Part I: Create and Design Artificially Intelligent Game Characters with Advanced Animation Systems
Created by Game Institute Inc.
Last updated 5/2018
English
What Will I Learn?
Develop a robust and extensible artificial intelligence system that syncs with characters’ animations
Use state machine behaviors and animation curves to drive game logic
Design smart NPCs (non-player characters) that interact with their world in realistic ways
Understand fundamental game AI concepts like envionement navigation, pathfinding, A*, state machines, animation state machines, etc.
Import and animate multiple characters in less time with animation re-targeting
Use ragdoll physics to support body part specific damage along with more realistic death animations (and re-animations)
Implement screen effects that indicate player damage during attacks
Identify and prepare assets, models, and animations for your game
Learn how to use Unity’s Mecanim system in conjunction with root motion animation and navigation mesh based pathfinding.
Curriculum For This Course
58 Lectures
60:03:42
Requirements
You will need a Windows PC and a free copy of Unity 5 to experiment with the source code and follow along.
Description
Whether you’d like to create your own sci-fi or first person military shooter, third person action adventure, or even a role playing game, this Udemy course series provides the training you are looking for. Starting from a blank screen, we’ll build all of the systems, together, step-by-step for a game called Dead Earth.
Dead Earth is a commercial grade, first-person, action-survival game set in the modern post-apocalypse. As mankind’s last hope,you’ll traverse a fallen world ravaged by a lethal plague. The game presents players with a variety of dangerous environments where the fight for survival gets progressively more difficult as the story unfolds. The infection has manifested in a variety of terrifying ways, so you’ll face a varied set of enemies — from enraged humanoids to total mutations whose origins are not fully understood.
In this first course, we’ll setup our project and start populating the world. You’ll learn how to create smart AI characters that think strategically and realistically navigate their environment, all while avoiding obstacles and pursuing the goals that you give them.
You’ll also learn how to tie the physics and animation systems together with the behaviors and states of your in-game characters. This will enable them to interact with their world and with the player physically and visually correctly.
You’ll learn how and when to integrate ragdoll physics with the animation system to offer body part specific damage and more realistic death animations. You’ll even learn how to transition between ragdoll and standard animation systems as we reanimate zombies and other characters that are down, but not out.
Along the way we’ll discuss in detail concepts like A*, pathfinding and navigation, state machines, animation state machines, and much, much more. By the time we’re done, you’ll be able to fill your own worlds with noble companions, background characters, and deadly enemies that bring your games to life!
Over the totality of this course series you’ll build the full game from the ground up. You’ll learn how to:
Use state machine behaviors and animation curves to drive game logic.
Create your own missions that chain together different series of game events, unlock additional items and uncover new areas of the world.
Develop a complete first person arms/weapons management system with melee and ranged weapon support.
Dive deep into the development of a robust and extensible artificial intelligence system that syncs with your characters’ animations.
Design smart NPCs for your game who can interact with their world in very realistic ways.
Build an in-game inventory system for players to manage their weapons, ammo, health boosters, mission items, and more.
Assemble fully interactive worlds with working doors, elevators, cabinets and drawers.
Learn how to use scripted events to drive your story line forward.
Understand fundamental concepts in the field of game AI, like navigation and path-finding, state machines, animation state machines, and more.
Find out how to import and animate multiple characters in less time using humanoid re-targeting
Create custom interfaces for health bars, ammo, inventory items, and more.
Develop your own audio log system for delivering storytelling elements.
Use a combination of Umbra and custom technology to accelerate real-time lighting and shadows in graphics intensive scenes.
Who is the target audience?
This course is perfect for developers working on games that require artificially intelligent characters and creatures, animation, and related systems, regardless of genre.
Everyone using the Unity engine will benefit since we comprehensively cover how to correctly use many of its more advanced systems e.g., navigation and pathfinding, Mecanim, animation state machines, ragdoll physics, and so on.
