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

by Aram Cookson, Ryan DowlingSoka, Clinton Crumpler

Overview

In just 24 lessons of one hour or less, learn how to start using Unreal Engine 4 to build amazing games for Windows, Mac, PS4, Xbox One, iOS, Android, the web, Linux–or all of them!

Sams Teach Yourself Unreal Engine 4 Game Development in 24 Hours’ straightforward, step-by-step approach shows you how to work with Unreal Engine 4’s interface, its workflows, and its most powerful editors and tools. In just hours you’ll be creating effects, scripting warfare, implementing physics–even developing for mobile devices and HUDs. Every lesson builds on what you’ve already learned, giving you a rock-solid foundation for real-world success.

• Organize new projects and work with the Gameplay Framework
• Master Unreal’s units and control systems
• Import 3D models and work with the Static Mesh Editor
• Create new landscapes and use Unreal’s foliage system
• Bring characters and creatures to life with the Persona Editor
• Apply materials and build lighting
• Integrate and modify audio with the Unreal Sound Cue Editor
• Craft particle effects and simulate physics
• Set up and react to player inputs
• Build levels and entirely new worlds
• Get started with powerful Blueprint visual scripting system
• Script an arcade game from start to finish
• Create events that respond to player actions
• Spawn Actors during gameplay
• Design and create action-based encounters
• Optimize games for mobile devices and touch-based inputs
• Build menus with Unreal’s UMG UI Designer
• Prepare your game for deployment

Step-by-step instructions carefully walk you through the most common Unreal Engine 4 game development tasks.
Practical, hands-on examples show you how to apply what you learn.
Quizzes and Exercises help you test your knowledge and stretch your skills.
Notes and tips point out shortcuts and solutions.

All the project files and assets you'll need are available for download, including "before-and-after" files demonstrating initial setup and proper completion for every exercise.

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780134389103
Publisher:	Pearson Education
Publication date:	06/01/2016
Series:	Sams Teach Yourself
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	496
File size:	38 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

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.

Table of Contents

• HOUR 1: Introducing Unreal Engine 4
• HOUR 2: Understanding the Gameplay Framework
• HOUR 3: Coordinates, Transforms, Units, and Organization
• HOUR 4: Working with Static Mesh Actors 
• HOUR 5: Applying Lighting and Rendering 
• HOUR 6: Using Materials
• HOUR 7: Using Audio System Elements
• HOUR 8: Creating Landscapes and Foliage
• HOUR 9: World Building
• HOUR 10: Crafting Effects with Particle Systems 
• HOUR 11: Using Skeletal Mesh Actors
• HOUR 12: Matinee and Cinematics
• HOUR 13: Learning to Work with Physics
• HOUR 14: Introducing Blueprint Visual Scripting System  
• HOUR 15: Working with Level Blueprints    
• HOUR 16: Working with Blueprint Classes   
• HOUR 17: Using Editable Variables and the Construction Script   
• HOUR 18: Making Key Input Events and Spawning Actors  
• HOUR 19: Making an Action Encounter 
• HOUR 20: Creating an Arcade Shooter: Input Systems and Pawns 
• HOUR 21: Creating an Arcade Shooter: Obstacles and Pickups 
• HOUR 22: Working with UMG 
• HOUR 23: Making an Executable 
• HOUR 24: Working with Mobile