Learn to build intelligent and responsive Non-Player Characters for your games with Unreal Engine Game AI. Key Features Understand the built-in AI systems in Unreal Engine for building intelligent games Leverage the power of Unreal Engine 4 programming to create game AI that focuses on motion, animation, and tactics Learn to profile, visualize, and debug your Game AI for checking logic and optimizing performance Book DescriptionLearning how to apply artificial intelligence ( AI ) is crucial and can take the fun factor to the next level, whether you're developing a traditional, educational, or any other kind of game. If you want to use AI to extend the life of your games and make them challenging and more interesting, this book is for you. The book starts by breaking down AI into simple concepts to get a fundamental understanding of it. Using a variety of examples, you will work through actual implementations designed to highlight key concepts and features related to game AI in UE4. You will learn to work through the built-in AI framework in order to build believable characters for every game genre (including RPG, Strategic, Platform, FPS, Simulation, Arcade, and Educational). You will learn to configure the Navigation, Environmental Querying, and Perception systems for your AI agents and couple these with Behavior Trees, all accompanied with practical examples. You will also explore how the engine handles dynamic crowds. In the concluding chapters, you will learn how to profile, visualize, and debug your AI systems to correct the AI logic and increase performance. By the end of the book, your AI knowledge of the built-in AI system in Unreal will be deep and comprehensive, allowing you to build powerful AI agents within your projects. What you will learn Get an in-depth knowledge about all the AI Systems within Unreal Engine Create complex AIs, understanding the art of designing and developing Behavior Tree Learn how to perform Environmental Queries (EQS) Master the Navigation, Perception, and Crowd Systems Profile and Visualize the AI Systems with powerful debugging tools Extend every AI and Debug system with custom nodes and functions Who this book is forHands-On Artificial Intelligence with Unreal Engine is for you if you are a game developer with a bit experience in Unreal Engine, and now want to understand and implement believable game AI within Unreal Engine. The book will be both in Blueprint and C++, allowing people from every background to enjoy the book. Whether you're looking to build your first game or expand your knowledge to the edge as a Game AI Programmer, you will find plenty of exciting information and examples of game AI in terms of concepts and implementation, including how to extend some of these systems.

Explore the features of Unity 5 for 2D game development by building three amazing game projects About This Book * Explore the 2D architecture of Unity 5, and the tools and techniques for developing 2D games * Discover how to use Unity's 2D tools, including Sprites, physics, and maps, to create different genres of games * Practical tutorial on the intermediate and advanced development concepts in Unity 5 to create three interesting and fully functional games Who This Book Is For If you've got the basics of 2D development down, push your skills with the projects in this hands-on guide.Diversify your portfolio and learn the skills needed to build a range of awesome 2D game genres. What You Will Learn * Explore and understand the vital role of sprites in 2D games * Move, animate, and integrate sprites into a 2D platform game * Set up User Interfaces (UIs) to keep track of the progress through the games * Apply 2D Physics to improve gameplay believability * Learn the foundation of Level Design and how to quickly create 2D Maps * Discover NPC design, event triggers, and AI programming * Create an epic strategy game, challenging all the skills acquired in the book In Detail Flexible, powerful, and full of rich features, Unity 5 is the engine of choice for AAA 2D and 3D game development. With comprehensive support for over 20 different platforms, Unity boasts a host of great new functions for making 2D games. Learn how to leverage these new options into awesome 2D games by building three complete game projects with the Unity game tutorials in this hands-on book. Get started with a quick overview of the principle concepts and techniques needed for making 2D games with Unity, then dive straight in to practical development. Build your own version of Super Mario Brothers as you learn how to animate sprites, work with physics, and construct brilliant UIs in order to create a platformer game. Go on a quest to create a RPG game discovering NPC design, event triggers, and AI programming. Finally, put your skills to the test against a real challenge - designing and constructing a complex strategy game that will draw on and develop all your previously learned skills. Style and approach This is a practical and easy-to-follow guide that starts with the basics and gradually delves into the process of creating 2D games. With step-by-step instructions on how to build three games, followed by a detailed explanation of each example, you will understand the concepts not just in theory, but also by applying the knowledge you gain in practice.

