A few general questions from beginner.

Community Community & Industry Discussion
1

Hello, I am Ubernoob!

Like many gamers, for years I have thought about someday being a game designer.

I am a musician, and creative thinker, with VERY minimal design/programming background.

Years ago I took courses in Flash, and Photoshop, as well as a few other programs, and was quite talented at them.

I also did some Skyrim modding a few years ago. Mostly player housing/decorating, but also a bit of everything.

I remember making functional followers with minor voice acting/AI required LOTS of tutorial time lol.

It seems like Idie games in UE4 is something I could do! :smiley:

Question 1

What are the chances that I could make somewhat complicated games, (a.k.a. not flappy birds) without learning c++ ahead if time?

I’m assuming after a while of using pre-made codes/tutorials, and tinkering with them, some of it will just stick.

I would rather not spend a million hours just memorizing a whole new language before I even begin.

Question 2

What are the available options for pre-made codes, and can you get away with mixing them?

Obviously for SUPER simple games, you can have fun with the starter templates.

But for example in a top down, Gauntlet style game, if I want to see equip armor and weapons on charcters.

Could I maybe just add one pre-made code on top of another, fill in blanks, link a few things together, and bam?

Is that sort of thing simple, or super complex?

Question 3
What programs should I get?

Photoshop for skins/2D art?

Flash for menus and cut-scenes?

Well, thank you for reading!

I just got the program today, and barely looked at it.

A few days ago I got Unity 5, and was already through a few hours of tutorials when I decided to check out UE4.

After then reading much debate about what was better, I decided on UE4.

It seemed like for beginners either program is fine, but the hope here is that I become advanced some day.

UE4 sounded like the choice for the masterpieces in my mind! (time will tell if they ever happen lol)

2

Hey there! Welcome to the Unreal Forums :slight_smile:

Question 1 - Since UE4 has it’s own system for programming available ,Blueprints, It’s actually not that difficult!

I know absolutely no C++ at all, (though I do know some VB.net, JavaScript, and Java) I can accomplish anything that blueprints allows me to :). All you have to know is the terminology it uses, and as long as you understand the general thought process behind object oriented programming, you’ll be fine. I’ll leave a link here to Epic’s HUGELY helpful youtube series. They’ve come a long way from when I started. - (https://www.youtube.com/user/UnrealDevelopmentKit/playlists)

Question 2 - Honestly, I would definitely just use the online resources Epic/3rd parties have for free to accomplish what you’re looking for. A lot of what game developers are trying to do has been done before, and is online and able to be learned quite easily. Again, with blueprints, it makes it SUPER easy. However, there are a lot of resources on on the Unreal Marketplace, which you can view here. On the topic of mixing them, it definitely depends on what exactly you’re mixing. If you’re mixing a system that uses it’s own HUD with a system that completely redoes the HUD, it can be extremely tasking. However, if you’re using a system that makes an AI move from x to x, and a system that has nothing to do with said AI system, then it won’t be a problem at all

Question 3 - I own the Adobe Creative Suite, which gives me all their programs. I definitely recommend getting AT LEAST Photoshop though. Also, if you’re doing model skinning, I would suggest a program called Quixel which uses photoshop, it’s amazing. You can just paint onto the models and it even comes with 1000’s of Physically Based Rendered materials.

On the topic of Unity or UE4? UE4 has a much steeper learning curve for most people, but since you’re brand new to game development and programming specifically, UE4 is going to be no easier. On top of that, it’s much easier to create things in UE4 once you get the hang of it. Having blueprint nodes like “AI Move to” is amazing. What that specific node does would take a TON of work to do in C++. It moves an AI actor to any location you want, all you have to do is plug an event and location into it. On top of that, the way it handles almost every actor is great. If you’ve ever heard of a “Base Class”, UE4 takes it to the next level. I can say i’ve never thought “UE4 should have this” because every time an update comes out they just blow my mind with how easy they make things.

Good luck on your journey, and don’t get discouraged! It’ll happen, but if game development is your passion, then you just gotta tough through the rough parts :slight_smile: Let me know if you have any more questions

Ryan

4

That’s not necessarily true. Epic just released all the content of Infinity Blade. On top of that, the Marketplace has a TON of other free things, including animations and characters. I’ve not seen any more offered with Unity.

Multiplayer isn’t difficult at all in blueprints, and works quite well. Now bigger games like an MMO are going to definitely need C++, but unless the OP has a team of 20 and has been in the industry for years, they probably shouldn’t be building an MMO anyway :slight_smile:

I would dissagree. Blueprints makes everything much easier and quicker to produce. I’ve not run into one thing that I CANNOT do with blueprints. I’m not saying there aren’t things, but I think it’s important that OP knows blueprints can accomplish almost anything they want to do. Like I said, i’ve not run into one thing I can’t do with blueprints.

This is the only thing I personally believe Unity is better at. This is mainly because of the low graphics though. Keep in mind that if you even want to get up to Unreal’s BASE standard, you will sacrifice all of that and your game will be more performance intensive than it would be in UE4.

Good Luck :slight_smile: