Recently, I’ve been wanting to get into the games industry, and thought to myself, the best way to do this would be to make my own games and/or levels.
However, I don’t have any programming experience. Well I’ve started to go over some C++ tutorials on Youtube but I’m still a complete novice (really enjoying it though)
I have been very intrigued by the Unreal 4 engine and was wondering whether or not this engine would be a good place for a complete novice to start? The whole idea really excites me and a part of me really wants to get stuck into all the tutorials.
Just wanted to get feedback from anyone else in my position, and of course from everyone else in the community.
I know it will take me a while to get the hang of it but I’m willing to put in the hours. I’ve been unemployed since graduation hence, I have plenty of time.
In my opinion it is really easy to start game development with this engine (actually with all Unreal Engines -> I use UDK since 2 years and the UE4 since the beta), because there are many tutorials available (even official ones), a really helpful community, a awesome documentation, content examples and in my opinion in general the engine is pretty easy to use, but you will have to invest much time into it!
I started game development with the UDK engine and after a few months and a really hard time with all the stuff, it began to run very smoothly. I created many video tutorials, helped people with their problems, started being active in the forum.
But you have to keep in mind that you also have to learn 3d programs (blender, 3ds ,…), texture programs (gimp, photoshop),… and in my opinion that’s the hardest part.
A good hint is, that you should concentrate onto some few areas and not everything -> you wont be able to do/learn everything
So I would recommend you to just try it out and after some time you will realise by your own that the engine is either good/easy to use or bad/hard to use
I was in your position 14 years ago and will be a bit biased as I’ve always worked with and loved the Unreal Engine.
Getting into games nowadays even easier than it was back then, especially with Unreal, the engine is SO polished, tutorials, documentation and help from the community is very very good. Also they’ve since switched from U-Script to C++ so getting in now is golden as you’l have no troubles working with the source code.
I would recommend getting a hold of the engine (it’s only 19$ and is STUPID value for money) and take a look into the core fundamental aspects of game design, a little bit of level creation, a bit of 3d modeling, texture creation, animation etc so you know how everything works together to create a game, then focus on one aspect that you enjoy the most, in your case that sounds like programming.
With this knowledge you’l know exactly what needs to be done (or at least be able to find out how!) on a technical level on how to create a small mod for Unreal, start with small things like changing the players movement values, or modifying a weapon and then do your own thing once you’re comfortable with how it all works.
Once you’ve got to grips with the engine I would look at joining a mod team that interests you, most mods never make it to full release so don’t worry if things are slow or fall apart, you’l learn a hell of a lot by working with a team, taking requests and telling people how to use your code. Soon enough you’l know what you’re talking about and have a portfolio of work to prove it. Game are often looking for entry level programmers and with C++ and Unreal under your belt, you’l be a prime candidate for , just don’t expect to luck out and end up working in your hometown.
hence, I have plenty of time.
