Introduction to Unreal Engine 5
Course

Introduction to Unreal Engine

Time limit: 5 days
Instructor: Michael Bradbury

Spots remaining: 16

£150 Enroll

Full course description

Introduction to Unreal Engine 

Format: Face-to-face | 4 hrs/day (2 hrs AM + 2 hrs PM)
Level: Beginner
Focus: Software-only, project-based learning 
Dates: 6th October 2025 - 10th October 2025 

Course Introduction

This 20-hour Introduction to Unreal Engine has been developed in close collaboration with industry partners to ensure learners gain practical, job-ready skills that align with the expectations of studios, production houses, and creative technology companies. The curriculum is entirely hands-on, focusing on core editor training, asset integration, materials and lighting, and Blueprint visual scripting to equip students with both technical proficiency and confidence in real-time workflows.

On completion of the course, learners will not only have produced a packaged, playable project, but will also unlock access to three professional development tracks that each culminate in a portfolio-ready project:

  • Look Development – building and presenting a polished, lit 3D environment or scene
  • Short Playable Game – designing and scripting a mini-game with interactivity through Blueprints.
  • Interactive Media Piece – producing a real-time application or demo, an immersive visualisation, interactive showcase, or experimental media prototype.

Beyond the classroom, all learners benefit from continued support to advance their Unreal Engine practice. This includes access to curated resources, feedback opportunities, and guidance on refining their work for professional portfolios, ensuring they remain on track to develop skills that meet industry standards.

Day 1 – Orientation & Core Editor Skills 4 hrs

Morning (2 hrs): Introduction & Unreal Overview

Students are introduced to the course scope, portfolio expectations, and the broader role of Unreal Engine in games, film, and simulation. They explore the Unreal Editor interface, learning navigation and essential terminology.

  • Course scope and portfolio goals
  • Unreal Engine applications in industry
  • Editor orientation: viewport, content browser, outliner
  • Actor placement and manipulation practice

Afternoon (2 hrs): Level Design Fundamentals

Learners begin creating their own environments by grayboxing a simple level using geometry tools. They set up a Player Start and test their first playable scene.

  • Grayboxing with geometry brushes and shapes
  • Building a simple room or arena layout
  • Player Start placement and playtesting
  • Iterative level adjustments
Outcome: Students can navigate the editor and create their first simple environment.

Day 2 – Assets, Materials & Lighting 4 hrs

Morning (2 hrs): Asset Integration

Students learn how to bring in external content and optimize it. They practice importing 3D models and textures and prepare them for use in a level.

  • Importing static meshes and textures
  • Quixel Bridge and Marketplace overview
  • Static Mesh Editor: collisions, pivots, optimization
  • Dressing the blocked-out level with imported assets

Afternoon (2 hrs): Materials & Lighting

The focus shifts to visual fidelity as students create and apply materials, and set up different lighting types to establish atmosphere.

  • Materials: PBR basics, Material Editor, material instances
  • Applying textures and adjusting properties
  • Lighting types: directional, point, spot, skylight
  • Experimenting with mood and atmosphere
Outcome: Students produce a lit, textured environment showing asset integration and visual quality.

Day 3 – Blueprint Visual Scripting I 4 hrs

Morning (2 hrs): Blueprint Basics

Students are introduced to Unreal’s Blueprint Visual Scripting system, creating simple logic-driven interactions through Level Blueprints.

  • Blueprint Editor overview
  • Execution flow and event-driven logic
  • Triggers and simple scripted events
  • Lab: toggle a light or open a door

Afternoon (2 hrs): Actor Blueprints & Interactivity

The session expands to reusable Actor Blueprints, giving students tools to create interactive objects that respond to input.

  • Actor Blueprints: components and logic
  • Variables: booleans, floats, vectors
  • Binding player input to actions
  • Lab: interactive object (pickup, moving platform, trigger)
Outcome: Students create their first interactive elements using Blueprints.

Day 4 – Blueprint Visual Scripting II & Enhancements 4 hrs

Morning (2 hrs): Gameplay Prototyping

Students connect multiple Blueprints together to create a basic gameplay loop and practice debugging.

  • Blueprint communication: references, functions
  • Branching logic, timers, and mechanics
  • Debugging with Print String
  • Lab: collect items to unlock a door

Afternoon (2 hrs): UI & Audio Integration

Students improve their project’s presentation by adding a user interface and sound for feedback and immersion.

  • UMG basics: HUD with text or images
  • Display score, health, or item count
  • Adding sound effects and ambient music
  • Lab: integrate UI and audio into gameplay
Outcome: Students implement a small, polished gameplay loop with UI and sound.

Day 5 – Polish, Optimisation & Showcase 4 hrs

Morning (2 hrs): Refinement & Packaging

Students finalize their projects with post-processing, optimization, and build packaging to produce a distributable game.

  • Post-process effects: fog, exposure, grading
  • Optimization: stat FPS, light baking, instancing
  • Packaging the project as an executable build
  • Lab: polish and prepare final version

Afternoon (2 hrs): Final Showcase & Reflection

The course culminates in a showcase where students present their projects, receive feedback, and learn how to capture portfolio-ready outputs.

  • Student playtests and presentations
  • Peer and instructor feedback
  • Portfolio preparation: screenshots and video capture
  • Career pathways and further Unreal certifications
Outcome: Students present a complete, packaged Unreal project with portfolio-ready elements including a blocked-out environment, a lit and textured scene, and a Blueprint-driven interactive mechanic with UI & audio.