Unreal Engine

"Unreal Engine is a complete suite of development tools for anyone working with real-time technology. From design visualizations and cinematic experiences to high-quality games across PC, console, mobile, VR, and AR, Unreal Engine gives you everything you need to start, ship, grow, and stand out from the crowd." - @UnrealEngine (2019)

Unreal Engine, or UE, is first and foremost a game developing tool - that does not mean, however, that it does not play an important role in other industries. It was first created by Epic Games as a first-person shooter engine, but as it has developed over time it has grown in its capabilities and is now used in a variety of different genres and non-gaming projects. UE 4 now offers the ability to use real-time technology, ray tracing and physics and destruction systems and with the release of UE5 in 2021, developers have been promised dynamic global illumination and truly virtualised geometry which lets you bring film-quality assets straight into the engine. However, it is Unreal's photorealism that makes it stand out against other triple-A systems and why it's often used in film making and video producing.

Disney's 'The Mandalorian' uses the game engine's real-time render and projection mapping technology to create the world of Star Wars, instead of using green screens. This allows the creators of the show to create the visuals pre-production as opposed to post-production using huge LED screens that surround the set (Yeo, 2020). What this does is offer more creative freedom and power, both to the crew and the cast and give all key creatives the ability to make decisions together, which allows for better performance overall and therefore, richer, more contextual storytelling. For example, the actor can now interact with the world in a way they could never before with green screen, they can point at something and everyone on set knows what they are looking at. In addition to that, it means filmmakers no longer have to be at the mercy of time and whether - they can shoot at magic hour for the whole day if they wanted.

Unreal Engine has made an impressive name for itself in the entertainment industry, used by both amateurs and professionals, especially now that it is free to use - with a 5% royalties system over a certain amount (Rao, 2015). With its versatility, quick prototyping and iteration, the use of blueprints that eliminates the need to know how to code, comprehensive tool kit and a strong community, it is the perfect engine for any developer.

However, it is not without its limitations and it's important to consider them before deciding if it is right for my project. To begin with, The size of a project will play a big part in how well Unreal will run. For example, UE4 is better suited for larger games, and if your project is something smaller like a mobile app, it could cause a number of applications to run slowly, like the editor. On the other hand, your project could be too big for Unreal, like an open-world RPG. Mark DeGeorge, programming director at Obsidian Entertainment. "At a certain size the ability to edit [streaming levels] well in the editor starts to suffer, and at runtime, there are some performance issues that are difficult to address." (Dealessandri, 2020). Furthermore, Unreal Engine 4 is difficult software to get to grips with and requires a lot of practice, especially if you are someone like me and have a lack of coding experience.

There are, however, plenty of tutorials on the internet that teach you how to use UE4. I was able to find an incredibly accessible and engaging YouTuber who has helped me on my journey to understand Unreal. I have also found, that despite my lack of programming knowledge, once I had learnt the basics, it was very easy to navigate the engine. My main obstacle, however, is that it is very hardware intensive - I have a fairly powerful laptop (Microsoft Surface Book II), but the limited storage space and graphical power mean that the software runs slowly which becomes increasingly frustrating as it interrupts my artistic flow.

However, I have come to the conclusion that UE4 might not be the right tool for my project as it may be too large an engine for what I am trying to do. I am mostly looking at how I can use augmented reality, through smartphones, to immerse an audience member deeper into a narrative. Filip Coulianos, the lead level designer at Hazelight Studios, said in an interview "UE4 comes with the background of being an engine for large AAA titles supporting tons of features for all kinds of advanced systems. Therefore the editor can run slow, and seem a bit overkill if you are making a very small and simple game -- for a phone, for example." (Dealessandri, 2020). However, I really enjoy working on Unreal, so I want to find a way to incorporate it into my final project. My first thought is to use it to build environments that my audience can interact with by projecting it on to the walls of the performance space - adding to the world-building and therefore audience immersion. I have spent a lot of time teaching myself the basics of UE4 and I am proud of the progress I have made. I am also proud of the progress I have made in my ability to independently learn. Throughout using UE4, I made a conscious effort to use my initiative to problem solve errors that I did not fully understand. This meant that there was a lot of trial and error involved, which prolonged the process, however, this way, I was able to learn more about the software and its capabilities.

