Book Image

Unreal Development Kit Beginner's Guide

By : Richard Moore
Book Image

Unreal Development Kit Beginner's Guide

By: Richard Moore

Overview of this book

Unreal Development Kit (UDK) is the free version of the award-winning Unreal Engine 3. It is used to create a wide variety of games ranging from amateur to professional standard next generation AAA titles. This book will show you exactly how to create an enjoyable and immersive game environment using the UDK. You will learn how to implement, level design, lighting, environmental effects, movement, terrain, map creation, item placement, kismet, materials and complex event sequences. You will work through the level design process from navigating round the editor to learning how to develop a fully playable environment. You will quickly master all of the engine’s key tools that are accessible through Unreal Engine 3. You will then start putting together your first level using step-by-step instructions. Next we will implement real world features such as dynamic lighting and shadows, particle effects, physics, terrain, item placement and advanced AI/bot pathing. Finally you will learn how to use UDK’s cutting edge high level scripting. By the end of this book you will be equipped with the skills to create an entertaining and imaginative game world.
Table of Contents (17 chapters)
Unreal Development Kit 3
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Pop Quiz Answers
Index

About the Reviewers

Taylor Paschal grew up surrounded by video games. As the game industry skyrocketed in the mid-nineties, games like GoldenEye and Zelda consumed his time. Inspired by the beautiful environments of the games he played, Taylor constantly dreamt of one day being able to entertain others with levels made by his own design. That dream never left him.

Now over a decade later, Taylor is a senior, expected to graduate from Radford University in May 2011 with a degree in Software Engineering. Specializing in game development practices and level design, he works with an upcoming studio of talented individuals, overseeing the art and level design of their games, which make use of the Mobile UDK. In his spare time, he does graphic design work, creating logos, ads, and wallpapers on request.

Taylor has over three years of experience with the Unreal 3 Engine. Meeting with developers from Epic Games to enhance his knowledge of the engine and attending game development conferences to learn about level design theory, Taylor applies his much sought-after skills to his work, creating vibrant and exciting worlds for players to explore.

Jamie Telford is a Technical Artist in the field of real-time applications and game development. His primary expertise is in developing robust animation systems for deployment in modern cutting edge software applications.

Jamie's years of experience in the games and education industry have given him an excellent insight into current and upcoming methodology and techniques deployed in successful development environments.

He has worked for Fuzzyeyes Studio and Ksatria Gameworks as an animator and rigger. In addition to his industry experience, he has worked for several years as a lecturer in animation and modeling for Ngee Ann Polytechnic of Singapore.

Dave Voyles is Managing Editor and Podcast Producer for Armless Octopus. He covers Xbox Live Indie Game, Xbox Live Arcade, and Playstation Network news, reviews, and developer interviews. He holds a B.S. in Communication Studies from SUNY Oneonta, and is currently attending the New York Institute of Technology to work on his MBA in Management of Information Systems.

Dave also builds projects focusing on the Unreal Development Kit. Most notably, he is founder of the New York City-based UDK meetup group, where he works with other developers to collaborate on endeavors in a physical environment, as well as provides tutorials. He is currently developing a third-person adventure title of his own, and plans to release it on the PC later this year.

You can find more of his work by visiting his site at http://www.DaveVoyles.wordpress.com or www.ArmlessOctopus.com.