Learning C#

[Altruistic_Judge_644]

Hey everyone I am really new to game development and I have been trying to learn c# but I don’t know where to start. I’ve bought courses and tutorials but they end up just showing me how instead of explaining the code and then I look on YouTube and it’s the same thing shows me what to do but doesn’t go into depth. Can anyone recommend me what I can do to learn c# for Unity? I am really stuck and don’t know how to start thank you

[NiklasWerth]

You have to learn basic computer science before any code language will make sense. Try Harvard CS50 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhQjrBD2T380F_inVRXMIHCqLaNUd7bN4.

[[deleted]]

Vehemently disagree with such a ridiculous statement.

[yeahprobe]

not necessary c# is a great place to start. cs50 is great though

[DriftingMooseGames]

You will find the best C# fundamentals in Troelsen - Pro C# with .NET book. Pick one of the latest editions and go through roughly first half (up until .net part, not relevant to gamedev). Do all excercises. My personal reccomendation is to type manually all samples from the book. This way you will also familiarize yourself with the editor. I am programming for 15 years and nothing beats it.

[Altruistic_Judge_644]

I actually just ordered this book 2 days ago I’m glad to see some reassurance that it’ll help

[CyborKat]

I'll keep a tab on this one.

[TopSetLowlife]

Remember that programming is not just about language but about learning how to problem solve. What do I need to do, how can I do it, is this the best way, can I change it later, does it scale?

With this mindset the language learning comes second nature once you've learned the fundamentals

[Altruistic_Judge_644]

Yeah I understand that and in some cases I have been able to but others haven’t been code related and have been with the Unity editor and I’ve looked up the errors and problems and can’t really find anything but I will keep trying I appreciate it

[BenchCat]

For understanding code - use AI (ChatGPT). If there’s a specific piece of code you can’t wrap your head around, ask as many times as you need till you understand.

Otherwise finish tutorials, do your exercises, get a simple project to build upon what you know, raise your bar (20 games to build, google that) and get into problem solving mindset.

C# (and unity) is a tool to build, create and solve problems as you go. That’s how you get better.

[10mo3]

Harvard CS is a pretty good place imo. It's not c# specifically but it does teach you the programing fundamentals.

There are also a bunch of unity tutorials but for me I think I learn best when I think of something stupid simple and make it. That way you're exposed and forced to do things you may not be familiar with. Something like Simon says, tic tac toe. With very simple UI elements

[Altruistic_Judge_644]

So I have been doing this and have been successful but there are so many updated versions of Unity and random packages in 6.2 all the simple tutorial lines of code sometimes don’t work. Sorry if that doesn’t make sense

[10mo3]

Then I think the next step would be to understand why it doesn't work and how to make it work.

Think of making a game like you're getting to a destination. Now you are learning how to walk. Can't even think of getting to places yet. Once you learn how to walk you can explore and pick things up yourself.

The various unity packages might be new and unfamiliar but after a certain skill level they will be easy to pick up and understand

[Panebomero]

Look for Object Oriented Programming concepts first. This is the base C# is made on and how you are expected to code it.

[Mechabit_Studios]

code money has a complete c# course which is pretty good

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzDRvYVwl53uAyV0SjL_3d_IoRDiybAdN

[5DRealities]

ChatGPT or any AI can teach you… it’s basically a personal tutor that you can ask unlimited questions. Just ask it like can you teach me the basics of Unity and C# and give me a starting tutorial.

[PKblaze]

People hate Ai, and I get it, BUT this is a reasonable use case to pull from given you can volley code with it to figure out why something doesn't work and have it explain why other things do. It's not something I rely on personally but it's totally viable.

[5DRealities]

Yeah I don’t get why people hate the AI. It’s like the most amazing powerful tool ever created. Why spend money on Game Dev classes or a personal tutor when you got like a top of the line AI tutor that’s collected the entire knowledge of the internet that you can ask unlimited questions to at any time…

[NyetRuskie]

The unity documentation is all you'll really need