Introduction
Unreal Engine is among the most popular game engines worldwide. From visualizing designs, high-quality games across augmented reality platforms to cinematic visuals, Unreal Engine provides every feature for developing a realistic gaming experience for the users. With Unreal Engine, developers can offer real-time experience in gameplay with the most advanced 3D tools.
The Unreal Engine includes graphic Engine, physics engine, sound and input, online module, and gameplay framework. Additionally, Unreal Engine offers several systematic tools and editors that help manage the properties to make it easier for developers to develop games for any platform.
Nowadays, Unreal Engine offers several advanced functionalities such as advanced AI features, real-time photo rendering, VFX, cinematic quality like post-processing, audio features and is highly extensible. Therefore, aspirants aiming to pursue a career in game development must have Unreal Engine as their skill sets to achieve a lucrative job offer and success as one of the top game developers in the industry.
Related reading: Top 12 Unity Game Development Courses
1. Extended Reality for Everybody Specialization by University of Michigan – Coursera
This is a specialization course that is available on Coursera. This program offers a broad learning experience that includes augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality. First, the learners will explore the fundamental concepts of XR, design, and development of XR application and understand the emerging issues in the XR landscape.Â
Next, the learners will delve into AR, VR, MR, and XR applications using Unity and Unreal Engine. Finally, the learners will be familiar with the tools and development and the requirements for building digital or physical prototypes using the gaming engines.
The course curriculum includes:
- Introduction to AR/VR/MR/XR: Technologies, Applications, and Issues
- User Experience and Interaction Design
- Development of AR/VR/MR/XR Applications with WebXR, Unity, and Unreal Engine
Instructor: Michael Nebeling
Level: Beginner
Duration: 3 months
User Review: 4.7/5
No. of Reviews: 103
Price: Free Enrollment (Additional charges for certification may apply)
2. C++ Programming for Unreal Game Development Specialization – Coursera
This is a specialization program with a practical approach for learning Unreal engine programming. It is offered on Coursera by the University of Colorado. In this course, the learners will explore the C++ programming language for understanding the development process of game development using Unreal Engine.
The first module focuses on the C++ console application and Unreal script, storing and using data in programs, classes, objects, and Unreal engine classes’ basics. Furthermore, the learners will discover how to make decisions for the codes, add player input functionality in Unreal games, and understand code iteration. Besides, the learners will gain practical experience in storing data in arrays and using the Unreal Tarray Container.
Additionally, the learners will explore the concepts of abstraction for building good software designs, console app classes, and designing and implementing Unreal classes. Moreover, the learners will cover C++ and Unreal HUD concepts and add sound effects to an Unreal video game.
For the final module, the learners will cover the concepts of using files for Unity games, using fewer codes to build complex 3D games, object-oriented design for Unreal games, and creating video games for practical projects.
The course curriculum includes:
- Introduction to C++ Programming and Unreal
- More C++ Programming and Unreal
- C++ Class Development
- Intermediate Object-Oriented Programming for Unreal Games
Instructor: Dr. Tim Chamillard
Level: Intermediate
Duration: 4 months
User Review: NA
No. of Reviews: NA
Price: Free Enrollment (Additional charges for certification may apply)
3. Unreal Engine 5: The Complete Beginner’s Course – Udemy
This is a game development course using Unreal Engine on Udemy. In this tutorial, the learners will cover the fundamentals of Unreal Engine and understand the process of developing a working game from scratch.
Additionally, the learners will cover the programming aspects of developing a game with a series of practical sessions offered in each module.
Moreover, the learners will be familiar with the Unreal engine environment to stage the game, visual scripting requirements for defining various game rules and behaviors such as health, inventory, and actions of playable characters.
Furthermore, the learners will delve into the concepts to understand how to add collision and damage in action games and create user interfaces using Unreal Engine.
Finally, the learners will explore concepts such as menus, load screen, HUDs in games, and integrating audio within the Unreal Engine to provide music, dialogues, and sound effects to various scenes and characters in the game.
The course curriculum includes:
- Introduction
- The Level Editor
- Actors and Blueprints
- Players and Input
- Collisions and User Interface
- Audio
Instructor: David Nixon
Level: Beginner
Duration: 10 hours
User Review: 4.7/5
No. of Reviews: 6317
Price: $47.6
4. Unreal Engine C++: The Ultimate Shooter Course – Udemy
This is among the highest-rated online courses on Unreal Engine on Udemy. The learners will explore programming concepts to build shooter games with AAA quality gameplay mechanics in this program.
In addition, the learners will cover the theoretical concepts of gameplay mechanics. Furthermore, the learners will undergo practical training using C++ to create characters and their movement, aim offset, animation curves, inverse kinetics, weapon beam particles, running movements, weapon blasts, reloading, and sound effects.
