Learning Unreal Engine Game Development

Description

Unreal Engine 4 is a powerful game development engine that provides rich functionalities to create 2D and 3D games across multiple platforms. Many people know what a game is and they play games every day, but how many of them know how to create a game? Unreal Engine technology powers hundreds of games, and thousands of individuals have built careers and companies around skills developed using this engine. Learning Unreal Engine 4 Game Development starts with small, simple game ideas and playable projects that you can actually finish. The book first teaches you the basics of using Unreal Engine to create a simple game level. Then, you'll learn how to add details such as actors, animation, effects, and so on to the game. The complexity will increase over the chapters and the examples chosen will help you learn a wide variety of game development techniques. This book aims to equip you with the confidence and skills to design and build your own games using Unreal Engine 4. By the end of this book, you'll have learnt about the entire Unreal suite and know how to successfully create fun, simple games. 1: An Overview of Unreal Engine What goes into a game? What is a game engine? The history of Unreal Engine Game development The components of Unreal Engine 4 Unreal Engine and its powerful editors Unreal programming A beginner's guide to the Unreal Editor Summary 2: Creating Your First Level Exploring preconfigured levels Creating a new project Navigating the viewport Creating a level from a new blank map Creating the ground using the BSP Box brush Adding light to a level Adding the sky to a level Adding Player Start Viewing a level that's been created Saving a level Configuring a map as a start level Adding material to the ground Adding a wall Duplicating a wall Creating an opening for a door Adding materials to the walls Sealing a room Adding props or a static mesh to the room Adding Lightmass Importance Volume Applying finishing touches to a room Summary 3: Game Objects – More and Move BSP Brush Static Mesh BSP Brush versus Static Mesh Making Static Mesh movable Materials Level of detail Collisions Static Mesh creation pipeline Introducing volumes Introducing Blueprint Using the Trigger Volume to turn on/off light Using Trigger Volume to toggle light on/off (optional) Summary 4: Material and Light Materials The Material Editor Rendering pipeline Shaders APIs – DirectX and OpenGL Lights Summary 5: Animation and AI What is animation? Understanding how to animate a 3D model What Unreal Engine 4 offers for animation in games Artificial intelligence Summary 6: A Particle System and Sound What is a particle system? Exploring an existing particle system The main components of a particle system The design principles of a particle system Example – creating a fireplace particle system Sound and music How do we produce sound and music for games? Audio quality How are sounds recorded? The Unreal audio system Getting audio into Unreal Unreal sound formats and terminologies The Sound Cue Editor Exercise – importing a sound into the Unreal Editor Exercise – adding custom sounds to a level Configuring the Sound Cue Editor Summary 7: Terrain and Cinematics Introducing terrain manipulation Introducing cinematics Why do we need cut scenes? Cinematic techniques Getting familiar with the Unreal Matinee Editor Exercise – creating a simple matinee sequence Summary