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Unreal Engine 5

Action Adventure Game Development Course

GameDev.tv Team and Mike Rodriguez

Make the 3rd person action adventure game you’ve always wanted too.

All using the latest tools in Unreal 5.1, including MetaHumans, Quixel Bridge, Nanite and Lumen.

You'll create a great looking game using Unreal’s latest and greatest features, such as creating a character using MetaHumans, using Quixel Bridge for assets and Lumen and Nanite to make the game visually stunning.

Read more

Make the 3rd person action adventure game you’ve always wanted too.

All using the latest tools in Unreal 5.1, including MetaHumans, Quixel Bridge, Nanite and Lumen.

You'll create a great looking game using Unreal’s latest and greatest features, such as creating a character using MetaHumans, using Quixel Bridge for assets and Lumen and Nanite to make the game visually stunning.

You'll use Unreal Blueprints visual scripting to create every aspect of your very own 3rd Person action adventure game. We'll teach you how to use raycasting to shoot weapons and deal damage to enemies, how to trigger events, move objects, create hazards and other important action adventure mechanics.

By the end of the course you’ll have your own playable level, complete with hazards, obstacles, pickups and interactables.

You’ll get full lifetime access for a single one-off fee. The creators are qualified and experienced with modelling and coding, so are able to explain complex concepts clearly, as well as entertain along the way.

You’ll also gain access to a course forum where you can discuss topics on a course-wide basis, or down to the individual video. Get plugged into our communities of amazing developers on Facebook (nearly 20k), in our own TA-curated Community (17k views/day), and our student chat group (10k live at any one time).

So dive into the amazing world of UE5 now.

Enroll now

What's inside

Syllabus

Introduction & Setup
Welcome To The Course

In this video (objectives)…

  1. Get Unreal Engine 5.1 installed and set up on your machine.

Read more

In this video (objectives)…

  1. In this lecture, we’ll set up and test the default third-person template within Unreal Engine.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. Lucy invites you to join us in our various community support forums in order to ask questions, connect with other students and share your progress.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. Any time we change our project during a lecture we will commit that change to a public source control repository for students to access. In this video we show you how to access that content.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. We’ll use Quixel Bridge to import Megascan assets and materials to decorate our scenes with.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. We’ll use the MetaHuman Creator to design our player character. Then, we’ll import this character into Unreal Engine.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. We’ll set up our newly imported MetaHuman character with third-person controls, replacing the default mannequin.

Movement & Physics
Section Intro - Movement & Physics

In this video (objectives)…

  1. In this lecture, we’ll test out UE 5.1’s physics features with simulated physics and mass! We’ll create an interactable block that we can push and use as a platform.

Collectible Coins
Making Our Character Walk

In this video (objectives)…

  1. We’ll set up a new Enhanced Input Action as well as retarget animations to create a new crouching animation.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. Now that our character can crouch, we’ll add new animation states to allow walking while crouching!

In this video (objectives)…

  1. Time to add a bit of danger! We’ll create a loss condition that alerts the player and restarts the level.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. We’ll be creating stairs and bridges using Unreal Engine’s dynamic object creation tools.

Pickups & Interactables
Section Intro - Pickups & Interactables

In this video (objectives)…

  1. We’ll be creating a torch model and attach it to our player character. This will be the basis for our first useable item pickup!

In this video (objectives)…

  1. In this lecture, we’ll create the pickup itself and turn it into a reuseable blueprints.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. including blueprints, widgets, and colliders to detect when the user is close enough!

In this video (objectives)…

  1. In this lecture, we’ll design an interactive obstacle. Our new spider web will need to be burned down to open up new paths for the player.

Basic Enemy AI
Section Intro - Basic Enemy AI

In this video (objectives)…

  1. We’ll convert our enemy MetaHuman into a useable third person enemy blueprint that can accept AI perception updates.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. We’ll use level blueprints to set up target points throughout a level that our first enemy AI will patrol.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. In this lecture, we’ll set up AI Sight Perception so when an enemy AI sees the player, they’ll start chasing them.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. We’ll create a distraction by enabling the player to throw a rock, creating a sound for enemy AI to hear.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. A new enemy AI with Hearing Perception will detect the sound and proceed to investigate.

