out Kenney’s assets. Kenney’s open-source assets have been boosting a global developer community for several years, during game jams and in commercial projects too. Kenney’s assets are free, but you can support his work by donating or becoming a Patron on Patreon. He also offers some affordable bundles that get continuous updates and support.

Don’t forget to share your game jam projects on social media, and tag Kenney so he can see your amazing game and experience a proud asset-parent moment.

A familiar face, a new journey

You may remember Matt from official Unity tutorials and live events. He recently started a new creative journey outside of Unity, and you may want to follow along as he develops a cute space game. He has been documenting the process through devlogs and tutorials on a YouTube channel called Thousand Ant. The channel caters to developers who already have the basics down and are ready to move on to intermediate concepts. Consider subscribing to learn more about Singletons, DoTween, ScriptableObject Events and more.

All about the code

Macy Kuang shares unique and useful tech content on her YouTube channel, Code to Create. She covers a wide range of topics including software development, hardware and software integrations, general gamedev advice and even how to monetize your game. In a recent video tutorial Macy talks about making games that interact with physical environments and shows how to use Unity to communicate with Arduino to augment players’ experience through real-world interactivity.

Learn together

Software engineer Nicky B started learning Unity less than two years ago, and in the spring of 2020 he kicked off a YouTube channel to share his progress with a larger community of beginners. We originally came across one of Nicky’s multi-video series on Reddit and stuck around to watch him break down the animation system and teach beginners how to import Mixamo’s animated assets into Unity. If you are just starting out with Unity, subscribe to the channel and learn along with Nicky.

Houdini to Unity

If you are a fan of Houdini’s procedural, node-based workflow, check out Quentin Lengele’s work for examples of how a content creator can bring Houdini assets into Unity to achieve stunning visual results. One of Quentin’s latest projects was made with Unity’s Cinemachine and High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP). See his vast library of wide-ranging projects to pique your creative energy.

2D or not 2D

Eleonora’s channel is devoted to short tutorials for developers making 2D games. She recently joined Unity for one of our livestreams, teaching absolute beginners how to trick out Unity’s FPS Microgame template. Tune in to Eleonora’s channel for devlogs, tutorials on Shader Graph, and to hear about games made by women.

Visual effects artistry

If you are looking for a visual effects artist who will teach you the magic of the VFX graph, Gabriel Aguiar is your guy. With Gabriel’s YouTube tutorials and Udemy courses, you can go from an absolute beginner to a VFX guru. He has compiled a library of over 120 videos to help you get your skills upleveled. Follow Gabriel on Twitter for updates on his tutorials and sneak peeks of future videos.

VR for good

Have you ever wondered how you can use Unity to build virtual reality (VR) experiences that can make the world a better place? Mia Smith uses her skills as a developer and her passion for change to blend immersive technology with psychology and healthcare to bring positive change through virtual experiences. While in college, Mia created a virtual reality simulation intended to emulate VR exposure therapy for those affected by anxiety disorders. If Mia’s work grabs you and you have a passion for mixed reality, join the XR community on AltSpaceVR to start a conversation with like-minded developers.

Think like a developer

You want to make video games, but you have no computer science background and feel overwhelmed by the idea of having to code. One Wheel Studio can help you learn how to think like a game developer and plan for your projects ahead of time. You will also find helpful overviews of Bolt, a visual scripting solution developers can use instead of C#.

Get tutorials in writing

If your learning style is less visual and tends toward the verbal, then The Gamedev Guru is a great place to start. Ruben has been creating written tutorials for Unity learners for several years. On his blog, you will find content on everything from C# to memory profiler to CPU/GPU optimization. Head on over for well-documented gamedev resources.

We want to hear from you

Thank you for tuning in to this episode of the Community Component. We hope that you are inspired by the work of the creators highlighted here and will be motivated to start your next project. If we missed your favorite creators, please share them in the comments and let us know what else you would like to see in future posts.

We want to see your projects for future episodes of the Community Component! Please share them with us on Twitter, the Unity Forums or the official Unity Discord Server using the hashtags #madewithunity and #unitydev.

Source: Unity Technologies Blog