Video games are really great! Majority of the kids around the world have either played it or wants to play it. Not only kids even some adults love to play games in order to get over all the stress. These games are important for a myriad of reasons. It encourages teamwork, boosts self-confidence or self-esteem, gives the opportunity for socialization, improves hand-eye coordination, encourages participation and so much more. These games are fun too! Whether be it a school going kid or even an office going adult, everyone becomes competitive when it comes to playing the video game.
But have you ever thought that how these games are build which you enjoy playing the most? It’s the game developers and the game engine which make all the competition, noises, bonding and so many other things possible. Herein, I’ll be going to talk about one such game engine which has slowly gained every developer’s attention i.e. Unreal Engine 4 or UE4 for short.
Though there are several game engines available such as Unity, Cry Engine, Amazon Lumberyard, GoDot, AppGameKit and others, it’s UE 4 whose high-quality graphics and numerous other functions makes it popular among all these. Have you played Tekken 7 or Fortnite or Gears of War 4 or Injustice 2? Yes! It’s UE 4 behind all these famous games in the world. Not only these but it is the reason behind myriads of other games which are known for 3D animation or super quality graphics.
Understanding UE4
UE 4 is one of the best game development engines which truly overshadowed Unity; the world’s leading game development engine. In 1998, Epic Games displayed a first-person shooter game called Unreal whereas, UE 4.18 was released in March 2018. It is known for providing a user-friendly, modern, engaging and super powerful program. With UE 4, developers can create high-quality games across PC, mobile, console, VR & AR. Though in 1998, it was developed for first-person shooters but its latest version is now used effectively for developing games from different genres like stealth, MMORPGs, RPGs and others.
Basically, UE 4 is a group of tools used for game development by anyone or everyone working with real-time technology. It is completely different from its previous versions i.e. UE 3 and UDK and comprises of several new features. UE 4 allows developers to instantaneously iterate their ideas into results without even touching any line of code. UE 4 doesn’t require any advanced programming language and is widely favored by the developers because of its high-quality graphics. Being a successor of Unreal Development Kit (UDK), it has replaced the old language with C++; a programming language widely used by the game developers or the game development companies.
It can be used for designing games for macOS, Linux, Windows, iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch, Play Station 4, Xbox One, AR and VR. UE has also won sundry of awards such as Game Developer Magazine Front Line Awards for Best Game Engine, Develop Industry Excellence Awards for Best Engine and others.
Advantages of Using Unreal Engine 4
The high-quality graphics which UE 4 is known to provide is not the only advantage you get while using it. Its usability with more clear and user-friendly interface along with the incorporation of visual and simple programming for creating almost any game without the need to write code gives UE 4 an extra edge over other engines. Below is the list of all the main advantages of using UE 4.
So, let’s start…
1.High-Quality Graphics- Its graphics is better than other engines and has the potential to create high visual quality content. It is known for delivering photorealistic graphics, advanced dynamic lighting and innovative particle system handling up to a million particles in a scene at ones. UE 4 is known for creating high-tech Triple-A games.
2. The simplicity of Use- It consists of schemes like the blocks which allows artists to use the UE 4 without the extensive knowledge of programming languages.
3. No Unreal Script- With the minimal knowledge of C++, you can easily make the changes in the game. It enables noncoders for quick prototyping.
4. UE 4 supports cross-platform editors which can be run on Windows, Linux and MacOS.
5. It comprises of more tools and functionality including visual editors when compared with other similar engines.
6. Rendering technology is more fast and efficient than other games because of different functions.
7. It allows fast compilation (takes seconds instead of minutes) for quick iterations.
8. In UE 4, you can easily modify camera paths whenever you want, even in the video editing phase.
9. Complete Source Code Access via GutHub.
10. Active Community- UE 4 is supported by various communities having active and friendly members which quickly responds to your doubts and queries.
So, here’s the Bottom Line
As the tag line on a homepage of Unreal Engine website says “Make Something Unreal with the most Powerful Creation Engine”, it truly lives by these words. Indeed, UE 4 is one of the most powerful engines known for delivering amazing quality graphics and tons of other features. This technology makes game development much simpler as a whole. Be it camera paths, support for the different platforms, resolution, FPS rate, rendering or any other features, all are incorporated in it to make game development much more flexible and fast. However, it might take some time and experience for you to achieve the desired quality but once you are comfortable with this engine, for sure it’ll be worth your time and money.
So what do you think? Feel free to give your feedback or personal thoughts below in the comment section. In the meantime, you can also take Unreal Game Development For Beginners online tutorial for building a complete 3D game using Unreal Engine.
