Unreal  Unreal Games Engine

Unreal is FREE (until you earn your first $1 Million US, then 5% of royalties).

Student showcase of environments 60 second clip from the Unreal Educator Twitch stream

Getting started tutorials

Unreal has lots of free online learning resources available. Log in to track your course progress and earn badges.

Alternatively this free 10-part tutorial series on Unreal Engine is a great place to start:

  • 01: Getting Started – install the engine, navigate the interface and create your first game object
  • 02: Blueprints – create a player character; set up inputs; make an item disappear when the player touches it
  • 03: Materials – modify textures in the material editor, create + update material instances during gameplay
  • 04: UI – User Interface: create, display and update your HUD (Heads Up Display)
  • 05: How To Create a Simple Game – randomize obstacles and create a restart button
  • 06: Animation – import and use animations
  • 07: Audio – play audio in 3D space; control audio volumes through a UI
  • 08: Particle Systems – create and modify particle systems for fire and smoke; use burst for explosions
  • 09: Artificial Intelligence – behavior trees and AI Perception; create an AI character that roams and attacks
  • 10: How to Create a Simple FPS – create a first-person character that can fire a gun and damage actors

Installing Unreal Games Engine

You will need about 30 GB of disk space depending on which options you choose. On a Mac, you will also need to install the free Xcode from the Mac App Store, which by itself needs 50GB+ available space to download. If you are tight for space on a laptop, download Xcode first, it frees up most of the 50 GB once installed, leaving room for the Unreal Games Engine.

Choose the Publishing License if you plan to make games. You may need to download the Epic Games Launcher first.

If you want to code in C++ rather than just use the pre-made Blueprints, on Windows you will also need Microsoft’s free Visual Studio (also available for Mac and Linux).

Some tutorials for specific effects

Rain outside, dry inside

https://www.reddit.com/r/unrealengine/comments/854g5a/show_off_rain_occlusion_system/

Typewriter style Text: Create a Blueprint widget to get text to appear one letter at a time.

Change the size of the health bar

Use timers

textures

https://docs.unrealengine.com/en-us/Engine/Content/Types/Textures/Properties