Unreal Engine 4 Game Development in 24 Hours, Sams Teach Yourself

Aram Cookson is a professor in the Interactive Design and Game Development (ITGM) department at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). He has a B.F.A in Sculpture and an M.F.A. in Computer Art. After finishing his M.F.A., he went on to help start the ITGM program and served as the graduate coordinator for 9 years. Over the past 15 years, Aram has developed and taught a range of game art and design courses in classrooms and online, utilizing the Unreal Engine technology. Ryan DowlingSoka is a technical artist working on the Gears of War franchise at Microsoft Studio’s The Coalition, located in Vancouver, British Columbia. He works primarily on content features for the team, crafting systems for destruction, foliage, visual effects, postprocesses, and user interfaces in Unreal Engine 4. Previously, he worked at Microsoft, developing experiences for the Microsoft HoloLens in Unity5. Ryan is an expert in a variety of entertainment software creation packages, including Maya, Houdini, Substance Designer, Photoshop, Nuke, and After Effects. Ryan holds a B.F.A. in Visual Effects from Savannah College of Art and Design. With a passion for interactive storytelling, rooted in playing 1990s console role-playing games ( Baldur’s Gate II and Planescape: Torment), Ryan focuses on applying interactive technical solutions to solving difficult problems in modern gaming. When not working on video games, Ryan can be found swing dancing his evenings away with his wife. Clinton Crumpler is currently a senior environment artist at Microsoft Studio’s The Coalition, located in Vancouver, British Columbia. Previously an artist at Bethesda’s Battlecry Studios, KIXEYE, Army Game Studio, and various other independent studios, Clinton’s primary focus areas are environment art, shader development, and art direction. Clinton has released multiple video tutorials in collaboration with Digital Tutors, with a focus on game art development for Unreal Engine. He completed an M.F.A. in Interactive and Game Design and a B.F.A. in Animation at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Savannah, Georgia. Prior to attending SCAD, he received a B.F.A. in Graphic Design at Longwood University, located in Farmville, Virginia. More information and his digital works are available at www.clintoncrumpler.com.

HOUR 1: Introducing Unreal Engine 4     1
Installing Unreal     2
Creating Your First Project     4
Learning the Interface     7
View Modes and Visualizers     14
Playing a Level     16
Summary     17
Q&A     18
Workshop     18
Exercise     19
HOUR 2: Understanding the Gameplay Framework     21
Available Resources     21
Asset References and the Reference Viewer     29
Gameplay Framework     30
Summary     35
Q&A     35
Workshop     35
Exercise     36
HOUR 3: Coordinates, Transforms, Units, and Organization     37
Understanding Cartesian Coordinates     37
Working with Transforms     38
Assessing Units and Measurements     42
Organizing a Scene     45
Summary     50
Q&A     51
Workshop     51
Exercise     52
HOUR 4: Working with Static Mesh Actors     53
Static Mesh Assets     53
Static Mesh Editor     54
Viewing UV Layouts     57
Collision Hulls     59
Static Mesh Actors     66
Summary     73
Q&A     73
Workshop     73
Exercise     74
HOUR 5: Applying Lighting and Rendering     75
Learning Light Terminology     75
Understanding Light Types     76
Using Light Properties     82
Building Lighting     83
Summary     87
Q&A     87
Workshop     87
Exercise     88
HOUR 6: Using Materials     89
Understanding Materials     89
Physically Based Rendering (PBR)    90
Material Input Types     91
Creating Textures     94
Making a Material     96
Summary     105
Q&A     105
Workshop     106
Exercise     107
HOUR 7: Using Audio System Elements     109
Introducing Audio Basics     109
Using Sound Actors     112
Controlling Sounds with Audio Volumes     119
Summary     120
Q&A     120
Workshop     121
Exercise     122
HOUR 8: Creating Landscapes and Foliage     123
Working with Landscapes     123
Sculpting Shapes and Volumes     127
Using Foliage     133
