Downloading unity

Follow the instructions to download Unity:

1. Enter the following URL, https://store.unity.com/, into your favorite web browser or just click on the link.
2. After the page loads, you will see several licensing options. For the purposes of this book, all you need is the Personal Unity license. So, just click on the Download now button on the Personal license as shown in the following screenshot:

1. A new page will load, showing a big green button labeled Download Installer. Click on the button to download the Unity Download Assistant with your web browser.
2. After the package has completed downloading, open it as you would any other program. The Unity Download Assistant is relatively small so it should download quite quickly.

1. Agree to any security notifications or notifications you normally encounter when installing new software on your computer. After the installer launches, you will see a screen similar to the following screenshot:

1. Click on the Next button to continue. Then on the next page, select the checkbox to agree to the Unity license as shown in the following screenshot:

1. Click on the Next button to continue. The next page will likely offer you an option to choose between 32 and 64-bit architecture. It is usually best to take the default (64 bit in most cases) and click on the Next button to continue.
2. The next page will allow you to choose the Unity components you want to install. This page allows you to choose from a number of components to install along with Unity. For the purposes of this book, you only need to install the default components. However, if you feel you may need or want other components, such as Android or iOS, feel free to select those as well. Just be sure to have the three main components selected as shown in the following screenshot:

1. After you have made your component selections, click on the Next button to continue. For the next couple of dialog pages, just keep the defaults and let the installation download and install Unity. Since this can take a while, feel free to grab your beverage of choice while you wait for the installation to complete.

The Unity installation will generally run very smoothly, but if you do encounter some issues, it is best to follow the recovery instructions the installer may provide. If that doesn't fix the issue, just do a quick search and check the Unity forums. Unity has a huge community of developers that are very eager to assist newcomers with any issues, and it is almost certainly likely someone has already encountered a similar issue to yours.

Once the Unity installer has finished installing Unity, follow the instructions here:

1. On the last page of the installer, you will usually be prompted with an option to launch Unity right away. Be sure that option is selected and then exit the installer.
2. As the program launches, you may get a notice to provide an exception in your firewall; be sure to allow this. After Unity launches, you will be welcomed by a login screen as shown in the following screenshot:

1. If you have never installed Unity before, you will need to create a Unity Account. Just click on the blue create one text as shown in the preceding screenshot. This will take you to a registration area of the Unity site. From there, complete that account setup, and when you are done, return to this item.

2. Now that you have a Unity account created, enter your email and password in the dialog and then click on the Sign In button. After you sign in, you will be directed to the project page.

That completes your first step to becoming a Unity developer. In the next section, we will create a new project and explore the Unity interface.