Mastering Unreal Technology: Book Review

Jason Buzz Busby's Art of Level Design With the Unreal Game Engine

Jan 31, 2009

Mastering Unreal Technology: The Art of Level Design offers a comprehensive guide to creating games using the Unreal Game Engine or the Unreal Tournament Editor.

Most independent game designers will be familiar with the name Jason “Buzz” Busby. President of 3D Buzz, his insightful and approachable game design and software application training videos should be compulsory viewing for any student of the 3D games industry.

Along with co-authors Zak Parrish and Joel Van Eenwyk, in Mastering Unreal Technology: The Art of Level Design, Buzz Busby offers a step-by-step guide to using the Unreal Game Engine or the Unreal Tournament Editor to design, code and populate 3D computer games.

The Unreal Game Engine

Since the release in 1998 of Unreal, the first game to use the Unreal Engine, followed a year later by Unreal Tournament, the Unreal Engine has dominated the gaming engine industry due to Epic Games decision to release the Unreal Engine SDK for training purposes and for use by the Unreal modding community. The book, Mastering Unreal Technology, demystifies the complexities of the Unreal Engine by providing thorough tutorials on every area of game creation with this powerful software package.

Mastering Unreal Technology Contents

The first section introduces the engine, and concentrates on creating level geometry using UnrealEd and the subtractive method of map creation, a feature used by very few other game engines. The section also covers terrain creation, lighting a level, applying textures and materials, and making interactive elements such as doors and teleporters.

The second section covers advanced techniques, with a thorough examination of the Karma physics engine, an introduction to particle effects, the creation of cinematics and creating artificially intelligent navigation for game bots. The game bot AI section is only of use to users with the Unreal Tournament Editor, as the Unreal Runtime Engine supplied on CD with the book is not equipped with any built-in AI.

The third section of the book concentrates on creating characters to use in games through 3d polygonal modelling in Autodesk Maya. A copy of the Maya Personal Learning Edition is included on the CD provided with the book. The chapters in this section cover modelling, texturing, animating and importing game characters into the UnrealEd environment.

The final section is an appendix which provides an overview of the functions of the Unreal Game Engine, and acts as a reference manual for the UnrealEd user.

The Art of Level Design Review Summary

At almost 1000 pages, Mastering Unreal Technology: The Art of Level Design offers as comprehensive a guide to games creation with the Unreal Engine or Unreal Tournament Editor as one could hope for. Every aspect of game design is covered in depth, presented in a logical progression with clear, relevant tutorials at every step.

For those interested in the Unreal Engine, from hobbyist game modders to potential Unreal licensees, the value of this book cannot be overstated. Even if licensing the Unreal Engine is beyond the means of the vast majority of independent game designers, the techniques employed in Mastering Unreal Technology can be employed in other existing game engines, or offer direction in the coding of a new game engine.

The copyright of the article Mastering Unreal Technology: Book Review in Computer Books is owned by Nicolas McGregor. Permission to republish Mastering Unreal Technology: Book Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.