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Unreal Engine FPS Game

1. Unreal Engine Introduction

In this section you will learn how to install Unreal Engine and navigate in its UI.

Introduction

Download and install Epic Games

Download and install Unreal Engine

Create new project

Basics of the Unreal Engine Editor UI

2. The Character Blueprint

In this section we will continue with looking into the blueprints. Blueprints are at the heart of everything that happens in Unreal Engine and are what we will be working on mostly in this course.

Character BP Overview

Creating Health Variable + Functions to increase or decrease it

Weapon BP Overview

Projectile BP Overview and adjustments

3. Enemy Blueprints

What is a first-person shooter without some enemies? In this section we will set up the enemy blueprints.

Create Enemy BP

Create Enemy Movement

Enemy Projectile BP & Fire Projectile

4. Level Design and Aesthetics

Level design is one of the most important parts of any game. A good level not only creates a suitable environment but also considers the timing of events in creating an enjoyable experience. Coupled with that, a good level tells a story without using words.

Blocking out the level

Setting up the enemy spawn points

Marketplace and Replacing Assets

5. User Interface and Sound Effects

Widgets, UMGs, and UI; they are all basically the same thing really. In this section, we will take a look at how to make menus and HUDs using widgets. We also take a look at how to add SFX to our widgets and blueprints.

Main Menu

HUD and Gameover Widget

Pause Menu

Implement sound into widget BPs

6. Gameplay Logic

We are almost done with our game at this point! In this section we are going to set up a system to increase the difficulty of the game as we proceed! Lastly, we are going to set up the winning and gameover logic for our game.

Set Up Tiers

Winning Logic

Gameover Logic

7. Packaging for Windows

Packaging for Windows is very easy in Unreal Engine. In this final and short section, we adjust the final bits, and then package our game!

Project Settings and Preparation for Packaging

Final Touches and Packaging

Blocking out the level

In making a professional game, we as game makers working on a level, start with a process known as blocking out. Blocking out is simply placing cubes and other primitive shapes to explore the layout of an environment.

To begin with, you can draw your ideas on a piece of paper. You may also use simple tools like Microsoft Paint to hash out the general layout of your level. The tools are not important, your ideas are.

Here is what I created for our level. Feel free to use this or your own design!

The advantage that this method has is that it can be easily manipulated and changed before we decide what assets we want to use. Once we are happy with the general layout of the level, then we can simply choose suitable 3D models (i.e. static meshes) to replace the blocks in accordance with their shapes and sizes.

A few elements that I find important in a game like ours are the following:

A location for the player to spawn.
Locations at which the enemies spawn.
A place for the player to take cover.
Verticality or elevated platforms to make the game more fun and varied.

Note
Block out the level and then test it. Take notes on what works and what doesn’t work. Then change the level’s layout a few times to suit your needs. As a general rule of thumb, we always want to take small steps to improve our game until we are somewhat satisfied: do not aim for perfection in one go, getting there is a process.

Everything was clear?

Section 4. Chapter 1

Course Content

Unreal Engine FPS Game

1. Unreal Engine Introduction

Introduction Download and install Epic Games Download and install Unreal Engine Create new project Basics of the Unreal Engine Editor UI

2. The Character Blueprint

Character BP Overview Creating Health Variable + Functions to increase or decrease it Weapon BP Overview Projectile BP Overview and adjustments

3. Enemy Blueprints

Create Enemy BP Create Enemy Movement Enemy Projectile BP & Fire Projectile

4. Level Design and Aesthetics

Blocking out the level Setting up the enemy spawn points Marketplace and Replacing Assets

5. User Interface and Sound Effects

Main Menu HUD and Gameover Widget Pause Menu Implement sound into widget BPs

6. Gameplay Logic

Set Up Tiers Winning Logic Gameover Logic

7. Packaging for Windows

Project Settings and Preparation for Packaging Final Touches and Packaging

Unreal Engine FPS Game

Blocking out the level

Here is what I created for our level. Feel free to use this or your own design!

A few elements that I find important in a game like ours are the following:

A location for the player to spawn.
Locations at which the enemies spawn.
A place for the player to take cover.
Verticality or elevated platforms to make the game more fun and varied.

Note
Block out the level and then test it. Take notes on what works and what doesn’t work. Then change the level’s layout a few times to suit your needs. As a general rule of thumb, we always want to take small steps to improve our game until we are somewhat satisfied: do not aim for perfection in one go, getting there is a process.

Everything was clear?

Section 4. Chapter 1