Introduction

Welcome to GDD310!

In this course we will begin learning how to utilize the Unreal Engine to develop games. We start with an exploration of the editor interface and various tool available inside the development environment. The course is broken into five Assignment Sets, each designed to introduce a core element of Unreal Engine game development and provide a framework for students to explore bringing their ideas to life.

    Assignment Set Topics
  1. Construct a Maze: Learn how to navigate the editor and create basic level geometry. Explore Unreal Actors.
  2. Adding Materials, Light, and Sounds: Learn how to create and apply materials to level geometry, control lighting, and play audio effects.
  3. Blueprints: Introduction to Unreal's visual scripting tool.
  4. Landscapes: Create new worlds for your games.
  5. User Interface: Create a dynamic and interactive UI.
The lessons learned in this course will serve as the foundation needed for a career in Unreal Engine development for programmers and artists.


Final Project

After the Assignment Sets are complete, the class will begin the design phase of the final project. Students will form teams and create a new game using the Unreal Engine.


Learning Objectives
  • Students will:
    • Learn how to navigate the Unreal Editor.
    • Practice creating levels and adding functionality to actors in their games.
    • Learn how to work with materials and lights and use the material editor.
    • Create Blueprints and use the visual scripting tool to add logic to their classes.
    • Create a complete game.

Introduce Yourself

  • Let us know who you are, why you're here, your experience in game development, and the area of game development that you're most interested in
  • Show off or discuss anything you've made in the past
  • Tell us your favorite game/genre

Getting Started

! When doing work for this course it is recommended that you avoid saving/installing to OneDrive folders. Also avoid special characters in your file path names. The safest bet is a simple path on your machine, ex: C:/GDD/310. You will want to make sure you back up your work on an external hard drive or use a version control system like GitHub.
  • Download and install Cyberduck to connect to  MyWebspace FTP . Instructions on how to connect
    • Cyberduck will allow you to copy files from your computer onto a server so that they can be viewed from the internet. This is how you will share your work.
    • Note when connecting: User name "mywebspace.quinnipiac.edu|QUUsername" (there is a pipe before you enter your QU Network Username)
    ! The files that you add to Cyberduck become copies that no longer live on your machine anymore. This means that whenever you update a file on your machine you will need to upload that file again to update the Cyberduck version of the file.
  • Create a portfolio for this course. Here are a few options.
    • Create your own (HTML/CSS/JavaScript)
      • Copy this example portfolio to your computer and change the HTML to display your name.
      • This website will host links to all of your work. When you build an exercise or project it will generate a webpage. The links on this portfolio will point us to your builds.
      • To save the page: Open the page > right-click on the background > select Save Page As. Create a folder on your computer for your course work, ex: c:/GDD/GDD310/Portfolio and save the webpage in there as index.html.
      • Open your portfolio in a text editor so you can change the HTML to work for your account. Use VSCode if you need a text editor.
      • Change the name at the top to your page and change the username cblake inside all of the links to your username. Ex:
        <header>
<h2>Lab 1</h2>
</header>
<section>
  <nav>
    <ul class="lab_links">
      <li><a href="yourTrelloURL"target="blank">Lab 1 Project Management (Trello Example)</a></li>
      <li><a href="https://mywebspace.quinnipiac.edu/yourUserName/buildFolder">Lab 1 WebGL Build</a></li>
      <li><a href="yourGitHubURL">Lab 1 GitHub Repo</a></li>
    </ul>
  </nav>
  <article>
    <h1>Example Lab 1 Project</h1>
  <img src="http://mywebspace.quinnipiac.edu/yourUserName/imageName.gif"style="width:200px;height;200px;">
  <img src="http://mywebspace.quinnipiac.edu/yourUserName/image2Name.gif"style="width:200px;height:200px;">
    <p>Description of your game!</p>    
  </article>
</section>
      • You can now upload a copy of your portfolio to MyWebspace. Inside CyberDuck make a directory called 310, and drag your index.html file into it. To make sure it works you can try clicking the link to your name in the Student Work section or navigating to: http://mywebspace.quinnipiac.edu/username/310/
      • This is the most basic example of a working portfolio, I encourage you to explore HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to make it look more interesting!
    • Use Canva Template
      • Open template here. You will need to create an account and save a copy of the portfolio for yourself.
      • Edit the portfolio to include your name, the course title, and your work.
      • Save your Canva as a website
        Share > More... > Website > Standard
      • Email me the URL for your website so I can link your name to it on the Student Work page.
  • Install  Epic Games Launcher . This launcher will allow you to install and manage the Unreal Engine software. (Help with installing Unreal)
  • Launch the Epic Launcher and Install Unreal Engine 5.
  • Join the GDD  Discord Channel  and introduce yourself. This is a place for GDD students to stay in touch outside of the classroom. Ask questions, help each other.

Assignment Set 1 Lecture Recording

Constructing a Maze

In this assignment set, we will begin learning the Unreal Editor and it's various tools, editors, and windows. We will be utilizing a game template so that we can move around and interact with our game world, and then design a maze for our players to explore.


