UE4 Game Loops: Block Breaker

In this first lecture we create a blank project using the Unreal Engine Launcher. With the blank project created we will then import the assets used within the project.

Our first task is to create the paddle located at the bottom of the games screen we use as a player to keep the ball from going out of the screen and resulting in our death. We will explore the paddle creation using an actor class and then define the movement behavior in the X axis to move from side-to-side.

With our player paddle created we can create the physics ball and add the projectile movement component to create the initial velocity for the bouncing.

With our ball and play created we will now make a game mode to house the logic needed to create a win/lose condition if the ball is reflected and not caught.

In this lecture we will create the blocks the ball will hit and compile a material instance to be used on all of the blocks through exposing a color variable to make the blocks be different colors.

We will focus on checking if the bricks are all broken in this lecture. Once this is the case we can then project for the moment a game over printed to the screen signifying the round is over.

As a side incentive we will in this lecture spawn collectables randomly when hitting the blocks that can then be captured while the ball is bouncing elsewhere. This dynamic alone adds loads of fun to the game and shakes up the routine of the bricks and bouncing otherwise.

For the first time in the series we are presented with widget blueprints and how we will show items and lives onto the game screen. Additionally we look at creating a game instance so that the menu persists over the lifetime of the application and are not destroyed if in the future we wish to load different levels.

With our menu now created we will add the HUD to see the amount of lives that we have in the level and how many chances remain if the ball passes the player paddle.

For this lesson we will add the collectables to the HUD to project how many have been grabbed by the player in the game.

For this final lecture we look at wrapping up the level and cycling the player to the menu if they have cleared all of the blocks in the scene. This gives them the option to restart the game. I hope you have enjoyed this series and be sure to check out my other game loops tutorials here on Udemy!