Besides, the learners will understand how AI is implemented in games for automated enemy actions and explore various post-processing effects. However, this course is targeted at intermediate learners, so prior knowledge of game development basics and programming experience is essential.
The course contents are:
- Introduction
- Animations and Aiming and Crosshair
- The Weapon
- Item Interpolation
- Reloading and Advanced Movement
- Ammo Pickups
- Outline and Glow Effects
- Footsteps and Multiple Character Meshes
- The Enemy Class
- AI and Behavior Trees
- Khaimera and Level Creation
- Finishing the Game
Instructor: Stephen Ulibarri
Level: Intermediate
Duration: 56 hours and 8 minutes
User Review: 4.8/5
No. of Reviews: 557
Price: $47.6
5. Learn Unreal VR Nanodegree Program – Udacity
This specialization is offered on Udacity . In this program, the learners will explore Unreal Engine 4 fundamentals and the techniques used by AAA game studios for building commercial games. The course is designed in collaboration with Epic Games who are the creators of Unreal Engine.
The learners will master the skills of Unreal engine 4 and Blueprint for visual scripting necessities for a game developer to create visually appealing and highly interactive games. Furthermore, the learners will also understand developing, creating, and publishing their VR applications and implementing them for various VR headsets.
Furthermore, the learners will create various applications from scratch to enhance their programming skills and learn to fine-tune the performance of VR applications, build animations, and add dynamic lighting for the gameplay.
Finally, the learners will learn to implement VR locomotion and experiment with various hand controller interactions. Besides, this program has hardware and software requirements such as a VR-ready computer with HTC VR-Ready specifications or Oculus VR-Ready specifications, HTC Vive/Oculus Rift with Touch controllers, and Unreal Engine 4.15 or higher. Therefore, the participants should be mindful of the requirements as the online learning platform does not provide them.
The course curriculum includes:
- Introduction to Unreal Engine 4 VR
- Advanced Unreal Engine 4 VR
Instructor: Joe Radak
Level: Intermediate
Duration: 2 months
User Review: NA
No. of Reviews: NA
Price: Pricing information available on sign up
6. Unreal Engine C++ Developer: Learn C++ and Make Video Games – Udemy
This Unreal Engine Certification program was created in collaboration with Epic Games. It is offered on Udemy. The online tutorial offers a project-based learning approach where learners will experiment with each concept with a project to learn to code and enhance their programming skills.Â
The learners will explore the concepts of multiplayer game modes and building first-person shooter games, including a tank-based game and many more. Furthermore, the C++ programming language is covered thoroughly from scratch to the advanced concepts.
Additionally, the learners will delve into the game design principles and understand how to create games supported for various platforms such as Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and Web from a single source.
At the end of this course, the learners will learn to code using C++, use Git as a version control and backup system, add sound effects and audio to add more depth to the games and understand the programming patterns and best practices. Besides, the learners will better understand the modern game development landscape and the technologies and techniques for developing interactive games.
Furthermore, the learners will understand advanced vehicle physics, write cleaner codes, animation blueprint uses for custom character animation, gameplay and physics understanding, Unreal Engine 4 editor, and uses of object-oriented programming. In addition, the learners will be familiar with the Unreal terrain editor, the gameplay framework, blackboard, and behavior tree for customizable AI and C++ template programming for reducing repetition.Â
The course contents are:
- Introduction and Setup
- Triple X –White Pure C++
- Bulls and Cows
- Building Escape
- Toon Tanks
- Deprecating Toon Tanks
- Simple Shooter
- Game Development Journey
Instructor: Ben Tristem, Sam Pattuzi and GameDev Team
Level: Beginner
Duration: 39 hours and 43 minutes
User Review: 4.6/5
No. of Reviews: 54,647
Price: $47.6
7. Professional Certificate in Unreal Engine Foundations by Rochester Institute of Technology – edX
This specialization program allows learners to enhance their skills for developing interactive 3D skills for game development. From real-time graphics, machine learning to interactive tools inside the Unreal Engine is covered in-depth. In addition, this course focuses on building the core skills required for Unreal engine competencies. The learners will explore real-time 3D skills used for automation, games, architectural visualization, and virtual production. Furthermore, the learners will be familiar with XR, game design principles, and the game development production environment.
The key takeaways from the course include:
- Solid foundation of interactive 3D game development.
- Unreal editor and 3D asset preparation.
- IES profiles and volumetric.
- Lighting and material physics.
- Physically-based materials (PBR) in Unreal Engine.
- Simulations and visual effects.
- Visual scripting and using Blueprint.
