Learning Unreal Engine Game Development
eBook - ePub

Learning Unreal Engine Game Development

Joanna Lee

  1. 274 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Learning Unreal Engine Game Development

Joanna Lee

Book details
Book preview
Table of contents
Citations

About This Book

A step-by-step guide that paves the way for developing fantastic games with Unreal Engine 4

About This Book

  • Learn about game development and the building blocks that go into creating a game
  • A simple tutorial for beginners to get acquainted with the Unreal Engine architecture
  • Learn about the features and functionalities of Unreal Engine 4 and how to use them to create your own games

Who This Book Is For

If you are new to game development and want to learn how games are created using Unreal Engine 4, this book is the right choice for you. You do not need prior game development experience, but it is expected that you have played games before. Knowledge of C++ would prove to be useful.

What You Will Learn

  • Learn what a game engine is, the history of Unreal Engine, and how game studios create games
  • Explore the Unreal Engine 4 editor controls and learn how to use the editor to create a room in a game level
  • Understand the basic structures of objects in a game, such as the differences between BSP and static meshes
  • Make objects interactive using level blueprints
  • Learn more about computer graphics rendering; how materials and light are rendered in your game
  • Get acquainted with the Material Editor to create materials and use different types of lights in the game levels
  • Utilize the various editors, tools, and features such as UI, the particle system, audio, terrain manipulation, and cinematics in Unreal Engine 4 to create game levels

In Detail

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.

Style and approach

This book explains in detail what goes into the development of a game, provides hands-on examples that you can follow to create the different components of a game, and provides sufficient background/theory to equip you with a solid foundation for creating your own games.

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Information

Year
2016
ISBN
9781784398156
Edition
1

Learning Unreal Engine Game Development


Table of Contents

Learning Unreal Engine Game Development
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Support files, eBooks, discount offers, and more
Why subscribe?
Free access for Packt account holders
Preface
What this book covers
What you need for this book
Who this book is for
Conventions
Reader feedback
Customer support
Downloading the example code
Downloading the color images of this book
Errata
Piracy
Questions
1. An Overview of Unreal Engine
What goes into a game?
What is a game engine?
The history of Unreal Engine
Game development
Artists
Cinematic creators
Sound designers
Game designers
Programmers
The components of Unreal Engine 4
The sound engine
The physics engine
The graphics engine
Input and the Gameplay framework
Light and shadow
Post-process effects
Artificial intelligence
Online and multiplatform capabilities
Unreal Engine and its powerful editors
Unreal Editor
Material Editor
The Cascade particle system
The Persona skeletal mesh animation
Landscape – building large outdoor worlds and foliage
Sound Cue Editor
Matinee Editor
The Blueprint visual scripting system
Unreal programming
Unreal objects
A beginner's guide to the Unreal Editor
The start menu
Project Browser
Content Browser
Toolbar
Viewport
Scene Outliner
Modes
Summary
2. Creating Your First Level
Exploring preconfigured levels
Creating a new project
Navigating the viewport
Views
Control keys
Creating a level from a new blank map
Creating the ground using the BSP Box brush
Useful tip – selecting an object easily
Useful tip – changing View Mode to aid visuals
Adding light to a level
Useful tip – positioning objects in a level
Adding the sky to a level
Adding Player Start
Useful tip – rotating objects in a level
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
Useful tip – using the drag snap grid
Summary
3. Game Objects – More and Move
BSP Brush
Background
Brush type
Brush solidity
Static Mesh
BSP Brush versus Static Mesh
Making Static Mesh movable
Materials
Creating a Material in Unreal
Materials versus Textures
Texture/UV mapping
How to create and use a Texture Map
Multitexturing
A special form of texture maps – Normal Maps
Level of detail
Collisions
Collision configuration properties
Simulation Generates Hit Events
Generate Overlap Events
Collision Presets
Collision Enabled
Object Type
Collision Responses
Trace Responses
Object Responses
Collision hulls
Interactions
Static Mesh creation pipeline
Introducing volumes
Blocking Volume
Camera Blocking Volume
Trigger Volume
Nav Mesh Bounds Volume
Physics Volume
Pain Causing Volume
Kill Z Volume
Level Streaming Volume
Cull Distance Volume
Audio Volume
PostProcess Volume
Lightmass Importance Volume
Introducing Blueprint
Level 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
The rendering system
Physical Based Shading Model
High Level Shading Language
Getting started
Creating a simple custom material
Creating custom material using simple textures
Using custom materials to transform the level
Rendering pipeline
Shaders
APIs – DirectX and OpenGL
DirectX
DirectX12
Pipeline state representation
Work submission
Resource access
Lights
Configuring a Point Light with more settings
Attenuation Radius
Intensity
Use Inverse Squared Falloff
Color
Adding and configuring a Spot Light
Inner cone and outer cone angle
Using the IES Profile
Downloading IES Light Profiles
Importing IES Profiles into the Unreal Engine Editor
Using IES Profiles
Adding and configuring a Directional Light
Example – adding and configuring a Sky light
Static, stationary, or movable lights
Common light/shadow definitions
Static Light
Stationary Light
Movable Light
Exercis...

Table of contents

  1. Learning Unreal Engine Game Development