Unity-based Unity tutorials?

Unity Learn
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A friend and I were recently having a discussion about the incompleteness of teaching methods for 3D software (and computer software in general really). 3D applications are highly interactive by nature, and yet most tutorials you’ll find are either textual, with a few pictures to illustrate the point, or video-based.

We got to thinking about how with such interactive software, why couldn’t the program itself be used as the teaching tool?

Sure you’ll see an example project here and there, but I was thinking, Unity is a game engine. Its entire purpose is the design of interactive experiences. Why not take advantage of that? Or create a project that is designed to guide the user through the process of creating with Unity, a “game” about learning to make games?

Earlier this year Microsoft released a download for Microsoft Office called “Ribbon Hero”, which was meant to turn learning office into a game. I have not had a chance to try it, but it was reading an article about this that sparked the idea for my friend, and after he shared it with me, I was hooked on the idea too.

Here is an absolutely excellent article on the subject:

http://www.lostgarden.com/2010/01/ribbon-hero-turns-learning-office-into.html

I highly recommend the read. It essentially talks about using lessons learned from game design and applying them to ordinary applications to promote exploratory learning for the user. Engaging the user through guided feedback.

I was thinking, if such lessons from game design can be applied to such a mundane program as Office, then certainly they can be applied to Unity. I was thinking how compelling it could potentially be. At the most basic level it could simply be explaining scripting concepts through a guided tour of an example project. Or it could be something far more ambitious.

Now, I am a highly novice programmer, so this is obviously beyond my scope, but I just wanted to see what kind of discussion I could generate on the topic, see what kind of insights I could get from people, and I thought the Teaching board would be the best place for it.

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ZBrush has something like that, a lot of tutorials were made in script form, which you could play back within the app, stop them at any time and mess with them before continuing.

It’s not so popular these days though. I think because of the issue of new versions of software tending to break older versions. Making otherwise useful tutorials obsolete because of slight changes that break them.

I like the idea though. Valve’s Lost Coast, with the commentary was great and had the whole DVD extra’s feel to it (minus the outtakes, aww). Same with a guy’s updated terrain package from this forum, had useful info around a demo scene.

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Hmmm, I hadn’t thought of how obsolescence would factor in. That’s true, changes in the software would “ruin” the tutorial as soon as the next version came out.

The same thing happens with written tutorials, but they’re far easier to update.

Still, I think there’s potential there.

You know, I was thinking that attempting to make a super basic example would be a great way for me to improve with the engine. I might actually do that. Just a guided tour of an example project, since I really don’t know how I would do much beyond that.

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I once had a “game” that taught you programming (maybe 7-10 years ago). I think the language it taught was Cobol (or similar to it).

It was a 3D Strategy like game where you had to program your robotic units. It would teach you lots of the basics in a fun way. While playing you feel like you are just trying to get your robots to complete a task… Then you relise you are learning a programming language :lol:

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wow excellent Idea.
Im about to start a Video game design course at the school where I teach animation. having a game that teaches Unityscript or C# would REAAALLLY be ideal.
Im actually structuring the course to not include that much programming and focusing on asset creation as Im afraid they will be turned off by the programming aspect.
But if i could give them something like a game to play to learn it, that would be AWESOME!!
someone do it please!

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Yeah like why not have a robotic arm type it’s own program !

sorry couldn’t help it… :wink:

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Tomoprime: Are you saying that creating a game that teaches people how to program is a bad idea?

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Not to you. It was in regards to the main post.

My point was why take a long winded approach to show a tool which is easy to use by default. Unity is hosting $250k for education which seems to work in that regard.

I would rather see a game project that would help kids learn who struggle with autism. I don’t want to rub people the wrong way but it’s kind of hard to explain.

VJ_Anomolee as for teaching students how to program check out Processing. They offer many fun and short to point code based projects to motivate new comers to programming. It’s based on java, java 3d, java opengl, and simplifies it further. There is a C# spin off even one on javascript. There are people interfacing hardware ($30 microcontroller) called Arduino. One cool example…

Live Processing demos WYSIWYG