! This course requires you to use GitHub to download example projects and to host public repositories for your work.
Consider using GitHub Desktop.
  1. Ready to go?
    • We will make sure everyone has completed the tasks assigned so that every student is ready to begin working with Unreal.
  2. Starting a new Unreal project
    • We will be starting our Maze project by using a template. This will create a new project that already has some basic functionality working, like walking around in a first-person perspective.
    • 1. In the Epic Games Launcher click Launch Unreal Engine.
    • 2. When the Unreal Project Browser opens, in the GAMES tab, select First Person Template and create a new project. Select the path to your Unreal projects on your machine and give your project a name.
    • 3. Your new project will now open in the Unreal Editor!
    • 4. Explore the Unreal Editor

      • 1. Menu Bar
      • 2. Main Toolbar
      • 3. Level Viewport
      • 4. Content Drawer
      • 5. Button Toolbar
      • 6. Outliner
      • 7. Details Panel
  3. 5. Create a Level
    • Create a new level ( File > New Level > Empty Level > Create )
    • In your empty level, add a cube.
    • To see your cube in a level without light, set the render mode to Unlit. This only changes the lighting in the viewport, not a build of the game.
    • With your cube selected, press the General button in the Details Panel to view begin editing the properties of the cube. You can stretch the cube in the X, Y, and Z, directions. Remember: Z axis is up/down in Unreal!
    • Next add a light to your level. If your Place Actor window is not visible, go to Window > Place Actors. Now, in the lighting tab of the Place Actor window, select a Point Light. Drag in onto the cube to place a point light in your scene.
      A point light acts like a light bulb in your scene, emitting light in a sphere around the light's position. Try experimenting with other lights to see how they behave.
    • We're ready to add our player to the level. In the Place Actor panel, find the BASIC tab. Drag a Player Start actor onto your cube. Press the PLAY button in the Toolbar to begin playing your level.
  4. 5. Create your first Blueprint Class
    A Blueprint is a container for components and scripts. When creating a Blueprint, you will inherit from a base class, and then build additional functionality on top of it. Often, an Actor base class is the start of new Blueprints, because it allows you to place instances of your Blueprint in your level.
    • Open the Content Drawer in the Unreal Editor.
    • Create a new folder for your Blueprints: "MyBlueprints", and open it.
    • Click the "+ ADD" button on the Content Drawer to view the Add options. Select the Blueprint Class. (You can also right-click inside the Content Drawer to open the same menu.)
    • Here you can select the base class for your Blueprint, choose Actor.
    • You should see a new Blueprint in your folder. Double-click on the Blueprint to open the Blueprint Editor.
    • Inside the Blueprint Editor's Viewport you can see what you Blueprint looks like.

Assignment Set 1 Project

The objective for your first Assignment Set is to create a maze. The player should start at one position inside the maze and attempt to navigate their way to the end. You should use primitive shapes like Cubes, Spheres, Cylinders, and Cones.
You must create at least 1 Blueprint and use it in your maze at least 3 times. Consider using a Blueprint for anything that gets used more than once, which can occur frequently inside a maze.
Remember to include all of the required content detailed on the grading rubric page.

Assignment 1 Example: Climb the towers to get to the exit. Navigate the small platforms and ledges to find your way to the top. Don't fall or you will need to start over!
Towers are a Blueprint, making it easy to build out more towers and iterate on the level design.

Assignment Set 2 Lecture Recording 1 Lecture Recording 2

In this Assignment Set we will cover:

Adding Textures
Creating Materials
Using Quixel Bridge to Import Assets
Lumen Engine and Lighting in Unreal
Playing Sounds

- Project

Unreal engine is capable of creating stunning visual elements for your games, and provides various tools and editors to help your game look great.
We will be exploring how to use all of these features of the Unreal Engine to empower you to deliver the visual experience you are imagining.

Adding textures to your project

  • You can often find high quality textures in online collections like at Textures.com
    To start downloading textures from Textures.com, create a free account and then find the PBR Materials collection.
    Find a material that you like, and then download the textures associated with it to your project's Content folder.
  • When you return to the Unreal Editor you will be asked if you want to import the new files into the project, select import
  • You will now see the new textures inside your content browser. You can double click to open a texture in the texture editor window and adjust any properties you need.

Creating new materials

  • To create a new material, make a Materials folder inside your content browser. Next, click the ADD+ button to add a new material. Double click the new material to launch the material editor.
  • The material editor uses a node based editor. Stringing together nodes and plugging their output into a material channel of the final node generates our final material.
  • You can choose the material properties by selecting the final output node and looking at the Material Domain and Blend Type. If you require some of the material to look invisible, like holes or glass, you can choose the Translucent Blend Type.
  • To create a simple color tint, expand the palette along the right side of the editor, and select a Constant Vector 3. This node outputs a color based on the values of it's X, Y, and Z, properties. Try double-clicking the black square of the node and changing the color to something else. Then plug the output of the node into the base color pin of the final node.
  • Too apply our textures to the material, create Texture Sample nodes for each texture. You can drag textures from the Content Drawer into the graph to automatically create a Texture Sample node with the texture filled in.
  • When applying your material to a mesh, you may find that it is scaled too large or too small on different meshes. You can create a material instance to allow you to modify properties of the material for only that instance, while maintaining the rest of the master materials properties.
  • In order to enable texture scaling for your material instances, the master material needs some additional nodes.
    Add a Texture Coordinate node, Const node, and a Multiply node.

