Blueprints Visual Scripting for Unreal Engine 5: Unleash the true power of Blueprints to create impressive games and applications in UE5, 3rd Edition
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Packt Publishing
Unreal Engine's Blueprint visual scripting system enables designers to script their games and programmers to create base elements that can be extended by designers. With this book, you'll explore all the features of the Blueprint Editor, along with expert tips, shortcuts, and best practices.
The book guides you through using variables, macros, and functions, and helps you learn about object-oriented programming (OOP). You'll discover the Gameplay Framework and advance to learning how Blueprint Communication allows one Blueprint to access information from another Blueprint. Later chapters focus on building a fully functional game step by step. You'll start with a basic first-person shooter (FPS) template, and each chapter will build on the prototype to create an increasingly complex and robust game experience. You'll then progress from creating basic shooting mechanics to more complex systems such as user interface elements and intelligent enemy behavior. The book demonstrates how to use arrays, maps, enums, and vector operations and introduces the elements needed for VR game development. In the final chapters, you'll learn how to implement procedural generation and create a product configurator.
By the end of this book, you'll have learned how to build a fully functional game and have the skills required to develop an entertaining experience for your audience.
Review
"I've enjoyed my collaboration with Marcos tremendously over the past 6 or 7 years. I invited Marcos to participate in an Education Livestream that I had been hosting on the Unreal Engine Twitch channel in the summer of 2020. Marcos' knowledge of Unreal and Blueprints and his willingness to share have always been such a gift! It's been a treat to work with him at every turn.
When Marcos told me that he was writing a new book on Blueprints for Unreal Engine 5, I was thrilled and honored to help out by promoting his efforts without reservation. It has been my pleasure to work with Marcos and am thankful that he is willing to share his knowledge with the Unreal Engine community and with the world. I thoroughly hope everyone enjoys reading this book!"
Luis Cataldi, Lead Evangelist at Quixel/Epic Games
About the Author
Marcos Romero is the author of the Romero Blueprints blog, which is one of the main references on the internet to learn about Blueprints. Epic Games invited Marcos to the Unreal Engine 4 closed beta program to experiment and collaborate with the evolution of the tools. He was also one of the first recipients of Unreal Dev Grants for Education. Marcos is a well-known figure in the Unreal community and, for Epic Games, he wrote the official Blueprints Compendium and Blueprints Instructor's Guide.
Brenden Sewell is a game designer and creative director with over a decade of experience leading teams in the development of compelling interactive experiences that entertain and inspire. Prior to joining Bossfight Entertainment to work on some upcoming secret projects, he explored the intersection of social impact and entertainment serving as the Creative Director for E-line Media. He has led developments from concept to live support on a variety of games ranging from a brain-training first-person shooter to a construction sandbox exploring the future of digital fabrication.
- Understand programming concepts in Blueprints
- Create prototypes and iterate new game mechanics rapidly
- Build user interface elements and interactive menus
- Use advanced Blueprint nodes to manage the complexity of a game
- Explore all the features of the Blueprint editor, such as the Components tab, Viewport, and Event Graph
- Get to grips with OOP concepts and explore the Gameplay Framework
- Work with virtual reality development in UE Blueprint
- Implement procedural generation and create a product configurator
This book is for anyone interested in developing games or applications with UE5. Although basic knowledge of Windows OS is required, experience in programming or UE5 is not necessary.
- Exploring the Blueprint Editor
- Programming with Blueprints
- Object-Oriented Programming and the Gameplay Framework
- Understanding Blueprint Communication
- Object Interaction with Blueprints
- Enhancing Player Abilities
- Creating Screen UI Elements
- Creating Constraints and Gameplay Objectives
- Building Smart Enemies with Artificial Intelligence
- Upgrading the AI Enemies
- Game States and Applying Finishing Touches
- Building and Publishing
- Data Structures and Flow Control
- Math and Trace Nodes
- Blueprints Tips
- Introduction to VR Development
- Animation Blueprints
- Creating Blueprint Libraries and Components
- Procedural Generation
- Creating a Product Configurator using the Variant Manager