Build a tower defense game and earn delectable C# treats by baking cupcakes and fighting fearsome sweet-toothed pandas About This Book * Build a complete and exciting 2D Tower Defense game from scratch. * Understand and learn to perform each phase of the game development pipeline * Homework and exercises to improve your skills and take them to the next level Who This Book Is For If you are looking forward to get started with 2D game development, either if you are a newcomer to this world, or you came from 3D games or other game engines, this book is for you. Although there are many references to other resources throughout the book, it is assumed that you have a general understanding of C# and its syntax and structure. What You Will Learn * Import and set up assets for 2D game development * Design and implement dynamic and responsive User Interfaces * Create and handle complex animation systems * Unlock all the potentiality of the physics engine * Implement Artificial Intelligence algorithms to give intelligence to your NPCs * Script gameplay and overall bring your ideas to life In Detail Want to get started in the world of 2D game development with Unity? This book will take your hand and guide you through this amazing journey to let you know exactly what you need to build the games you want to build, without sacrificing quality. You will build a solid understanding of Unity 5.x, by focusing with the embedded tools to develop 2D games. In learning about these, along with accurate explanations and practical examples, you will design, develop, learn how to market and publish a delectable Tower Defense game about cupcakes versus pandas. Each chapter in this book is structured to give you a full understanding on a specific aspect of the workflow pipeline. Each of these aspects are essential for developing games in Unity. In a step-by-step approach, you will learn about each of the following phases: Game Design, Asset Importing, Scripting, User Interfaces, Animations, Physics, Artificial Intelligence, Gameplay Programming, Polishing and Improving, Marketing, Publishing and much more. This book provides you with exercises and homework at the end of each chapter so that you can level up your skills as a Unity game developer. In addition, each of these parts are centered on a common point of discussion with other learners just like you. Therefore, by sharing your ideas with other people you will not only develop your skills but you will also build a network. Style and approach This is a fun step-by-step approach in the whole pipeline of 2D game development in Unity, which is explained in a conversational and easy-to-follow style. Each topic is explained sequentially, allowing you to experience both basics and advanced features of Unity. By doing this, the book is able to provide you with a solid grasp on each of the topics. In this way, by engaging with the book's content, exploring the additional references to further readings and completing the homework sections, you are able to challenge yourself and apply what you know in a variety of ways. Once you have finished reading this book, you will be well on your way to developing games from start to finish!

Over 60 recipes to help you create professional and exquisite UIs to make your games more immersive About This Book * Design and develop interactive and professional user interfaces (UIs) for games in Unity * Discover how to implement and deal with various in-game UI elements that will impress your players * This practical recipe guide will help you to efficiently create powerful and remarkable UIs using C# code Who This Book Is For If you are a game developer with some experience in Unity and C# and want to create the best interactive experience fast and intuitively, then this book is for you. If you are an intermediate game developer or an expert, these recipes will help you bring out the power of the new UI Unity system. What You Will Learn * Implement different kinds of counters and healthbars * Deal with timers and find out how to format them * Animate and vivify UI elements * Handle runtime customizations * Add complex Head-up displays (HUDs) * Design and implement 3D UIs * Integrate minimaps in the UI In Detail With the increasing interest in game development, it's essential to design and implement a UI that reflects the game settings and shows the right information to the player. The Unity system is used to create complex and aesthetically pleasing user interfaces in order to give a professional look and feel to a game. Although the new Unity UI system is powerful and quite easy to use, by integrating it with C# scripts, it's possible to realize the potential of this system and bring an impressive UI to games. This guide is an invaluable collection of recipes if you are planning to use Unity to develop a game. Starting with the basic concepts of the UI components, we'll take you all the way through to creating complex interfaces by including animations and dynamics elements. Based on real-world problems, these recipes will start by showing you how to make common UI elements such as counters and healthbars. You will then get a walkthrough of how to manage time using timers, and will learn how to format them. You will move on to decorating and animating the UI elements to vivify them and give them a professional touch. Furthermore, you will be guided into the 3D UI world and into HUD scripting. Finally, you will discover how to implement complex minimaps in the interface. Style and approach Interactive, easy-to-follow recipes will help you create and implement UIs that make gaming an exhilarating experience.