As you can see below I have learnt how to move around a 3D space, how to 'whitebox' or build simple levels with objects, how to use and edit materials and textures, how to use blueprint scripting, how to trigger an object, how to reference variables, how to get blueprints to communicate to each other and how to make and use dynamic references. It's mostly all very basic but I now have a foundational understanding of programming language and feel confident that I could transfer my knowledge of using and understanding Unreal to other creative software like Unity:

Here I have made a simple environment, you can see the steps of development below:

1) I started off by quickly teaching myself how to use QuadSpinner Gaea so that I could create the terrain/height map for my environment, as you can't make terrains/height maps in Unreal. The program was incredibly easy to use as it is another software that uses visual scripting. It was also very easy to export.

2) I then opened up a new project on Unreal Engine with a third-person game template so that I can use the third-person mannequin as a size reference. Next, I created a new level so I could make my landscape from scratch. First I built an atmosphere using 'SkyAtmosphere', 'DirectionalLight' and 'ExpenentialHightFog'.

Next, I imported my terrain/height map (that had been made with Gaea) into Unreal as a landscape. to be able to start painting it, I had found, on Gumroad, a powerful multi-functional landscape tool that's specifically designed to be used with Megascans materials. This allowed me to use a third party scan library, Quixel, to help bring my environment to life.

3) Next I imported materials, meshes and textures from Megascans and started to fill my landscape, giving it details and depth. I also built a background so that my environment looks less like a random island that's just floating in space.

4) Finally I added sphere reflection capture and planar reflection to my river so that it accurately reflects its surroundings in real-time. I also played around with the location of the sun, affecting the lighting and therefore mood of the scene. I then added a couple of finishing touches including a couple more 3D assets just to bring it to life that little bit more.

I didn't struggle too much creating this as I had help from online forums and youtube tutorials. I did have to do a little bit of trial and error and some creative problem solving as the tutorials I watched online had different versions of Unreal to the one I have. I also had issues with rendering materials and compiling shaders due to the fact that I don't currently own hardware that is powerful enough to support this software to its full potential. However, I really enjoyed making it, it was frustrating at times but I found it really rewarding and I love any opportunity to be creative. I think that's what I like about using Unreal, having artistic freedom and ownership over something I am proud of.

As previously stated, Unreal Engine 4 is a great tool for when you want to build an environment using a game engine and video projection as it creates a context for both the performer and the audience and eliminates the limitations around where and when you can film/perform. With UE4 I can take an audience outside the four walls of any room and take them on a journey, travelling to different locations, without them ever having to leave the room. UE4 offers theatre and filmmakers new possibilities to immerse their audience deeper into the world of story.

Dealessandri, M. (2020). 'What is the best game engine: is Unreal Engine right for you?' [Online] GameIndustry.biz. Available at: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-01-16-what-is-the-best-game-engine-is-unreal-engine-4-the-right-game-engine-for-you [Accessed 1st December 2020]

Epic Games Store. (2019). Epic Games | Store. [online] https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/. [Accessed 1st December 2020]

Rao, A. (2015). 'An Indie’s Guide to Costs and Scripting with Unity 5 and Unreal Engine 4' [online] Gamasutra. Available at: <https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/ArjunRao/20151123/260140/An_Indies_Guide_to_Costs_and_Scripting_with_Unity_5_and_Unreal_Engine_4.php#:~:text=Unreal%20Engine%20usage%20includes%20royalties,annual%20gross%20revenue%20exceeds%20%24100%2C000> [Accessed on 11th December 2020]

@UnrealEngine. (2019). Unreal Engine | Features. [online] https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/features. [Accessed 1st December 2020]

Yeo, A. (2020) 'The Mandalorian': Epic Games' Unreal Engine [online] MashableUK. Available at: < https://mashable.com/video/the-mandalorian-epic-games-unreal-engine-set-landscape/?europe=true#:~:text=The%20company%20used%20Unreal%20Engine,context%20to%20help%20their%20performances.> [Accessed 1st December 2020] ‌