Weapons & Shooting
Section Intro - Weapons & Shooting

In this video (objectives)…

  1. In this lecture, we’ll import a weapon model and attach it to our player. We’ll use sockets in the Skeletal Mesh to set it’s location and a sphere object to act as the muzzle point.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. We’ll create a new pickup for our weapon. This will allow the player to visually see when they are in range of the weapon, and allow them to pick it up using an Enhanced Input Action.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. In this lecture, we create animation states for when our player is holding or aiming a weapon. This will allow us to set up Aim Down Sight mechanics.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. In this lecture, we’ll create our ADS mechanics that will allow our player to use the right mouse button to get a closer, more precise view of their target.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. Time for the fun stuff! We’ll work with Linecasting using Blueprints to check when our weapon hits an object. We’ll also set up debugging tools to allow us to visualize the linecasting during testing.

HP & Destruction

In this video (objectives)…

  1. In this lecture we will be creating HP and looking at the destruction of objects

In this video (objectives)…

  1. In this lecture, you’ll learn to apply physics impulses to objects you shoot with your new linecasted weapon!

In this video (objectives)…

  1. In this lecture, we’ll design a basic health/HP system and apply it to an obstacle within our scene. We’ll set up blueprint logic to calculate and display HP.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. In this lecture, we’ll be learning to apply damage to objects within our scene to make them interactable. We’ll use physics to make the planks fall apart after reaching 0 HP.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. In this lecture, we set up our armed guard blueprint with HP. We then set up logic using custom Blueprint functions to enable ragdoll physics once the enemy is out of HP.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. We’ll import a new MegaScan to act as our explosive barrel. We’ll adjust the material of the barrel, add particle effects to light it on fire when shot, and after a short delay, spawn an explosion! These explosions will damage enemies nearby.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. In this lecture, we’ll explore Unreal Engine 5.1’s new Fracture tool, which will allow us to create a wide variety of destructible meshes. We’ll create meshes that break into large pieces, small pieces, and even ones that break into brick-shaped pieces to simulate brick walls!

In this video (objectives)…

  1. In this lecture, we’ll create a more controlled destruction method using build in control fields to set up what parts of a mesh can be destroyed, as well as what parts remain anchored to other objects.

Aesthetics & Lighting

In this video (objectives)…

  1. Welcome to our section on Aesthetics and Lighting!

  1. In this lecture we take a detour to add some extra detail into our levels. Spreading out our assets, adding ground clutter, and otherwise beautifying our cave interiors.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. In this lecture, we close up our caves and start with a clean slate in terms of lighting. With no skylight to light the way, we’ll use custom lighting components to brighten up our scenes.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. In this lecture, we create a custom material to use with our lava asset. Adding nodes like the panner allow us to dynamically resize, move, and even add emissive effects to materials!

In this video (objectives)…

  1. In this lecture, we go over post processing effects, applying custom color grading, visual effects like bloom or camera flares, and even use chromatic aberration to give a heat-wave-like effect to our lava level!

In this video (objectives)…

  1. We’ll set up custom camera settings, including focus and aperture, then control them in sequencer to create a level intro cinematic.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. We’ll manipulate lighting in two ways, through dynamic light materials, and through blueprints directly. This will allow us to create dynamic lighting effects for things like campfires or flickering lights.

In this section, we’ll upgrade our enemy AI to work with Unreal Engine Behavior Trees. This will allow more complex, dynamic, and customizable interactions.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. Welcome to our section on Behavior Trees and the Environmental Query System!

In this video (objectives)…

  1. In this lecture, we’ll introduce Behavior Trees to act as our AI State Machines. This will allow more intelligent interactions and allow the AI to make “decisions” on the fly.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. Now that we’ve got our first AI patrol state, we’ll introduce switching states based on variables, in this case, chasing the player when seen.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. We’ll integrate our AI perception from our single-use AI’s to enable hearing in our behavior trees. When the enemy hears a reported sound, it will go investigate, then continue it’s patrol task.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. We’ll set up our enemy character to hold a weapon, and make the variable public so we can decide which enemies have a weapon, and which enemies do not. With one simple variable, we can enable and disable an variety of behaviors.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. Our guards that are meant to, well, stand guard should probably not roam around aimlessly. In this lecture, we’ll add a new public variable that will allow us to define whether an enemy should patrol or stand guard.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. Time to bring back our HP! We prototyped our HP system with our single-use armed guard AI, and here we’ll bring that code back to add HP to our new behavior-tree based AI!

In this video (objectives)…

  1. In this lecture, we’ll discuss Unreal Engine’s Environmental Query System (EQS) to give our AI specific locations to run and hide, take cover, or even keep its distance from the player during a shootout!

