Introduction to Unity

I've started using Unity as a part of a project for a programming subject, and it is my first time at the helm. I've made assets for a Unity project before, but even that there, though accurate of what I actually did, could not fairly be said to be truly indicative of what I did, and more importantly failed to do.

I'm not going to pretend that I have the technical acumen to comment on the technology that exists as the foundation of Unity, but it might be fair to say that it isn't Source or Unreal 3. What I can say is that what really impresses me about Unity is that first and foremost it is a development tool. It is incredibly simple to use, and it comes with an asset store that includes tutorials. There is enough available that you can learn about developing different kinds of games without being held back by whatever area you may consider your shortcoming. Not being able to program (or at least understand the logic behind it) would definitely be a drawback, but you won't find yourself stranded.

Unity can be free to use, but it doesn't have to be. I haven't looked into the limits of what that means int terms of what you 'need', but I'm sure I'll cover it at some later stage. By the same token, access to the Unreal Engine can also be free provided it is only used for educational and/or nor commercial purposes. Unity makes this easier.

I've had a poke around in the Unreal Development Kit, and I'm a bit on the fence as to where I would prefer to spend my time, but I am definitely more interested in what is happening with Unity. It puts itself on a list of the free creative tools that are making these kinds of projects more accomplishable by those who are want for cash. More importantly though it makes them much more accessible as educational tools. Between Blender, GIMP, Inkscape and Unity, we can go back to the days of people smashing out games in their bedrooms.