Unity has long been the choice for aspiring game developers. It has a large intuitive visual interface, but relies on code to dictate game interactions and behavior. Now with modern AI tools, the code component is accessible to developers with little or no coding experience.

This course will introduce the Unity game engine in a clear, practical way. It will cover the basics of the UI and how things work in a 3D video game environment. We will then move on to integrate code into this environment and understand interactions and scoring. We will end by building a game and deploying it to the web with WebGL.

For more workshops like this, visit Tandon at The Yard's 2025 Summer Workshops page.

Who Is This For

Aspiring game developers looking to demystify Unity
Interactive designers who want to learn how to learn how to simulate interactive spaces
Anyone who wants to learn how virtual worlds work in a video game engine

No previous experience required

Materials

Laptop capable of running Unity
1 Month Subscription to Claude AI Pro ($20 billed monthly)
Code editor (VS Code recommended)

Workshop Schedule

10:00 – 10:15

Welcome & Intros

Intro to me and to Video Game Engines

10:15 – 11:15

Overview of Unity

What is unity and what does it do?

11:15 – 12:15

Rolling Ball Game

Make a basic rolling ball that will be the foundation of our game. Bring in some code. Go from 3rd person to 1st person.

12:15 – 12:45

Break

12:45 – 1:45

Interactions

Use buttons and colliders to define interactions

1:45 – 2:45

Scenic elements

Bring in some objects from the web to make your game prettier

2:45 – 3:00

Break

3:00 – 4:30

Coding with AI

Define new interactions by coding with Claude

4:30 – 5:00

Finish, build, and share

Build your game and deploy it to the web with WebGL

Covered Topics

3D game development
2D UI design
Basics of data and code as relates to our games
How to download assets and bring them into your game

Outcomes

By the end of the workshop you will:

Understand the basics of the Unity environment
Build and deploy a game
Understand the basics of coding with Claude as relates to Unity

Presenter

"BBQ Dave" Dave Sheinkopf is a creative technologist with a background in education and arts administration. His skill set and body of work is diverse-- designing and building custom electronics for the world’s biggest brands, developing curriculum for all ages, and creating public programming at the intersection of arts and technology.

In 2015, Sheinkopf co-founded Smooth Technology, an experiential production studio that designs, builds and implements specialized technology solutions. There, he has been responsible for carrying projects from conception to completion for clients ranging from multinational corporations to museums to pop stars.

Unity x AI = Now Anyone Can Make Video Games