In this video (objectives)…

  1. While it makes sense for some guards to keep their distance, we also want them to be a challenge to the player and shoot back. Here, we’ll set up the enemy to follow the EQS to find a good attack point.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. Once the enemy is low on health, we want them to switch behaviors and run for cover. In this lecture, we’ll reference our second EQS to find cover when the enemy is low on health.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. We’ll set up new functions to integrate a player health system. This will give our enemies a way to do some damage in return.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. No more HP? Time to try again. We’ll set up (and update) our player loss system to take HP into account.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. Now that our movement is in place, it’s time to make things a bit more dangerous! We’ll set up a timer to shoot back at the player!

Action Mechanics

In this video (objectives)…

  1. Welcome to our section on Action Mechanics!

In this video (objectives)…

  1. Indiana, who? In this lecture, we’ll set up triggered, timed, and sequencer-based events to add some exciting and fun game mechanics, such as a bridge breaking or a giant boulder dislodging and rolling after you!

In this video (objectives)…

  1. We’ll update our level sequence to include new objects, particle systems, and camera shakes all within our cinematic timeline.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. Once our sequence finishes playing, we’ll drop the boulder causing it to roll towards the player. We’ll create a blueprint to make the boulder dangerous as it rolls, then turn it back into a harmless physics object once it stops.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. The action doesn’t stop! Next, we create a break-away bridge that the player will need to jump across to read the cave’s exit.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. Now it’s time to blow the bridge and start our second sequenced action scene! The bridge will break, the player will attempt an impossible jump, and then catch the ledge just at the last second (using some game dev magic, of course!)

In this video (objectives)…

  1. It wouldn’t be an action game without some risk involved! The player jumped the gap, but only reached the edge and is hanging by a thread! In this lecture we’ll set up a ledge catching system, making the player climb up after the near miss.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. The player is hanging right on the edge of disaster, will the player hit the quick-time event action button on time, or will they fall to their doom? In this lecture, we set up the climb animation and add a bit QTE mechanic to the system.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. In this lecture, we’ll create a custom rig and animation retargeter that will allow us to use any Mixamo animation with the Unreal Engine 5 mannequin.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. Checkpoint! We’ll create a loading and saving system that triggers when the player reaches a key point of interest within our level.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. Here, we’ll update our crouch animation to be a bit more dynamic, reacting to whether the character is holding a weapon or not.

User Interface and Packaging
Introduction

In this video (objectives)…

  1. In this lecture, we’ll set up our initial UI blueprint and design a dynamic crosshair that hides or shows depending on whether the player is aiming down sight.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. We’ll start populating our user interface by implementing our coin and treasure counters.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. In this lecture, we’ll create a visual health display for our GUI. We’ll also add health bars to enemies, and set them to only sow when close enough to the player.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. A title screen helps prepare your players for what’s to come. Let’s make a good first impression and create an aesthetic and functional main menu scene!

In this video (objectives)…

  1. In this lecture, we’ll set up a custom system to detect when the player is using a gamepad. Then, we’ll update our UI elements to display the appropriate prompts based on this information.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. In this lecture, we discuss game optimization tips and set up a Setting menu so the player can manually adjust their own graphics options.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. In our final lecture, we’ll put the finishing touches on our game and package it for Windows.

In this video (objectives)…

  1. Time to take a look at what we’ve done so far, and briefly discuss the possibilities moving forward!

Continuing Your GameDev Journey
BONUS Lecture

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Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Unreal Engine 5: Action Adventure Game Development Course with these activities:
Review Blueprint Fundamentals
Reinforce your understanding of Blueprint visual scripting, which is essential for creating game mechanics in Unreal Engine 5.
Show steps
  • Review the basics of Blueprint nodes and graphs.
  • Practice creating simple interactions using Blueprints.
  • Experiment with different control flow structures.
Read 'Unreal Engine 5 Cookbook'
Supplement your learning with a practical guide to solving common game development problems in Unreal Engine 5.
View Putting Knowledge to Work on Amazon
Show steps
  • Select recipes relevant to the current course topics.
  • Implement the solutions in your own project.
  • Adapt the recipes to fit your specific needs.
Practice Animation Retargeting
Improve your animation skills by practicing retargeting animations from different sources to your MetaHuman character.
Show steps
  • Download animations from Mixamo.
  • Retarget the animations to your MetaHuman skeleton.
  • Adjust the animations to fit your character's style.
Four other activities
Expand to see all activities and additional details
Show all seven activities
Create a Level Design Showcase
Showcase your level design skills by creating a short video walkthrough of your game level.
Show steps
  • Record a video walkthrough of your level.
  • Add voiceover commentary explaining your design choices.
  • Edit the video to create a polished presentation.
  • Share your video on a game development forum.
Expand the Enemy AI
Deepen your understanding of AI by adding more complex behaviors to the enemy AI in your game.
Show steps
  • Implement a flanking behavior using EQS.
  • Add a patrol route with variable patrol points.
  • Create a system for enemies to call for backup.
  • Implement a stealth mechanic where enemies have a harder time seeing the player.
Read 'Mastering Unreal Engine 5'
Gain a deeper understanding of Unreal Engine 5's advanced features and capabilities.
View Master the Art of Unreal Engine 4 - Blueprints on Amazon
Show steps
  • Focus on chapters related to rendering and performance optimization.
  • Experiment with the techniques described in the book.
  • Apply your knowledge to improve the visual quality of your game.
Optimize Game Performance
Improve the performance of your game by optimizing assets, lighting, and code.
Show steps
  • Profile your game to identify performance bottlenecks.
  • Optimize your assets using LODs and compression.
  • Reduce the number of draw calls in your scene.
  • Optimize your Blueprints code for efficiency.