    Next, promote the Const node to a parameter, making it editable in the material instance editor. Name it "Scale" and set the default value to 1.

    Now, we can open the material instance we created and modify the scale parameter.

    To enable independent scaling on X/Y axis, we can create a separate parameter for each axis.

    Append the parameter outputs before connecting them to the multiply node.


  • Try experimenting with some of the other nodes!




Importing Quixel Assets

  • Quixel Bridge allows you to browse and import ultra high quality Megascan assets right from the Unreal Editor. These assets are free to use in Unreal Engine only.
  • - Unreal 5: Simply open a Content Browser, select the ADD button, and click "Add Quixel Content".
    - Unreal 4: Download Quixel Bridge and install.
  • You can browse assets, select a quality level to download, and add to your project. The assets will appear in your Content Browser.

Lighting and Lumen Engine in Unreal 5


Image from Unreal Engine Documentation
  • The Lumen Engine provides unlimited realtime diffuse light bounces, allowing scenes to glow with realistic color.
  • To place a light in your Unreal level, find the Lights page of the Place Actors window and select a Point Light. You can adjust the settings of the light in the Detail panel.

Adding Sound to Your Game

  • Unreal Engine will only play .wav audio files, so you will need to convert .mp3 files. You can use Audacity if you need a free tool to do so.
  • Import the audio asset into your project. If you need to find music or sound effects for your game, take a look at the Resources page.
  • Playing A Global Sound
    • To play a sound everywhere, like with background music or a narrator speaking, you can play it using a 2D node. We will explore how to play a sound in the Level Blueprint, but this could also be done in an actor of your own making.
    • Inside the Level Blueprint's Event Graph, right click and add a Event BeginPlay node. This node will start calling functions when the level begins.
    • From the output of the Event BeginPlay node, drag a line and release it to select a connecting node. Choose the Play Sound 2D node. This node will play the sound selected in the Sound field of the node. The 2D Sound is played directly to the players camera by default, so you should hear your sound when you start the game.
  • Playing an Ambient Sound Effect
    • To play a sound effect from a position in the level we can create a new Blueprint. In the content browser, add a new Blueprint, which inherits from Actor.
    • To control the sound attenuation you will first want to create a Sound Attenuation asset in your content browser. This settings on this asset can be used to control the audio effects of your sounds, like how far away they will be heard.
    • In the new Blueprint, open the Event Graph window. Drag a line off the Event BeginPlay node and select the Play Sound At Location node to create the node and connect them.
      Drag a line from the Location pin on the Play Sound At Location node and add a Get Actor Location Node to set the location property to the location of the instance of this Blueprint in the level.
      Next, select the sound you want to play from the Sound property drop-down menu.
      Be sure to set the sound attenuation setting of the node to your Sound Attenuation asset, click the down-arrow on the bottom of the node to expand the properties.
  • Playing an Sound Effect On Trigger
    • To enable a trigger to play a sound effect we're going to create a New Blueprint, which again inherits from Actor class.
    • In the Viewport window of the Blueprint Editor, add a Box Collision and Cylinder component. Flatten the cylinder so it rests on the ground, and place the collision box over it so we can enter it when we step on the cylinder.
    • In the Event Graph Window, we want to use the Event ActorBeginOverlap node to start our sound when the player enters our collision. We'll be using something called Casting in this script to verify that the actor which hit our trigger was the player.
      Be sure to set the sound attenuation setting of the node to your Sound Attenuation asset, click the down-arrow on the bottom of the node to expand the properties.

Assignment Set 2 Project

The goal for Assignment Set 2 is to update your maze with your own materials, lighting, and sounds. Try to create a common theme for the level with materials that fit together, lighting that enhances the feel of the maze, and sound effects that add to the atmosphere.
You should create and apply at least 3 materials.
You should add at least 3 lights.
You should have at least 1 sound effect that is played by a trigger. Remember to include all of the required content detailed on the grading rubric page.

Assignment Set 3 Lecture Recording 1

In this Assignment Set we will cover:

Blueprint Basics
Doing More With Scripts
Components
Reference Another Actor
Creating Custom Events
Moving Actors with Timelines
Building a Moving Platform
User Input and Spawning Actors

Project 3

Unreal Engine provides a method of writing scripts for your games using a visual scripting system. Events call functions and follow a path outlined on graph, weaving a series of nodes into the functionality behind your game. Visual scripting allows you to easily navigate script execution flow through each node, where you can reference variables and utilize common programming features like collections and loops. We will learn how to get started with the visual scripting system by creating interesting game elements for our maze, and then you will build your own unique blueprint from the ground up.

Blueprint Basics

  • To start writing your Blueprint script, open a Blueprint and navigate to the Event Graph window of the Blueprint editor.
  • The default events of a new Blueprint are automatically laid out on the event graph. To enable these events, you must add functionality by adding a connected node.
    We can add a node to an event by clicking on the Exec arrow on the right side of the event node, and dragging a line off of it. When you release the mouse, a window will let you select which node you wish to add at this position. You can type to filer through the available nodes. Try typing "print" to locate the Print node.

