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Yan Wan · Course Portfolio
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HCI — Lab 1B: Unity Setup

·426 words·3 mins
Human-Computer Interaction HCI Lab Unity
Table of Contents

Goal
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The goal of this lab is to prepare the Unity development environment and create a first working 3D project.

The setup is kept separate from the website project so that Unity editors, downloads, and project files can be managed independently.

Environment Structure
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To keep large Unity files away from the system drive, I planned the following structure on drive D::

D:\Unity\
├── Editors\
├── Downloads\
└── Projects\

Unity Hub can remain installed normally, while the large Editor installations and project files can be placed on the secondary drive.

Setup Procedure
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The Unity setup workflow is:

  1. Install Unity Hub.
  2. Sign in with a Unity account if required.
  3. Set the Unity Editor installation location to D:\Unity\Editors.
  4. Set the download/cache location to D:\Unity\Downloads.
  5. Install a stable Unity Editor version.
  6. Create a new 3D project inside D:\Unity\Projects.
  7. Open the project and inspect the main Unity panels.
  8. Add a simple 3D object to the scene.
  9. Change its position, rotation, and scale.
  10. Enter Play Mode and verify that the scene runs correctly.

Main Unity Panels
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For the first project, the most important parts of the interface are:

Hierarchy
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The Hierarchy lists the objects currently contained in the scene.

Scene
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The Scene view is the main workspace used to place and edit objects.

Inspector
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The Inspector shows the properties and components of the selected object.

Game
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The Game view shows what the active camera outputs when the project runs.

Understanding the difference between the Scene view and the Game view is important: the Scene view is used to build the environment, while the Game view represents the runtime result.

First Project Checklist
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The first project should contain at least:

  • one simple 3D object,
  • a working camera,
  • a light source,
  • basic transform changes,
  • and a successful Play Mode test.

Documentation
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The final lab evidence should include screenshots of:

  • Unity Hub,
  • the installed Unity Editor,
  • the New Project window,
  • the Unity Editor interface,
  • the first 3D scene,
  • and the project running in Play Mode.

These screenshots provide direct evidence that the environment is installed and the first project is working.

What I Learned
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The main lesson from the setup process is that Unity becomes easier to understand when the interface is treated as a small workflow rather than as one large application:

Create object
→ Select object
→ Edit in Inspector
→ Arrange in Scene
→ Check in Game view
→ Run in Play Mode

This workflow provides a clear starting point before moving on to more advanced interaction, scripting, or XR development.