Career center

Learners who complete Unreal Engine 5: Action Adventure Game Development Course will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:
Unreal Engine Developer
An Unreal Engine developer specializes in using the Unreal Engine to create various interactive experiences. This course provides hands-on experience with Unreal Engine 5.1, covering essential features like MetaHumans, Quixel Bridge, Nanite, and Lumen. By learning to create a third-person action adventure game, you can develop skills in visual scripting using Unreal Blueprints, implementing game mechanics, and designing interactive environments. The knowledge and practical skills gained from this course can be highly valuable for an Unreal Engine developer.
See salaries and explore the career path for Unreal Engine Developer
Level Designer
A level designer crafts the environments and layouts within a video game, ensuring they are engaging, challenging, and visually appealing for players. If you wish to be a level designer, this course may help you to create a game level from scratch. You'll learn how to use Unreal Engine's tools to construct landscapes, implement hazards, and include interactive elements. You will also learn how to use MetaHumans, Quixel Bridge, Nanite and Lumen. The course culminates in creating a fully playable level, equipping you with practical skills crucial for a level designer.
See salaries and explore the career path for Level Designer
Cinematic Designer
A cinematic designer specializes in creating in-game cutscenes and cinematics that enhance the narrative and emotional impact of a video game. This course may help you set up custom camera settings, including focus and aperture, then control them in sequencer to create a level intro cinematic. You'll manipulate lighting in two ways, through dynamic light materials, and through blueprints directly. Learning to choreograph scenes, control lighting, and use camera techniques can be highly beneficial for a cinematic designer.
See salaries and explore the career path for Cinematic Designer
Game Designer
A game designer is responsible for conceiving and designing the various elements of a video game, from the core mechanics, to the storyline and characters. This course may help you develop a strong foundation in creating third-person action adventure games using Unreal Engine 5.1. You'll use raycasting to shoot weapons and deal damage to enemies, trigger events, move objects, and create hazards. Through this course you can learn how to design and build a playable level, complete with hazards, obstacles, pickups, and interactables. This hands-on experience can be directly applicable to the responsibilities of a game designer.
See salaries and explore the career path for Game Designer
Gameplay Programmer
A gameplay programmer focuses on implementing the rules, mechanics, and interactions that define how a player experiences a video game. This course may help you learn to use Unreal Blueprints visual scripting to create every aspect of a 3rd Person action adventure game. You'll learn how to use raycasting to shoot weapons and deal damage to enemies, how to trigger events, move objects, create hazards and other important action adventure mechanics. The practical experience of building these systems can translate directly into the skills required for a gameplay programmer role.
See salaries and explore the career path for Gameplay Programmer
Technical Artist
A technical artist bridges the gap between artists and programmers, optimizing art assets for performance and implementing visual effects. This course may show you how to create a great looking game using Unreal’s latest and greatest features, such as creating a character using MetaHumans, using Quixel Bridge for assets and Lumen and Nanite to make the game visually stunning. Learning to utilize these features can provide a strong foundation for a technical artist looking to enhance the visual fidelity and performance of games.
See salaries and explore the career path for Technical Artist
Effects Artist
An effects artist creates visual effects, such as explosions, fire, and environmental effects, that enhance the visual experience of a game. This course may show you how to adjust the material of the barrel, add particle effects to light it on fire when shot, and after a short delay, spawn an explosion. These explosions will damage enemies nearby. If you were an effects artist, you would be able to use this knowledge, combined with particle effects, to create visually stunning and immersive game experiences.
See salaries and explore the career path for Effects Artist
Game Environment Artist
A game environment artist creates the 3D environments that players explore in video games. This course may show you how to use Quixel Bridge to import MegaScan assets and materials to decorate your scenes with. You will also learn aesthetics and lighting. This experience customizing environments would be useful to a game environment artist who is responsible for the overall visual appeal of a game world.
See salaries and explore the career path for Game Environment Artist
AI Programmer