    Event BeginPlay: This event gets called when the game starts.
    Event ActorBeginOverlap: This event gets called when the actor (the instance of this Blueprint in the game) makes contact with a collision.
    Event Tick: The event is called with each frame of your game.

  • To add variables to your Blueprint, use the ADD button on the My Blueprint panel, and select Variable. You will see a new boolean variable added to the Variables list on the My Blueprint panel. You can give your variable a name, and change the type. Select your variable and edit it's properties in the Details panel.
  • To reference a variable in a function, drag the variable onto the graph and choose "Get" to add a node that will read the value of the variable. You can then plug the output from the node into another nodes input.
  • Blueprint Cheat Sheet from Unreal Documentation

Doing More With Scripts

  • To evaluate a condition in your script (create an "if" statement) and have branching paths, you can use a Branch node.
  • If you want to connect multiple strings you can use the Append node. Note: To print on another line in the console press "shift+enter" in the string field to move to the next line.
  • To make an array, create a variable of the type of data you want. Then, in the details panel, convert the variable into an array.
  • To access an element from an array, add a reference to the array and then use the Get node to select the element.
  • You can use the Random node to get a random number from a range. Note: You can connect the output of a node to multiple other inputs!

Components

  • To reference a component in the Event Graph, drag the component from the Components panel onto the graph.
  • To add an event for a specific component to the Event Graph, select the component and at the bottom of the Details panel, press the + symbol next to the event you wish to add.
  • To determine if our player actor is the one which called the overlap event, we can Cast the Other Actor from the event to our player class. (First Person or Third Person Character)
    If the cast passes, the execute line will follow the top Exec arrow. If the cast fails, the execute line will follow Cast Failed.

Reference Another Actor

  • To reference another actor in your level, you can create a public variable of the target actor type and add it in the Details panel.

    Because the variable is public, you can now set the property in the Details panel to an actor from the level.

Creating Custom Events

  • If you want to create your own event to make repeated use easy or to be called by another actor, create a Custom Event node.

    Here is how to call the custom event from another actor. "Target Platform" is a reference to the actor which has the custom event on it. Access this event by first dragging the actor reference onto the graph, selecting Get, then finding the event name in the "Call Function" list.

Moving And Rotating Using Timeline

  • To change the position or rotation of an actor you can use a Timeline node and the Set Actor Location / Rotation node.
  • The Timeline node can be used to change the value of a number over time, which can be passed out of the node and serve as an input for another node.



  • I've set my Timeline to change a value from 0 - 1 over 2 seconds. I can use the multiply node to scale this range to a usable number by combining it with a public float variable that can be set in the details panel.

  • Now, add a Set Relative Location node and assign the component you want to move as the target. We want to pass the value changing in the timeline into the Z property of the New Location input, so right-click the New Location struct and spit it into three separate float inputs. Connect the float output of your Timeline node into the Z property of your New Location node.
    Next, drag a line from the Timeline's Update pin into the Set Relative Location's execute input pin. This will run the function each time the Timeline updates the variable, causing the lift to keep moving until the timeline is complete. You can then continue your script with the Finished execute pin.

Moving Platform

  • To practice what we've learned so far, let's create a platform that can lift the player when they stand on it. The platform will begin in a locked state, and be unlocked after the player triggers a button.

    Add Components
    1. What components do we need for the moving platform Blueprint?
    2. What components do we need for the button Blueprint that unlocks the platform?

    Define Variables
    3. What variables does the platform Blueprint need?
    4. What variables does the button Blueprint need?
    5. Which variables can we set in the editor? How do we make it so actor variables can be set in the details panel?

    Add Collision Events
    6. How do we call an event when each Blueprint's collision component is contacted by the player?

    Add Unlock Event To Platform
    7. How does the button Blueprint tell the Platform to unlock? How do we ensure only the player can trigger it?

    Move Platform
    8. How do we detect when to move the platform? How do we move it?

User Input and Spawning Actors

  • To define our own input event, we can define a user input in the Bindings settings. Go to Edit > Project Settings > Input > Bindings and add an action to the Action Mappings list.

  • To start adding custom input events to your character, find the character in the World Outliner panel and select Edit Blueprint beside it's name. This will launch the Blueprint Editor for the player Blueprint.
  • In the Blueprint's Event Graph, you can now add an event for the new Action you created. I called mine "Fire"

Assignment Set 3 Project

The goal for Assignment Set 3 is to update your maze with your own blueprints. Consider creating doors, elevators, traps, etc.
You should use at least 2 Blueprints in your maze that the player can interact with.
Remember to include all of the required content detailed on the grading rubric page.

Assignment Set 4 Lecture Recording 1

In this Assignment Set we will cover:

Creating a Landscape
Adding Water to your Level
Adding Trees from the Unreal Marketplace
Creating a Landscape Material
Project 4

Creating levels for your game often requires more than stacking Cubes throughout your level. If you want to generate rolling hills, a daunting mountain pass, a calm lakefront camp site, or any other outdoor space, Unreal's Landscapes are the tool to use.

