Unreal Game Design and Coding for Teens - Level 0 (Intro Class)
What's included
8 live meetings
6 hrs 40 mins in-class hoursMastery Evaluation
1-2 hours per week. includedGrading
includedClass Experience
Experience in other game design/coding classes (Unity) strongly recommended. CLASS SUMMARY In this interactive and hands-on course, students will journey through the entire game development process using Unreal Engine - the same game engine behind Fortnite, Rocket League, Final Fantasy VII Remake, Kingdom Hearts III and so much more! This is professional - AND FREE - software. Level design, physics, blueprints, music and sound, working with 3D models and beginning to code in C++ are just some of the amazing topics this class will cover. Students will be guided through the entire game development process. Students will be encouraged to be as creative and original as possible throughout the entire course. What differentiates STEAM K-12 courses from others is that this course focuses on the digital arts as well: Visual Arts, Graphic Design, Audio & Music Production, Reading and Creative Writing. Intro to Game Design & Coding With UNITY Engine is truly a STEAM (Science Technology Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) course. By the end of this class, students will have a solid foundation for how to create their own video game and play them on , but also be able to play any desktop computer (Windows or Mac) and learn how to publish to other platforms. CLASS OVERVIEW Class 1: Welcome to Unreal / Engine Basics & Overview Class 2: First Person Adventure Game (Overview of Tools & Blueprint, Design 3D Models, Texture Mapping) Class 3: First Person Adventure Game (Unreal Marketplace, 3D Model Animation & Textures, Physics & Game Objectives) Class 4: First Person Adventure Game (Music & Ambience, Target Platforms, Completing the FPS Project) Class 4: Unreal Racing (Overview of Tools & Blueprint, Racing Game Design 3D Models, Texture Mapping, Unreal Marketplace) Class 5: Unreal Racing (Physics & Speed, Collision Detection, Controls, Ambience) Class 6: Beginning Coding & Scripting with C++ Class 7: Beginning Coding & Scripting with C++ Class 8: Coding Wrap-Up, Project Share Outs, Github, Deploying & Finishing Projects
Learning Goals
Students will learn how to design, develop and produce games with Unreal Engine’s interface and blueprints.
Students will begin to learn how to use C++ and Blueprint Scripting.
Students will learn programming and logic to code character, enemy behaviors and reactions to events in their games through If/Then Statements, Switches, Variables and Loops, all done through a clickable, drag and drop interface.
Students will learn the basic fundamentals of game design.
Students learn more advanced coding techniques and algorithms to enhance gameplay mechanics such as power-ups and custom graphical user interfaces.
Students will create interesting terrain, towns, villages and action sequences..
Students will make use of Graphic Design techniques and programs such as GIMP/Photoshop and tools such as BLENDER to enhance the visual appeal of their game.
Students will learn about the importance of audio and sound design and implement appropriate music and sound effects into their games. Students complete game design planning through a Master Design Document process, prior to starting their final projects.
Students will learn how to PORT their games and PLAY them on other platforms
Syllabus
8 Lessons
over 4 WeeksLesson 1:
Welcome to Unreal / Engine Basics & Overview
50 mins online live lesson
Lesson 2:
First Person Adventure Game (Overview of Tools & Blueprint, Design 3D Models, Texture Mapping)
50 mins online live lesson
Lesson 3:
First Person Adventure Game (Unreal Marketplace, 3D Model Animation & Textures, Physics & Game Objectives)
50 mins online live lesson
Lesson 4:
First Person Adventure Game (Music & Ambience, Target Platforms, Completing the FPS Project)
50 mins online live lesson
Other Details
Supply List
UNREAL ENGINE RECOMMENDED REQUIREMENTS - Desktop PC or Mac. Windows 7 64-bit or Mac OS X 10.9. 2 or later. Quad-core Intel or AMD processor, 2.5 GHz or faster. NVIDIA GeForce 470 GTX or AMD Radeon 6870 HD series card or higher. 8 GB RAM. (16GB STRONGLY RECOMMENDED) NO WINDOWS 7, CHROMEBOOKS (they are not compatible) !!!!!!!! Pre-2016 MacBooks with under 16GB of RAM will have a very difficult time running. INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS To install Unity, it is a two step process. PART 1 First you must download Epic Games Launcher (https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/). Once it is downloaded, open the Epic Games Launcher to Install. PART 2 Once you’ve installed the Epic Games Launcher, open the program and go to the “UE4 Section” tab on the top left side. Then click the yellow “Install Unreal Engine” button on the right. Once this step is finished, Unreal Engine will be installed. If you have any issues with this please let us know. A lot of this will be reviewed in the first class, to ensure that all students’ Unreal Engine’s are properly installed and functional for the rest of the class. Please be aware that Unreal Engine is a professional software suite (that's great for kids!) but it does require a strong computer. The more RAM (16GB MINIMUM) and the faster the hard drive (SSD's) the better it'll perform and the happier our learners will be!
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Teacher expertise and credentials
STEAM K-12, an organization focused on coding and game design classes for K-12 Learners and professional learning opportunities for K-12 Educators. In our classes, kids learn to code, design video games and build software. Our learners have fun while learning the critical skills of tomorrow. We strive for the highest quality instruction. All of our teachers are either credentialed K-12 educators and/or have a background in Computer Science/Software Engineering/Tech.
Reviews
Live Group Course
$38
weekly or $152 for 8 classes2x per week, 4 weeks
50 min
Completed by 218 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 12-17
3-8 learners per class