Learning Unreal Engine Game Development

274 Pages·2016·12 MB·English

by  Lee, Joanna

Learning Unreal Engine Game
Development
A step-by-step guide that paves the way for developing
fantastic games with Unreal Engine 4
Joanna Lee
BIRMINGHAM - MUMBAI
Learning Unreal Engine Game Development
Copyright © 2016 Packt Publishing
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First published: February 2016
Production reference: 1240216
Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.
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Birmingham B3 2PB, UK.
ISBN 978-1-78439-815-6
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Credits
Author Copy Editor
Joanna Lee Sonia Cheema
Reviewers Project Coordinator
Michele Bertolini Shweta H. Birwatkar
Kyle Langley
Daniel Jonathan Valik Proofreader
Safis Editing
Commissioning Editor
Edward Bowkett Indexer
Tejal Daruwale Soni
Acquisition Editor
Subho Gupta Production Coordinator
Nilesh Mohite
Content Development Editor
Preeti Singh Cover Work
Nilesh Mohite
Technical Editor
Ankita Thakur
About the Author
Joanna Lee has more than 8 years of experience in game development. She has
designed and programmed various video games. She first started working with
Unreal's game engine in 2005 and is very excited to be able to author a book about
the newest Unreal Engine 4. She has also worked with many other engines as well as
reviewed books and videos on Cry Engine 4.
I would like to thank my parents and sister for their constant support
in my game development journey and my brother, Jerome, who
first drew me into the world of gaming. I also want to thank all my
ex-colleagues and managers for their patience while teaching me
about developing games and making each work day a pleasure.
Lastly, I would also like to thank the amazing team at Packt
Publishing for guiding me through the publishing process and
making this book possible.
About the Reviewers
Michele "Budello" Bertolini always had a passion for videogames, but his way
into the industry had been long and strange. In his youth, he was more interested
in becoming a professional volleyball player despite studying computer science and
computer graphics.
Then, he stopped growing and he only had one choice left.
Michele's education and background are strongly technical due to his master's in
computer engineering degree. Through the course of his career, he's developed
various artistic skills, passing drawing and photography courses. He's also a keen
observer of nature. He thinks of himself as a technical guy with a good taste.
34BigThings is a small indie company based in Turin, Italy. Currently, it's involved
in two titles: Redout, a tribute to old racing monsters, such as F-Zero, WipeOut,
Rollcage, and POD and Hyperdrive Massacre, an 80s inspired multiplayer fragfest for
up to four local players, which is focused on kinesthetic, tactical, and shooting skills.
I'd like to thank all the guys and gals in 34BigThings: first friends,
then coworkers.
Kyle Langley is a self-taught game designer currently working for Vex Studios. He
has also worked with Emotional Robots Inc, Sony Online Entertainment, and High
Moon Studios. He is the author of Learn Programming With Unreal Script, which is
aimed at teaching beginners the concept of object-oriented programming as well as
the initial aspects of programming for the Unreal Development Kit. He was also the
technical reviewer of Source SDK Game Development Essentials, Packt Publishing. You
can find more about him on his website (www.dotvawxgames.com).
Daniel Jonathan Valik is an industry expert in the areas of Unified/Universal
Communications, IaaS, SaaS, DevOps, Cloud Native Apps, WebRTC, Cloud Voice
and Business Voice, mobile computing, social networking and UC-enabled Contact
Center technologies. Daniel has driven these topics for more than 15 years in the IT
and telecommunication industries, and he has also lived and worked in different
regions, such as Europe, Southeast Asia, and the United States. Daniel is currently
a senior technical product marketing manager for Cloud Native Apps, DevOps
and Cloud Technologies at the VMWare HQ in Palo Alto, California. He was
previously the senior technical product marketing manager for the Skype Developer
Platform and Skype for Business Online at the Skype/Microsoft HQ in Redmond,
Washington, USA. As part of the Skype product team, Daniel drove the positioning
of Skype for Business, Online, Developer Platform, a UC-enabled contact center, and
other emerging technologies. He holds a number of technical certifications, including
Microsoft Certified Trainer; he has a double master's degree (MBA), a master's
degree (MAS) in general business, and additionally holds a degree in international
business management.
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Table of Contents
Preface ix
Chapter 1: An Overview of Unreal Engine 1
What goes into a game? 1
What is a game engine? 2
The history of Unreal Engine 2
Game development 4
Artists 4
Cinematic creators 4
Sound designers 4
Game designers 5
Programmers 5
The components of Unreal Engine 4 5
The sound engine 5
The physics engine 6
The graphics engine 6
Input and the Gameplay framework 7
Light and shadow 7
Post-process effects 8
Artificial intelligence 8
Online and multiplatform capabilities 9
Unreal Engine and its powerful editors 9
Unreal Editor 9
Material Editor 10
The Cascade particle system 10
The Persona skeletal mesh animation 11
Landscape – building large outdoor worlds and foliage 12
Sound Cue Editor 12
Matinee Editor 12
The Blueprint visual scripting system 13
[ i ]