Creating a Landscape


  • A Landscape in Unreal sits in your World Outliner, and works by deforming a mesh based on the values of a heightmap. To draw to your heightmap, you can use the Sculpt tools, which will raise, lower, and flatten, terrain as you paint.
  • To begin working with Landscapes, change the editor mode to Landscape
  • Once you choose your Landscape settings you can generate the new Landscape and then begin sculpting.
  • To sculpt the terrain, use the sculpt tools to change the height of the landscape.
  • Add foliage to your landscape in foliage mode.

Creating a Landscape Material


To paint and blend materials together on your landscape, first download two textures (albedo and normal). Example 1 Example 2
  • Create a new material.
  • Add albedo and normal map for both textures.
  • Add a Landscape Layer Blend node to your graph. Select the node and add two layers. Name them "Grass" and "Dirt"
    This node will combine the albedo textures for this material.
  • Add a Landscape Layer Blend node to your graph for the normal maps, also name the layers "Grass" and "Dirt".
    Then plug in the albedo and normal maps to their proper inputs.
    Plug the outputs of the Landscape Layer BLend nodes into the Base Color and Normal material inputs.
    Add a Landscape Coords node and plug it into each of the Texture Sample nodes.
  • Select your Landscape actor, and in the Details window set it's Landscape Material to your material.
    In the Landscape Mode > Paint menu, create a Layer Info for each layer.

Adding Water

  • Unreal features a water plugin that can be enabled in the plugins menu (Edit > Plugins > Water)
  • The Ocean water actor creates the appearance of an endless ocean surrounding your level.
  • The Lake water actor allows you to use bezier curves to control a body of water that can be places inside a landscape. Right-click along the edge of the lake to add nodes, select nodes or handles to adjust their position.

Assignment Set 4 Project

The goal for Assignment Set 4 is to create a level that features a landscape the player can explore.
Consider adding vegetation, water, and other interesting elements to help create a believable world.
Remember to include all of the required content detailed on the grading rubric page.

Assignment Set 5 Lecture Recording 1 Lecture Recording 2

In this Assignment Set we will learn how to use the Widgit Blueprint to create interactive UI

Widget Blueprint
Canvas Panel
Text Widget
Add UI To Game

Widget Blueprint


  • The Widget Blueprint is a Blueprint class that allows you to design UI widgets like text, images, and sliders.
  • Open the Widget Blueprint to launch the Unreal Motion Graphics editor window.

Canvas Panel


  • A Canvas Panel creates a container for canvas widgets.
  • Widgets added to a canvas panel can have their positions anchored to the panel.

Text


  • Drag a Text widget onto the panel to add.
  • Add a font to your content folder to make it available in the Font Family property.
  • To make your text widgets variable, so they can be changed by a script, check Is Variable at the top of the details panel.

Creating a Player HUD


  • Unreal Game Modes allow you to control game mode properties. To manage the various UI elements our player will need, we want to create a custom HUD class to manage the rest of our widget classes.
  • First, create a new Blueprint which inherits from the HUD base class. I will call mine "PlayerHUDBase".

    Now, in the World Settings panel, in the Game Mode overrides, set your HUD Class to the class you just created.

    In the PlayerHUD BeginPlay Event, add a Print String function and then run the game to verify that you HUD is loading.
  • Next, we need a Widget to act as our first UI element. Create a new Widget Blueprint. I will call mine "Counter"

    Add a Canvas Panel and a Text to the canvas. Anchor the text appropriately, and check the ☑️Is Variable option in the Details panel. This will allow us to set the value of this text element through out script.
  • To get our Counter widget to appear in the PlayerHUD, we can have the PlayerHUD create an instance of the Counter and store a reference to it.
    First, add a variable to the PlayerHUD Blueprint with the type set to your Counter Blueprint. Next, we're going to create this sequence.
    🔸Create Counter Widget: This is creating an instance of our widget by setting the class type and calling this function. Note that this requires an "Owning Player" to assign the widget, so we use Get Player Controller to pass in Player 0.
    🔸Set Counter: With the output from creating the widget we can store a reference to the new widget we created, so that when we need to change our count text, we have a way to reference it.
    🔸Add to Viewport: This will display the widget on the screen.

Assignment Set 5 Project

The goal for Assignment Set 5 is to create an interactive UI element for your game.
You can add UI elements to your maze, such as buttons and sliders, that open doors or lower a drawbridge, for example.
You can also make a complete game from the UI, like a cookie clicker game.
Remember to include all of the required content detailed on the grading rubric page.

Assignment Set 6 Lecture Recording

In this Assignment Set we will learn how to add characters and animations from Mixamo to explore animating models in Unreal.

We will be using the Third Person Template in this lesson and changing the Third Person Blueprint's Mesh and Animations.

Add models and animations to Unreal.


  • We will be using Mixamo to download a character mesh, textures, and animations.
    Select a model from the Characters list and download the model as a FBX Binary file in the .
    Save this model into your project's Content folder.
  • Next, download an Idle, Walking, and Jump, animation.
    Use FBX Binary format and Without Skin.
    Be sure to ✅check In Place for walking animations, if available.
  • In the Unreal editor you will see a prompt for the import settings of the new assets.
    For the Character model, leave the default settings and select Import.
    For your animations, open the Skeleton selection drop-down and find the skeleton of the character you imported.

