The property of a light that allows imagery to be projected from it is called the LightFunction in UDK. In this recipe we'll briefly cover the process to assign it, using an animated example: pool caustics through a FlipBook. Caustics is an effect called by refraction of light through surfaces such as glass and water. Pool caustics is a well known example. Reflective objects can also cast caustics, such as a gold ring's reflection onto a table. In a game you can use a LightFunction to recreate those effects, but you can also use it for any projected imagery, such as the aberration in a torch hotspot, or to fake the effects of stained glass window light splashes (though a way to create stained glass lighting is covered in the chapter following this one). A quick note—pool caustics show on the bottom of the pool (refraction) but they also reflect up onto walls surrounding the pool.
Unreal Development Kit Game Design Cookbook
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Unreal Development Kit Game Design Cookbook
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Overview of this book
UDK is a free, world class game editing tool and being so powerful it can be daunting to learn. This guide offers an excellent set of targeted recipes to help game artists get up to speed with game designing in UDK.Unreal Development Kit Game Design Cookbook contains everything you need to jumpstart your game design efforts. The lessons are aimed squarely at the artist's field of production, with recipes on asset handling, creating content within the editor, animation and visual scripting to get the content working in gameplay.Unreal Game Development Kit Game Design Cookbook exposes how real-time environments are built using UDK tools. Key features are examined ñ assets, animation, light, materials, game controls, user interface, special effects, and game interactivity - with the view of making UDK technically accessible so users can transcend technique and focus on their creative design process. The book has well prepared recipes for level designers and artists of all levels. It covers core design tools and processes in the editor, particularly setting up characters, UI approaches, configuration and scripting gameplay. It is a technical guide that allows game artists to go beyond just creating assets, and it includes creative, extensive demonstrations that extend on mere functionality.
Table of Contents (17 chapters)
Unreal Development Kit Game Design Cookbook
Credits
About the Authors
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Free Chapter
Heads Up—UDK Interface Essentials
Notes From an Unreal World—Constructing Game World Elements
It Lives!—Character Setup and Animation
Got Your Wires Crossed?—Visual Scripting of Gameplay in Kismet
It Is Your Destiny!—Scripting Complex Gameplay Flow in Kismet
Under The Hood—Configuration and Handy Tweaks for UDK
Hi, I'm Eye Candy!—Ways to Create and Use Particle Effects
Then There Was Light!—Manipulating Level Light and Shadows
The Devil Is In The Details!—Making the Most of Materials
The Way Of The Flash UI—Scaleform, CLIK, and Flash Interfaces
Index
Customer Reviews