Methods and Tools to Create Your Games - Learning Unreal Engine iOS Game Development - page 28

The need for blueprints
Choosing blueprints to make the course for this topic came as a result of a hard decision.
As a programmer, I like to write code all the time, even when working with node-based ed-
itors such as Unreal's blueprint system. I still tend to write pseudo code first to arrange my
ideas and then apply this code to the engine in the shape of blueprint node connections. So,
here are the major reasons that will make us use blueprints:
• As I mentioned earlier, blueprints are not a code-based system; a beginner can un-
derstand them and can start building stuff and improvising from the lessons here
and building new content. A new programmer can understand the basics of pro-
gramming and the construction of game/gameplay code from node-based graphs.
A hardcore programmer can learn how to adapt his vast knowledge to the modern
scripting editors.
Game designers or perhaps artists can also use it to build gameplay logic, levels
and construction scripts, or game systems and subsystems.
In spite of being a programmer, it took me some time to adapt to the blueprints and
node-based programming editors in general, as it is a process of generating code
without writing it, which is totally different from what I have used over the years.
• Blueprints give you full access to all of the engine functions and methods. Using
the blueprints doesn't mean that you will miss some parts of the engine; you will
have full access to all you need in order to build the most complex game logic by
controlling all of the game elements, such as audio, physics, rendering, animations,
and inputs.
• With blueprints, you can make small logic changes and run it directly. All that you
need to do is click on Save , and then you are free to hit the play button to test your
logic. However, using code like C++ requires that you build or compile, which is a
bit time consuming in the long run, especially if you are a person who likes to
make sure that every piece runs fine and acts as it should before moving on to
build a new part of the game logic.
• As blueprints are not a text-based method, it saves you some time , disk space, and
money that would have otherwise been spent to purchase and install an IDE to use.
If you are going to use blueprints only with Unreal, and you have no intention of
making any changes with the engine source code, I would recommend that you dir-
ectly download the prebuilt version. Keep in mind that you still need XCode on