Animation Blueprint.


  • An Animation Blueprint controls animation behaviors.
    Create a new Animation Blueprint in your Content Drawer.
  • You will need to select a skeleton for your Animation Blueprint to target. Choose the skeleton associated with the character you imported.
  • In the Animation Blueprint editor, open the AnimGraph window.
    Here you can find the Output Pose node on the graph. This node represents the animation which is being played on the skeleton. We will plug various nodes into the Output Pose node to control which animation it is playing.
  • Sequence Player nodes can be plugged into the Output Pose node. You can drag an animation from your content drawer into the graph to add one.
    We wil be using a State Machine to control which animations are influencing the output.

State Machine


  • A State Machine allows for control over which animations are influencing the output.
    Add a state machine to your graph. Then double-click the State Machine node.
  • Inside the state machine, right click to create new states. Create a Movement state and a Jump state.
    Then, drag the Entry pin onto the edge of the Movement node, to have our state begin there.
    Next, click and drag the edge of the Movement state and drop it on the Jump state. This will create a transition between the states.
    Do the same from Jump to Movement.
  • Open the Jump state and add the Jump animation to the graph. Connect the Jump sequence to the Output node.
    This will cause the jump animation to play when the Jump state is entered inside this state machine.
  • Now we need to enable the transition from the Movement state to the Jump state.
    Open the transition going from Movement to Jump.
    Enable the transition.
  • To control the transition between the Walk state and Jump state, we need to write a script in the Animation Blueprint's Event Graph
    Open the Event Graph window and add a bool variable called "On Ground". The state of this variable will control when we transition between our Movement state and Jump state.
  • We can reference the ThirdPlayerBlueprint using TryGetPawnOwner. Then, to check the movement properties, use GetMovementComponent. From there, we can check the value of IsFalling to see if the player is in the air.
    If the player is in the air, they are not on the ground, so we can use the not node to invert the value of the bool and then set our "On Ground" variable to the output of that node.
    Use the EventBlueprintUpdateAnimation event to call this Set function each frame.
    Now we have a bool that is constantly updated to tell our State Machine if we are on the ground or not.
  • Next, we can use that On Ground bool to trigger a transition from our Movement state to our Jump state.
    In the State Machine, open the transition from Movement to Jump. We need to plug a boolean value into "Can Enter Transition", so by taking the value of "OnGround" and then using the not operator to flip it, we can cause this transition when we are not on the ground.
  • For the Movement state, we want to be able to blend between our Idle and Walk animations.
    In the Content Drawer, create a new Blend Space 1D

Version Control in Unreal Engine

- With Git

    Git software allows individuals, and teams, to create repositories for their work. Users can backup snapshots of their projects online, merge work together with other users, and restore work to a previous version.

  • Install Git and GitLFS
    • Download Git for your operating system.
    • Install using the recommended settings.
    • Download and install GitLFS.
  • Setup Git
    • Open Git Bash and set your user details by typing:
      • git config --global user.name "Your Name”
      • git config --global user.email “Your Email”
  • Create a Github Repository
    • GitHub is a website that stores Git repositories.
    • If you don't have a GitHub account yet, create one. Consider using a professional username and contact as your GitHub account can be part of your portfolio for some jobs in the game development industry.
    • Create a new repository on GitHub for your project. Be sure to select the Unreal .gitIgnore file when creating it.
    • In the Unreal Editor, find the Source Control button and click it. Then select Connect To Source Control.
    • Select "Git" from the Source Control window and fill in the required settings. Make sure to check "Add gitattributes to enable Git LFS"
      You can find the "URL of the remote server origin" on your GitHub repository when you click the green Code button.
    • Locate and open the .gitignore file. Add "Builds" to the list to tell Git to ignore tracking a "Builds" folder.
  • Using Git Bash
    • Open your Unreal project in an explorer window. Right-click inside the window and select "Open Git Bash Here" to open a Bash terminal for the repository in your project.
    • Git commands:
      • git status : View the status of your local branch.
      • git add . : Stage all changes to your project so they can be committed.
      • git commit -m "Commit message" : Commit all staged changes with a message describing them.
      • git push -u origin master : Push your commits to the GitHub repository on the master branch.
  • Using GitHub Desktop

Teams Pillars & Values Design Document

Ape 8
 🔹 Maximus R🔹 Connor K
🔹 Victor F🔹 Kevin T
🔹 James H
Team Aero
 🔹 Santiago M🔹Jai H
🔹 Matthew M🔹Paulo T
🔹Taylor J
Orikami
 🔹 Zachary M 🔹 Richard V
🔹Jared L 🔹Aleena G
Team 4
 🔹 Jesse D🔹 Tom B
🔹 John B🔹 Shane M
🔹 Colby A🔹 Kennedy C
Team Ryan
 🔹 Ryan H

Final Project

Design and Build a Game!

The final project in this course is designed to give you the time and guidance needed to design and develop a game with a significant scope. We will spend the remainder of the course building this game. Each week you will submit a progress report where you describe what you worked on for the previous week.