- Interface building (HUDs)
- Cinematography and cameras with sequencer.
- Post-processing volumes for the lens, tone mapping, screen capture, and post-process materials.
- Team pipelines and collaboration using scrum.
- Version control (GitHub).
- The course also provides discussions on optimization and publishing playable interactive simulations and connecting the steps of gaming and virtual reality using Oculus, HTC Vive, and the concepts of the hardware platform. The course contents are:
- Getting Started with Unreal Engine
- Unreal Engine Interactive 3D: Blueprints, Animation, Audio and Environments
- Unreal Engine Interactive 3D: Sequence-Cinematography, Interfaces, Visual Effects, Pipelines and Production
Instructor: Shaun Foster
Level: Intermediate
Duration: 5 months
User Review: NA
No. of Reviews: NA
Price: $611.6
8. Introduction to Unreal Engine 4 for Architectural Rendering – Domestika
This course is offered on the Domestika platform. In this program, the learners will understand the concepts of architectural visualization and its integration with different architecture software to obtain photorealism to incorporate into games. Throughout the course, the learners will be provided with essential practical assessments to build their skills.
First, the learners will understand creating an interior scene of 3D architecture using Unreal Engine 4. Additionally, the learners will understand the implementation of real-time 3D image rendering.
Furthermore, the learners will understand the best practices and learn how to achieve the best performance. Next, the learners will explore concepts on how to create a fast prototype of a scene.
Besides, the concepts of software modeling tools and their uses for lighting and materials are covered in-depth. Similarly, the learners will create 3D scenes and become familiar with final touches using advanced lighting concepts and materials to achieve a realistic look.
Finally, the techniques to enhance the appearance and visual configuration of the cameras and obtain rendered still images and video sequences are also covered thoroughly. Further, the learners will understand how to package a project for users to execute from anywhere and watch the rendered videos in real-time.
The course curriculum includes:
- Introduction to Unreal Engine 4
- Prototype and Scene Approach
- Strengthen the Scene
- Scene Production
Instructor: Miguel Albo
Level: Beginner
Duration: Self-Paced
User Review: 98% positive reviews
No. of Reviews: 278
Price: $44.90
9. Unreal Engine 4 for Video Games – Domestika
This is an excellent course on Unreal Engine for building video games. It is available on Domestika. The learners will understand how to build characters and the laws governing the physics of the games.Â
Firstly, the learners will learn about creating prototypes of video games, including the mechanics and the implementation of artificial intelligence for game development. Besides, the learners will gain mastery of the gaming interfaces and understand the uses of Blueprint for creating games.
Furthermore, the learners will be familiar with adding life to the characters, such as adding movement, running, and the required commands. Besides, the concepts on player animation control using three phases of Blueprint, Blend Space, and Montage are covered with in-depth practical sessions.
In addition, the learners will explore the concepts of adding the laws for the virtual gaming space and understand the mechanics of the game. The participants will implement factors like collisions in the games and the sound effects to provide a better immersive experience.
Additionally, the concepts on event dispatchers and interactive elements, including traps, switches, and obstacles, are covered thoroughly. In the next stage, the learners will delve into the graphic interface and understand how it impacts the game.
Further, with the addition of widgets, UI events are covered with follow-along examples. The critical factors like displaying health on-screen and providing settings like pausing the game are also covered for developing a game with multiple functionalities for the users.
Finally, the learners will delve into artificial intelligence in Unreal Engine and how to create autonomous and non-playable characters capable of making decisions. The final project will require learners to develop a complete video game with all basic mechanics and functionalities. The course contents are:
- Getting Started
- The Character
- Game Mechanics
- Graphical User Interface
- Artificial Intelligence to Provide Autonomy and Intelligence to Characters
Instructor: Jose Goncalves
Level: Beginner/Intermediate
Duration: Self-Paced
User Review: 99% positive reviews
No. of Reviews: 130
Price: $44.90
10. Unreal Engine Learning Path – LinkedIn Learning
This is a learning path that comprises multiple courses on the LinkedIn Learning platform. As the courses on LinkedIn learning are of shorter duration, learners can add courses and create a learning path in an area of interest. The courses in this learning path are the top trending courses on the platform and are specified hereunder:
Rendering Engines for Product and Industrial Visualization
The first course delves into the concepts of the best rendering engine for product and industrial visualization. Furthermore, the course compares popular rendering engines like Unreal, Unity, V-Ray, Arnold, and Redshift—and fast renderers such as KeyShot and Marmoset Toolbag.Â
Next, the concepts on real-time and offline rendering are covered in detail, including each rendering engine’s advantages.
Finally, the learners will understand how to leverage Unreal Engine and implement unique tools and workflow for lighting, texturing, camera animation, materials, and post-processing effects.
