Unreal Engine 5 for Beginners: Building a tiny Resource Game
Unreal Engine 5 (UE5) is a cutting-edge game development engine developed by Epic Games. With its advanced features and user-friendly interface, it has become a popular choice among developers and enthusiasts alike. In this tutorial, we will explore the basics of Unreal Engine 5 and build a simple resource management game from scratch. This project will introduce you to the essential tools, concepts, and workflows needed to kickstart your game development journey.
Getting Started with Unreal Engine 5
Before diving into the project, let's set up Unreal Engine 5 on your system. Visit the Epic Games website and download the latest version of Unreal Engine 5. Install the engine and launch the Unreal Editor. Upon launching, you'll be greeted with the Unreal Engine project browser.
Creating a New Project
Click on "New Project" and select "Blueprint" as the project type. For this tutorial, we'll stick to Blueprint-based projects, as they don't require coding knowledge, making it more beginner-friendly. Choose a project template that best suits your needs. In our case, we'll select the "Third Person" template for simplicity.
Unreal Engine Interface
Unreal Engine has a vast and feature-rich interface, which can be overwhelming for beginners. But fear not! We'll focus on the essential parts to get you started.
Viewport: This is where you'll see your game world. You can move around using the mouse, and navigate using the keyboard keys.
Content Browser: This is where all your game assets, such as meshes, textures, and sounds, are stored and organized.
Details Panel: When you select an object in the Viewport or Content Browser, its properties and settings will be displayed here.
Modes Panel: This is where you can find various tools for level editing, such as brushes, lights, and other objects.
Toolbar: The Toolbar contains essential tools and shortcuts, like saving, undo/redo, and playtesting.
Building the Environment
Let's create a tiny resource game where the player collects gems. We'll start by setting up the environment.
Importing Assets: Find or create assets for your game, such as a player character, gems, and a simple environment. Import them into the Content Browser by right-clicking and selecting "Import."
Setting up the Ground: Drag and drop a ground plane from the Modes Panel into the Viewport. Adjust its size and position to create the base for your game world.
Placing Gems: Drag and drop gem assets onto the ground plane. Scatter them around the environment to create a collection challenge.
Creating the Player Character: You can create a simple player character using a third-person character blueprint. Go to the "Blueprints" folder in the Content Browser, right-click, and choose "Blueprint Class." Select "Character" as the parent class, and open the blueprint editor. Customize your character's appearance, behavior, and movement.
Implementing Game Logic
Now that we have our environment set up, let's add game logic to make the gems collectible and track the player's score.
Gem Blueprint: Create a new blueprint based on the gem asset. Add a collision box to the blueprint, which will serve as the collection trigger for the player. Implement logic that, when the player character overlaps with the gem, it disappears, and the player's score increases.
Player Character Blueprint: Open the player character blueprint and implement logic to control the character's movement. Add variables to track the player's score and display it on the screen.
User Interface (UI): Create a simple UI widget to display the player's score. You can add a text element to show the score value.
Game Mode Blueprint: Create a new blueprint based on the "Game Mode" class. In the Game Mode blueprint, set the player character blueprint as the default pawn class. This will spawn the player character when the game starts.
Testing and Playtesting
Now that we've implemented the game logic let's test our game to ensure everything works as expected.
Play In Editor (PIE): Click on the "Play" button in the Toolbar to test your game in the Editor. Move your character around using the keyboard or gamepad and collect the gems to see if the score increases.
Packaging the Game: Once you are satisfied with your game, it's time to package it. Go to "File" -> "Package Project" and select the appropriate platform (e.g., Windows, macOS, Android). This will create an executable file or an installable package for your game.
Conclusion
Congratulations! You've built a tiny resource game using Unreal Engine 5. This project was just a starting point, and there is so much more you can explore and create with this powerful engine. As you become more familiar with Unreal Engine 5, you can dive into advanced topics like AI, multiplayer networking, and complex level design. Don't forget to leverage the Unreal Engine community and documentation for further support and inspiration. Happy game development!