Teams

The first step of the project is to identify your team. Students will have the opportunity to pitch their game ideas and recruit team members. Find a team and project that you can be an asset on and that would make a strong portfolio piece for you.
Each team should start a project management board that utilizes time tracking tools. Trello, Jira, or Hack N Plan have time tracking features. For Trello you can use Activity Timer.

If a student needs to be placed on a team I will facilitate assigning them to one.

Roles: Each team member must add a card to their project management board that identifies their role/roles on the team.

| Required | Team Lead: Responsible for general leadership of the game's production. Ensure the functioning and well-being of the team. Resolve disputes. If there are team issues, this will be my point of contact.

| Required | Scrum Lead: Responsible for organizing task lists w/individual team members. Ensure effective communication during development. Keep team members on tasks and completing tasks on time.

Design Lead: Responsible for leading the game's design and communicating with art and engineer leads to ensure they understand the games design. Should have strong understanding of the game's pillars.

Art Lead: Responsible for leading art direction. Disseminating tasks to artists to complete current sprint. Ensuring art assets look like they all belong to the same game and support the art direction outlined in the Design Document.

Programming Lead: Responsible for delegating programming tasks in support of completing each sprint.

Designer, Artist, Programmer, Audio Engineer, etc.: These are the non-lead core developer roles that complete tasks assigned to them for each sprint to drive the project forward.

Defining Your Game

Establish your games pillars and values

Identifying the pillars of your game establishes a framework for selecting game mechanics and other design choices that go into building a game. Each pillar should be carefully chosen as an essential value that supports the goal of the game. Here are a few helpful tips from Charlie Cleveland of Unknown Worlds:

  • Pillars shouldn't take long to make: perhaps a couple hours of the leads talking and writing together. I think a great game could certainly have only one pillar, but I think it would be hard to make one with five or more. When in doubt, have fewer.
  • Ideally, everything that goes into your game will be in direct support of a pillar. When an idea doesn't seem to support a pillar, it can be discarded, without it being personal or subjective from the lead.
  • Each pillar is like the horizon - it leads you somewhere but you'll never fully arrive.
  • Ideally, every aspect of your game will evolve, except the pillars and values. If you change one along the way, it would probably ripple to create a lot more work (or reduce the "integrity" of your game).
  • When a straightforward or low-cost idea supports multiple pillars, you can implement it immediately - probably with no questions asked and no meetings. This is where your game can make big leaps.
  • Even if you're a team of one, pillars are useful for yourself, to keep integrity in your game your development on track.

Examples of Games and Their Pillars

Below are some examples of possible game pillars for popular titles. Read through these examples and see if you can identify design choices these developers made that are supported by their pillars.
After reading through these examples, work with your team to identify your games pillars. Post them to your project management board.

  1. Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018)

    • Immersive Open World

      • The game features a vast and detailed open world that feels alive, with dynamic weather, wildlife, and NPC routines. Players can engage in various activities, such as hunting, fishing, and interacting with NPCs, to immerse themselves in the world.

    • Character Development and Relationships

      • Players take on the role of Arthur Morgan, a member of the Van der Linde gang, and experience his journey through the changing landscape of the Old West. Building relationships with other gang members and NPCs is a central aspect of the game, affecting both the story and gameplay.

    • Freedom of Choice

      • Players have the freedom to choose how to approach missions and activities, whether through stealth, diplomacy, or violence. The game's moral choices also impact Arthur's honor and reputation.

  2. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017)

    • Exploration and Discovery

      • Players are encouraged to explore the vast open world of Hyrule, discovering hidden secrets, shrines, and landmarks along the way. The game rewards curiosity and experimentation.

    • Dynamic Physics-Based Gameplay

      • Interactions with the environment, including the use of physics-based mechanics such as rolling boulders and manipulating objects with the Magnesis rune, provide players with creative solutions to puzzles and combat encounters.

    • Player Agency and Freedom

      • Players have the freedom to tackle challenges in any order they choose, with minimal handholding or guidance. This allows for a personalized and non-linear gameplay experience.

  3. Death Stranding (2019)

    • Connection and Collaboration

      • The game emphasizes the theme of connection, both narratively and mechanically. Players traverse a fragmented world, connecting isolated settlements and individuals through the delivery of goods and resources.

    • Exploration and Survival

      • Players must navigate hazardous terrain and overcome environmental obstacles while managing resources such as stamina, cargo weight, and equipment durability. Survival elements, such as avoiding hostile entities and maintaining balance, are central to the gameplay experience.

    • Storytelling and Worldbuilding

      • The game features a richly detailed world with a complex narrative exploring themes of isolation, community, and the consequences of human actions. Environmental storytelling and character interactions deepen the player's understanding of the game world.

  4. Mass Effect 2 (2010)

    • Player Choice and Consequence

      • Decisions made by the player have significant consequences on the game world and storyline, affecting character relationships, mission outcomes, and even the survival of certain characters.

    • Character Loyalty Missions

      • Each character in the player's squad has their own loyalty mission, which provides deeper insight into their backstory and motivations. Completing these missions can strengthen the bond between the player and their squad members.

    • Interstellar Exploration

      • Players can explore various planets and star systems, scanning for resources, completing side missions, and encountering unique alien species. This pillar emphasizes the vastness and diversity of the game universe.

