Overview

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Embark on an exciting journey into game development with this comprehensive course on Unreal Engine 5. You'll begin by learning how to set up the foundational elements of your game, such as creating the night mood for a spooky atmosphere and designing the game area. Through hands-on lessons, you'll explore key tools and assets available in the Unreal Engine Marketplace, mastering the fundamentals that bring your FPS game to life. Next, you'll delve into character creation and animations, where you’ll build a fully functioning FPS protagonist. From basic movements to advanced controller input settings, this section will teach you how to implement smooth character controls, including the addition of dynamic animations like jumping and aiming. You'll also dive into the weapon system, learning how to attach weapons, animate firing actions, and add sound effects to bring combat to life. Finally, you'll focus on creating AI-driven zombies. This section covers every detail from adding enemy characters and setting up AI behaviors, to designing complex combat interactions and damage systems. You’ll also learn how to enhance gameplay with health pickups, ammo management, and HUD improvements. By the end of this course, you will have built a fully functional zombie shooter, complete with AI enemies and dynamic gameplay mechanics. This course is perfect for aspiring game developers and intermediate Unreal Engine users. A basic understanding of Unreal Engine 5’s interface and basic game design concepts is recommended. Prior experience with game development is helpful but not required.

Syllabus

Introduction

In this module, we will introduce you to the overarching concepts of game development within Unreal Engine 5, specifically focusing on the creation of a zombie survival FPS game. You'll gain an understanding of what to expect throughout the course and explore the fundamental elements of game design for this project.

Introduction and Setup

In this module, we will guide you through the initial setup required to begin developing your zombie survival FPS game. You'll learn how to download and install assets, set the night-time mood for your environment, organize and structure the game area, and familiarize yourself with Unreal Engine 5’s editor. Key concepts like object hierarchy and actor placement will also be covered to help establish the foundation of your game world.

Character Movements and Animations

In this module, we will focus on building and animating the main character for your zombie survival game. You'll learn how to create character movement, add camera functionality, and define various inputs for controlling actions. We’ll also cover setting up an animation blueprint, making your character jump, and using an animation state machine to create dynamic, mood-driven character behaviors.

Character Weapon Setup

In this module, we will dive into setting up weapons for your character, from creating and attaching weapons to adding firing effects and animations. You’ll learn to implement aiming intelligence, add muzzle flashes, and synchronize firing sounds with your gun mechanics. We’ll also explore blueprint functions to manage weapon behaviors and use line tracing to track firing accuracy and interactions with the environment.

Create AI Zombies

In this module, we will focus on designing and implementing AI for the zombies in your game. You'll learn how to add basic artificial intelligence to zombie characters, enable them to roam randomly, and follow or attack the player when approached. We'll also cover zombie animations, adding destruction sequences, and configuring sounds to bring the zombies to life with realistic movement and attack behaviors.

Ammo, Health Pickups, and Overall Combat Improvement

In this module, we will enhance the combat experience by adding key features such as ammo and health pickups, along with crosshairs for aiming precision. You'll learn how to implement damage systems for both the player and zombies, allowing for more realistic combat. Additionally, we'll explore creating animations for zombies when they take damage and die, and also work on automatic firing, ammo depletion, and replenishment mechanics to ensure dynamic and engaging combat scenarios.

Game Mode Improvements

In this module, we will refine the game mode by establishing the rules and conditions for various game states. You'll learn to track zombies remaining on the HUD, define winning and losing conditions, and create warm-up and in-progress states for added gameplay depth. Additionally, we’ll cover setting timers, formatting countdowns, and introducing game-level transitions with increased difficulty to enhance the overall gaming experience.

Additional Chapter

In this module, we will test the game with new randomized elements to introduce variability in gameplay. You’ll learn how to adjust the color of ammo, tweak environment settings, and apply additional changes to refine both the look and feel of the game, ensuring a more polished final product.