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Free Unity Starter Setup

A step-by-step guide to creating your first Unity 3D project, setting up a scene, and adding player movement with C# scripts.

1 Create a New Unity Project

Open Unity Hub and click New Project.
Select the 3D (Core) or 3D (URP) template.
Give your project a name (e.g. MyFirstUnityGame).
Choose a save location and click Create Project.

What you should see: The Unity Editor opens with an empty Scene. The Hierarchy panel on the left shows a default Main Camera and Directional Light. The Scene view in the centre shows an empty 3D grid.

2 Set Up the Scene

You need three main GameObjects: a Camera, a Player, and Ground.

2a. Ground

Right-click in the Hierarchy → 3D Object → Cube. Rename it Ground.
In the Inspector, set Scale to 20, 1, 20.
Set Position to 0, -1, 0.
Create a material: Right-click in the Project panel → Create → Material. Name it GroundMat, pick a green colour, and drag it onto the Ground cube.

2b. Player

Right-click in the Hierarchy → 3D Object → Capsule. Rename it Player.
Set Position to 0, 2, 0.
With the Player selected, click Add Component in the Inspector and add a Rigidbody component.
In the Rigidbody, set Constraints → Freeze Rotation X, Y, Z so the player doesn't tumble.

What you should see: A green flat cube (ground) with a white capsule (player) sitting on top of it. The Scene camera shows both objects.

3 Create the PlayerController Script

In the Project panel, right-click → Create → C# Script. Name it PlayerController. Double-click to open it, then replace the contents with:

using UnityEngine;

public class PlayerController : MonoBehaviour
{
    [Header("Movement")]
    public float speed = 8f;
    public float jumpForce = 8f;
    public float gravity = 20f;

    [Header("Ground Check")]
    public Transform groundCheck;
    public float groundDistance = 0.3f;
    public LayerMask groundMask;

    private Rigidbody rb;
    private bool isGrounded;

    void Start()
    {
        rb = GetComponent<Rigidbody>();
    }

    void Update()
    {
        // Ground check
        isGrounded = Physics.CheckSphere(
            groundCheck.position, groundDistance, groundMask);

        // Read input
        float moveX = Input.GetAxisRaw("Horizontal");
        float moveZ = Input.GetAxisRaw("Vertical");

        // Build movement direction relative to camera
        Vector3 move = Camera.main.transform.right * moveX
                   + Camera.main.transform.forward * moveZ;
        move.y = 0f;
        move = move.normalized * speed;

        // Apply horizontal velocity
        rb.linearVelocity = new Vector3(
            move.x, rb.linearVelocity.y, move.z);

        // Jump
        if (Input.GetButtonDown("Jump") && isGrounded)
        {
            rb.linearVelocity = new Vector3(
                rb.linearVelocity.x, jumpForce, rb.linearVelocity.z);
        }
    }
}

Add an empty child to the Player (Right-click Player → Create Empty, rename to GroundCheck) and position it at 0, -1, 0. Assign it to the groundCheck slot on the script.

4 Create the GameManager Script

Create another C# Script named GameManager. This tracks score and manages game state.

using UnityEngine;
using TMPro;

public class GameManager : MonoBehaviour
{
    public static GameManager Instance;

    [Header("UI")]
    public TextMeshProUGUI scoreText;
    public TextMeshProUGUI gameOverText;

    private int score = 0;
    private bool isGameOver = false;

    void Awake()
    {
        // Singleton pattern
        if (Instance == null) Instance = this;
        else Destroy(gameObject);
    }

    public void AddScore(int points)
    {
        if (isGameOver) return;
        score += points;
        scoreText.text = "Score: " + score;
    }

    public void GameOver()
    {
        isGameOver = true;
        gameOverText.gameObject.SetActive(true);
        gameOverText.text = "Game Over!\nFinal Score: " + score;
    }

    public void RestartGame()
    {
        UnityEngine.SceneManagement.SceneManager
            .LoadScene(UnityEngine.SceneManagement.SceneManager
            .GetActiveScene().buildIndex);
    }
}

5 Add Scripts to GameObjects

Select the Player in the Hierarchy.
Click Add Component → search for PlayerController and add it.
Create an empty GameObject named GameManager (right-click Hierarchy → Create Empty).
Add the GameManager component to it.
Set the Ground Check, Ground Mask, and UI references in the Inspector.

What you should see: The Player now has a PlayerController script attached. The GameManager object shows the script in the Inspector with empty fields for UI references. You can create a Canvas with TextMeshPro elements to fill those slots.

6 Run the Game!

Press the Play button (or Ctrl+Shift+P).
Use WASD or Arrow Keys to move the player.
Press Space to jump.
The player should land on the ground and move around with physics.

Next steps: Add collectible coins, enemies, a health system, or scene transitions to build a full game!

Want more Unity help?

Check out our Unity C# Cheat Sheet for a quick reference of all the most-used patterns.

📘 Unity Cheat Sheet →