  5. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (2005)

    • Stealth

      • The core gameplay revolves around stealth mechanics, requiring players to move silently, hide in shadows, and use gadgets to avoid detection by enemies.

    • Environmental Interaction

      • Players can interact with the environment to gain tactical advantages, such as shooting out lights to create darkness or using objects as distractions to lure enemies away.

    • Non-lethal Takedowns

      • Encourages players to incapacitate enemies using non-lethal means, such as melee attacks or tranquilizer darts, rather than resorting to lethal force.

  6. SimCity (1989)

    • City Planning and Management

      • Players are tasked with building and managing a virtual city, including zoning land for residential, commercial, and industrial use, managing utilities, and balancing the city budget.

    • Population Happiness

      • Keeping citizens happy and satisfied is essential for the city's success. Factors such as crime, pollution, and access to amenities affect the overall happiness of the population.

    • Disaster Response

      • Players must prepare for and respond to various disasters, such as earthquakes, fires, and alien invasions, to minimize damage and maintain the city's resilience.

Design Document

Teams will work together on creating one game design document. The document should consist of both written and visual documentation. Students will be graded on their individual contributions to this document, so mark your contributions clearly.

Although you will not receive individual grades on design documents, they will be counted towards your weekly contributions. If you do not do one, all teammates will lose 50pts on their first two weekly grades.

New Projects

Written Design Documents

Meet with your team and figure out the specific format your document will take. Use this as a starting point:

  • Overview
    This should be your elevator pitch paragraph revised to incorporate any feedback from class. Include your design pillars here as well. Describe the target audience for your game.
  • Background/Research
    After explaining your design pillars, show other games that have addressed this type of challenge in different ways. Use different games to illustrate how others have approached your various pillars/goals. Include screenshots and breifly explain their approach and why yours is different.
  • Gameplay
    Describe the game's mechanics. How does the player interact with the game? What is the player doing from moment to moment? What is the goal? When does it end?
  • Game Elements
    Describe the elements in the game. How do they interact with each other or the character (if there is one)? What are their attributes?
  • Artistic Style
    What will your game look like? 2D, 3D, isometric? What's your inspiration? What's the mood?
  • MVP + Process
    How are you going to make this game? Start with describing your MVP. What's the smallest thing you can make that will allow you to test and evaluate your idea. Discuss implementation strategies. Discuss technical challenges.
  • Appendix
    Any visual design documents that aren't referenced specifically in the text.

Divide up your responsibilities and post these roles under a Game Document list in Trello. It's up to your team how you'd like to divide up the work, however, as you will be graded on your individual contributions, I encourage you divide up the document by section or visual design document. I'm leaving the following section as a reminder of visual design document options.

Visual Design Documents/Diagrams

Explain your game visually. You should include text when appropriate, but do so minimally. You may use one of the following approaches. Please choose the one most appropriate for your game. Draw.io is a great tool for creating flow charts and diagrams, however, use whatever tool you are most comfortable with. I'd highly recommend choosing the hybrid example as one of your choices.

  • Hybrid
    Here is a hybrid (storyboard + layout). Here is a well-executed student hybrid document. Although it could be cleaned up, it does a great job visually communicating the concept.
  • Flowchart
    Here is an example from a pet training game. Here is one from a narrative-based puzzle game.
  • Storyboard
    Here is an example.
  • Map
    Here is an example. Here is another.

Post-Mortem + Plan Document

  • Playtest
    Conduct playtests of your game in its current form and provide documentation of them. Anayzle the results and use it to inform the following sections.
  • Game Self-Critique + Solutions
    Create a prioritized list of your game's biggest flaws. What are your biggest problems? Re-read and summarize playtesting from last semester. Address the following topics (along with anything else you think needs work): originality, gameplay issues, aesthetics (visuals, sound), UI issues, theme, narrative. Provide an initial sentence/phrase summarizing the flaw and then a paragraph expanding on each. Quote playtest feedback from last semester to support your arguments.
  • Plan + New Functionality
    Give a detailed overview of the new functionality you plan on incorporating into your game. Start with a prioritized list and expand it by describing exactly what you'll be doing and why (i.e., each list item becomes a heading/subheading). Provide visual documents to support your explanations when appropriate. The "why" is also important. Each new piece of functionality you are proposing should reference a issue identified in your self-critique (i.e., this will solve problem X) or one of your design pillars (i.e., this will help better achieve our player experience goal Y in our design pillar Z).
  • Process Self-Critique and Lessons Learned
    What worked last semester and what didn't? What specifically are you going to change from a process perspective, if anything?
  • Backlog
    Make a prioritized backlog for your Trello.

Bathophobia Design Document by Matthew G

Unable to display PDF file. Download instead.

Task + Time Tracking

Your project management board should have a list for each week of work from the start of this assignment until the end of the course.
A backlog of tasks should be maintained by the appropriate lead role, with the student's who work on that task assigned to it. This will allow me to filter the weekly list by user to see what each student completed for that week. If your name is not assigned to a task, I will not see it.
You should use the time tracking features to get accurate reports of how much time you spend on each task.

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