Summary     136
Q&A     136
Workshop     137
Exercise     137
HOUR 9: World Building     139
Building Worlds     140
World Building Process     141
Summary     157
Q&A     157
Workshop     158
Exercise     159
HOUR 10: Crafting Effects with Particle Systems     161
Understanding Particles and Data Types     161
Working with Cascade     162
Using Common Modules     168
Setting Up Materials for Particles     172
Triggering Particle Systems     176
Summary     177
Q&A     177
Workshop     178
Exercise     179
HOUR 11: Using Skeletal Mesh Actors     181
Defining Skeletal Meshes     181
Importing Skeletal Meshes     186
Learning Persona     191
Using Skeletal Mesh Actors     199
Summary     201
Q&A     201
Workshop     202
Exercise     202
HOUR 12: Matinee and Cinematics     203
Matinee Actors     203
Matinee Editor     206
Curve Editor     212
Working with Other Tracks     215
Working with Cameras in Matinee     216
Summary     220
Q&A     220
Workshop     221
Exercise     222
HOUR 13: Learning to Work with Physics     223
Using Physics in UE4     223
Simulating Physics     227
Using Physical Materials     230
Working with Constraints     234
Using Force Actors     239
Summary     241
Q&A     241
Workshop     242
Exercise     242
HOUR 14: Introducing Blueprint Visual Scripting System     245
Visual Scripting Basics     245
Understanding the Blueprint Editor     247
Fundamental Concepts in Scripting     252
Summary     264
Q&A     264
Workshop     265
Exercise     266
HOUR 15: Working with Level Blueprints     269
Actor Collision Settings     271
Assigning Actors to Events     272
Assigning Actors to Reference Variables     274
Summary     284
Q&A     284
Workshop     285
Exercise     286
HOUR 16: Working with Blueprint Classes     287
Using Blueprint Classes     287
The Blueprint Editor Interface     289
Working with the Components     291
Working with the Timeline     296
Scripting a Pulsating Light     300
Summary     307
Q&A     308
Workshop     308
Exercise     309
HOUR 17: Using Editable Variables and the Construction Script     311
Setting Up     311
Making Editable Variables     312
Using the Construction Script     314
Summary     321
Q&A     321
Workshop     322
Exercise     323
HOUR 18: Making Key Input Events and Spawning Actors     325
Why Spawning Is Important     325
Creating a Blueprint Class to Spawn     326
Setting Up the Spawner Blueprint     329
Spawning an Actor from a Class     332
Summary     336
Q&A     336
Workshop     336
Exercise     337
HOUR 19: Making an Action Encounter     341
Project Game Modes     341
Knowing Characters’ Abilities     342
Using Blueprint Classes     344
Actor and Component Tags     350
Summary     351
Q&A     351
Workshop     352
Exercise     352
HOUR 20: Creating an Arcade Shooter: Input Systems and Pawns     355
Identifying Requirements with a Design Summary     356
Creating a Game Project     356
Creating a Custom Game Mode     359
Creating a Custom Pawn and Player Controller     361
Controlling a Pawn’s Movement     365
Setting Up a Fixed Camera     371
Summary     373
Q&A     373
Workshop     374
Exercise     375
HOUR 21: Creating an Arcade Shooter: Obstacles and Pickups     377
Creating an Obstacle Base Class     378
Making Your Obstacle Move     381
Damaging the Pawn     384
Restarting the Game on Death     388
Creating a Health Pickup     391
Creating an Actor Spawner     397
Cleaning Up Old Obstacles     403
Summary     403
Q&A     404
Workshop     405
Exercise     405
HOUR 22: Working with UMG     407
Creating a Widget Blueprint     407
Navigating the UMG Interface     408
Creating a Start Menu     413
Sample Menu System     425
Summary     426
Q&A     426
Workshop     427
Exercise     427
HOUR 23: Making an Executable     429
Cooking Content     429
Packaging a Project for Windows     430
Resources for Android and iOS Packaging     435
Accessing Advanced Packaging Settings     436
Summary     437
Q&A     438
Workshop     438
Exercise     439
HOUR 24: Working with Mobile     441
Developing for Mobile Devices     442
Using Touch     454
Using a Device’s Motion Data     459
Summary     462
Q&A     462
Workshop     463
Exercise     464
Index     465