First steps in Unreal Engine 4

Unreal Engine 4 is the main game development software used in the production of most of the games we all play. "Unreal Engine is the world’s most open and advanced real-time 3D creation tool. Continuously evolving to serve not only its original purpose as a state-of-the-art game engine, today it gives creators across industries the freedom and control to deliver cutting-edge content, interactive experiences, and immersive virtual worlds." Developed by Epic Games, this is a software that builds well-known games such as Fortnite, Yoshi's Crafted World, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, Observer, and much more. As much as this software shines on the basic purpose that has been created for it really hides an unseen spectrum of capabilities. The name of this unreal software lies at the base of contemporary movies. The VFX department uses Unreal to simulate, create, and animate most of the effects we see in blockbusters. For example, The Mandalorian was filmed in a studio with LED panels replacing the classical green screen.

The advantage of using real screens instead of green screen is that you can place the actors in a real environment. They can interact in real-time with the space around them. An additional function of using this type of panels is that can supplement lighting. In the traditional production, the crew needs to move the light source for each shot they are filming. Using this revolutionary technique the light can be set in second and constantly adjusted, saving a lot of time and money.

Unreal Engine changed the game adding real-time camera movement in the background. The executive producer, Jon Favreau explained all the advantages of using UE4 and the new screen background opposite to the green screen studios. "Everything happens in real-time, actors, camera and special effects, all of them are surrounding the actors making their reaction seaming much natural."

My interaction with Unreal Engine 4 started when I was preparing Dea Creatix, a VR experience based on a fictional story. I took the advantage of Epic's software creating the realistic sky and light interactions with my characters. From mechanics, simulations, and texturing, the software shines. I could build and bring to life my environment easy saving time. Recently I have started building a new world inside Unreal. This time I'm preparing a photorealistic environment with lots of challenges.

The power of visual coding is impressive allowing you to code without knowing the actual programming language. Visual scripting is packing the long lines of code in visual ques which allows developers to move faster and to get better results. My journey with the software is at the beginning but it looks promising and I am fully immersed in the learning path that lies ahead.