Unity teams up with Lego to teach game development fundamentals

Unity has teamed up with the folks at Lego for its latest Microgame project, joining forces with the iconic brick building brand to help introduce game development concepts in an easily accessible and fun way.

In a blog post, Unity says even those with no game development experience should be able to get a game up and running within an hour. The Lego Microgame requires creators to download Unity, and from there introduces them to how the game engine works using a series of in-engine tutorials.

Once the fundamentals have been explained, Unity encourages Microgame users to customize and create their own 3D levels in the editor with the help of downloadable mods that introduce new mechanics and concepts like customizable enemies, new characters, and more. 

The Microgame project itself isn’t new; Unity has previously used the program as a way to introduce game development concepts to a wider audience. As with the latest Lego flavored Microgame, past versions of the program give fledgling game makers a starting point and allow them to edit their projects with a variety of mods and customizations.

Unity says that bringing Lego into the mix aims to help some game development concepts compare to something many people are already familiar with.

“Combining famous Lego elements with Unity’s extensibility and workflows made the Lego Microgame a perfect vehicle to demonstrate how virtual bricks connect like the real ones,” explains Unity. ”By simulating this physical-to-virtual world Lego creation, we’re giving new users a relatable, authentic experience right out of the box, with an ever-expanding list of ways to integrate additional features into your games.”