Besides, the learners will also understand the uses of KeyShot and Marmoset Toolbag for quick clean renders, such as a project preview to present a low-poly 3D model to a client. The course contents are:
- Introduction to Real-Time Renders
- Offline Renders
- Quick Rendering Tools
Unreal Engine: Lunchtime Lessons
The second course is suitable for learners that do not have much time for in-depth courses. The course provides expert techniques for artists and developers aiming to build Unreal engine skills.
The learners will learn the geometric requirements for character building, materials, lighting, and interactivity. Furthermore, the learners will explore the concepts on architectural water effects, vertex painting concepts and understand how to incorporate interactivity. Besides, the learners will be familiar with adding paint to multiple materials and importing terrains for gaming requirements.
The course curriculum includes:
- Introduction
- Creating Games, Visualizations, and VR with Unreal Engine
- Speeding the Workflow with Project Templates
- Create Material Instances
- HDRI Backdrop Plugin
- Auto Exposure
- Material Libraries and IES Lighting
- Layered Landscape
- Physically Based Sun and Sky
- Blend Modes
- Variant Manager
- Material Layers
- Landscape Features
- Animated Water Material
- Vertex Painting
- Adding Ambient Sound
- Optimize Textures
- Gradient Scenes
- Real-World Terrain
- Ray Tracing in Unreal
- Blob Shadows
- Open a Door Automatically
- Capsule Shadows
- Glass Materials
- Interact with Key Commands
- Simple Menu and Pop-Up Menu
Unreal Engine 4: Real-time Motion Graphics
The third course is ideal for learners with prior experience with gaming development. In this tutorial, the learners will cover the concepts of 3D motion graphics and the processing power requirements on real-time game engines.
In addition, the learners will understand how to create content using tools such as Cinema 4D and Maya and use Unreal Engine for animation purposes to render the assets. Besides, the learners will understand the workflow for creating superior imagery without a traditional rendering process.
Moreover, the learners will explore concepts like real-time motion graphic creation using Unreal Engine and the necessary importing of static and animated geometry.
Additionally, the learners will gain experience in using Matinee editor for animating objects and cameras and learn to use lighting and shading tools for different image sequences. Lastly, virtual reality concepts in gaming and interactive building content for games are covered in depth. The course modules are:
- Introduction
- Unreal Engine 4: Quick Start
- Project 1: Daylight Scene with KinetECO Animated and Static Geometry
- Project 2: Graphic Scene with H Sport Animated Geometry
- Project 3: Working with Matinee Animated Geometry
- Conclusion
VR Motion Graphics with Unreal Engine
The final course of the learning path offers advanced concepts on leveraging Unreal Engine for creating an immersive VR experience in gaming for the users. First, the tutorial explores how to build real-time motion graphics style scenes to deploy on VR headsets. Additionally, the concepts of exporting processes from Maya and importing to Unreal are covered in detail.
Next, the learners will understand how to create blueprints for providing interactivity and logic to make the scenes work with VR. Finally, the scene building using HTC Vive and Samsung Gear VR is shown with practical examples, including the deployment process on Android phones. The course contents are:
- Introduction Asset Overview
- Maya FBX Export
- Unreal Engine 4 Asset Import
- Scene Building for HTC Vive
- Scene Building for Samsung Gear
- VR Deployment
- Conclusion
Instructor: Zaheer Mukhtar, George Maestri, Scott Pagano,
Level: Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced
Duration: 3 hours and 50 minutes/4 hours 56 minutes/4 hours and 33 minutes/3 hours and 22 minutes
User Review: NA
No. of Reviews: NA
Price: 1-Month Free Trial (Prices may be applicable after trial period)
Conclusion
In the technological era, the need for interactivity has become significantly important. Today, from video games to automotive and architectural requirements, 3D graphics are essential for enhancing visualization. Recently, there have been increasing job opportunities for people with skills to offer a real-time and immersive experience in gaming, entertainment, construction and architecture, manufacturing, engineering, and the automotive industry.
From 3D graphic skills to developing skills, opportunities increase faster than the standard job market rates. Therefore, the demand for skilled professionals with Unreal skills is experiencing tremendous growth and is expected to increase by 122% over the next ten years.
In addition, over 315,000 3D graphic jobs have been posted in the past few years, which signifies the job of 3D graphics professionals and game developers as future-proof jobs. Thus, aspirants and experienced professionals aiming to switch careers or begin a new career path in this industry must aim to upskill themselves with some of the top courses available today.
Therefore, the article highlighted some of the most in-demand courses to learn Unreal Engine skills and deep dive into a career full of excellent opportunities and career growth.