An AI programmer develops the artificial intelligence that controls non-player characters (NPCs) and other game elements. This course includes a section on Basic Enemy AI. You can learn how to convert an enemy MetaHuman into a usable third person enemy blueprint that can accept AI perception updates. This will allow more complex, dynamic, and customizable interactions. As a potential AI Programmer, this is certainly something you will be interested in mastering.
See salaries and explore the career path for AI Programmer
Animator
An animator creates the movement and behaviors of characters and objects within a video game. This course may teach you to add new animation states to allow walking while crouching. You will create a custom rig and animation retargeter that will allow you to use any Mixamo animation with the Unreal Engine 5 mannequin. This will allow you to use your skills to create immersive and engaging game experiences.
See salaries and explore the career path for Animator
Virtual Reality Developer
A virtual reality developer creates immersive experiences using VR technology. This course focuses on building an action adventure game but the skills can be transferrable. You may use Unreal Engine 5.1 to design interactive environments, implement game mechanics, and create compelling visuals using MetaHumans and Quixel Bridge. A virtual reality developer may find value in understanding game development principles and the Unreal Engine ecosystem.
See salaries and explore the career path for Virtual Reality Developer
Game Producer
A game producer oversees the development process of a video game, managing timelines, budgets, and team coordination. This course culminates in the creation of a playable game level, providing insight into the various stages of game development. From asset creation and level design to AI implementation and user interface development, you can gain a holistic understanding of the game development pipeline necessary for a game producer.
See salaries and explore the career path for Game Producer
Quality Assurance Tester
A quality assurance tester is responsible for finding and documenting bugs and issues in video games to ensure a high-quality player experience. In this course, you will create a playable level with hazards, obstacles, and interactables. Playing and testing this level yourself can provide insight into the types of issues that can arise during development. This would be useful to a quality assurance tester by developing your attention to detail and understanding of game functionality.
See salaries and explore the career path for Quality Assurance Tester
Motion Graphics Designer
A motion graphics designer creates animated visuals for various media, including video games. This course includes the use of custom camera settings, including focus and aperture, then control them in sequencer to create a level intro cinematic. You'll manipulate lighting in two ways, through dynamic light materials, and through blueprints directly. These skills can be directly applicable to creating dynamic and engaging motion graphics for games or other visual projects. A background in cinematic design may set you apart as a motion graphics designer.
See salaries and explore the career path for Motion Graphics Designer
Software Engineer
Software engineers design, develop, and test software applications. Although this course focuses on game development using Unreal Engine 5, the underlying principles of programming and problem-solving are transferable. You'll work with Unreal Blueprints visual scripting to create game mechanics, implement AI behavior, and design user interfaces. This experience building interactive systems may build a foundation for a career as a software engineer.
See salaries and explore the career path for Software Engineer

Reading list

We've selected two books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Unreal Engine 5: Action Adventure Game Development Course.
Cover image
Master the Art of Unreal Engine 4 - Blueprints
Save
Provides an in-depth exploration of Unreal Engine 5's advanced features. It covers topics such as Nanite, Lumen, and World Partition. It is ideal for experienced developers who want to push the boundaries of what's possible in Unreal Engine 5. This book will help you understand the underlying technologies that make Unreal Engine 5 so powerful.
Master the Art of Unreal Engine 4 - Blueprints
Paperback
Check
Master the Art of Unreal Engine 4 - Blueprints
Kindle Edition
Check
Cover image
Putting Knowledge to Work
Save
This cookbook provides practical solutions to common game development challenges in Unreal Engine 5. It covers a wide range of topics, including character creation, AI, and level design. It valuable resource for learning new techniques and expanding your knowledge of Unreal Engine 5. can be used as a reference guide throughout the course.
Putting Knowledge to Work
Paperback
Check
Putting Knowledge to Work
Kindle Edition
Check

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Effort
12 total hours
Via
Udemy
Instructors
GameDev.tv Team
Mike Rodriguez
Language
English
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