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The Hierarchy window

Learn to organize GameObjects in the Hierarchy window.

Hierarchy window

The Hierarchy window lists all GameObjects in the active scene in a tree structure. Every cube, light, or camera added to the scene occupies a row in this list.

// Hierarchy view simulation:
// - World
//   - Player
//     - MainCamera

Sorting and grouping objects here keeps the scene organized and manageable.

Parent and Child behavior

When an object becomes a parent, child objects follow its movement. If the parent rotates or moves, the child moves along with it.

// Assigning parent via code
swordObject.transform.SetParent(playerObject.transform);

The child object's coordinates are then calculated relative to its parent (local space), rather than world space.

Practice Print hierarchy relationship

Set the parent object name to "Car" and child object name to "Wheel", then print in the format Parent: Car -> Child: Wheel.

Starter code

Player.cs
using System;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        // Parent ve Child isimlerini tanımlayıp yazdır
    }
}

Sample solution

Player.cs
using System;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        string parent = "Car";
        string child = "Wheel";
        Console.WriteLine("Parent: " + parent + " -> Child: " + child);
    }
}

Expected output

Parent: Car -> Child: Wheel

Questions and answers

Review the lesson questions together with their answers. To test yourself, solve the lesson interactively.

1 What kind of relationship is established when an object is dragged into another in the Hierarchy?

  • Parent - Child relationship Correct answer
  • Only a temporary folder copy is created
  • The two objects are compressed into a single file
  • The lower object is automatically deleted from scene

Explanation: Dragging an object onto another establishes a Parent-Child hierarchy.

2 Set the parent object

Question 
childTransform.____(parentTransform);
Answer 
childTransform.SetParent(parentTransform);

Explanation: In the Unity C# API, SetParent is used to change an object's parent.

3 Hierarchy concepts

Term Meaning
Parent Top GameObject guiding objects below it
Child Object following its parent's motion
Hierarchy Window Panel showing scene objects in a tree
Local Position Object's position relative to its parent

All lessons in Beginner

1 What is game development?

  1. Intro to game development
  2. Game engines
  3. 2D and 3D games
  4. The game loop
  5. The scene concept
  6. Summary - Game dev fundamentals

2 Unity setup

  1. Installing Unity Hub
  2. Creating your first project
  3. The editor interface
  4. Toolbar and playback
  5. Saving the project
  6. Summary - Unity setup

3 First scene project

  1. Project overview
  2. Camera and light
  3. Your first cube in the scene
  4. Adding a material
  5. Testing in Play mode
  6. Summary - First scene

4 The GameObject concept

  1. What is a GameObject?
  2. Components
  3. The Hierarchy window
  4. Editing with the Inspector
  5. Tags and Layers
  6. Summary - GameObject

5 C# script basics

  1. Your first C# script
  2. using and namespace
  3. Class structure
  4. Variables and types
  5. Output with Debug.Log
  6. Summary - C# basics

6 MonoBehaviour

  1. What is MonoBehaviour?
  2. The Start method
  3. The Update method
  4. Awake vs Start
  5. SerializeField and public
  6. Summary - MonoBehaviour

7 Transform

  1. What is Transform?
  2. Changing position
  3. Moving with Translate
  4. Changing rotation
  5. Local vs world space
  6. Summary - Transform

8 Input

  1. The Input class
  2. Axis input
  3. Mouse input
  4. The new Input System
  5. Movement vector
  6. Summary - Input

9 Physics (Rigidbody/Collider)

  1. What is a Rigidbody?
  2. What is a Collider?
  3. Applying force with AddForce
  4. Collision events
  5. Trigger events
  6. Summary - Physics

10 2D Sprite

  1. What is a Sprite?
  2. SpriteRenderer
  3. Sprite import settings
  4. Sprite sorting
  5. Preparing sprite animation
  6. Summary - 2D Sprite

11 Godot basics

  1. The Godot editor
  2. A new project
  3. The scene tree
  4. The Node concept
  5. Saving the project
  6. Summary - Godot basics

12 GDScript

  1. What is GDScript?
  2. extends and variables
  3. Function definition
  4. Output with print
  5. Type hints
  6. Summary - GDScript

13 Node and Scene

  1. Node2D and Sprite2D
  2. Saving a scene
  3. Scene instance
  4. The _ready method
  5. The _process method
  6. Summary - Node and Scene

14 Beginner final

  1. Challenge 1: Print a score
  2. Challenge 2: Movement vector
  3. Challenge 3: Godot ready
  4. Challenge 4: Collision log
  5. Challenge 5: Final synthesis