NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, have been gaining a lot of traction in recent months. These unique digital assets can be used to represent anything from in-game items to real-world property.
One of the most exciting use cases for NFTs is in the area of "play-to-earn" games. In these games, players can earn rewards in the form of NFTs for playing the game. This provides a new and innovative way for players to monetize their time and skills.
Why Use Unreal Engine for NFT Game Development?
Unreal Engine is a powerful game engine that provides a complete set of tools for game developers. It is also very flexible, allowing developers to create games for a variety of platforms, including mobile, PC, and console.
One of the key advantages of using Unreal Engine for NFT game development is its support for ERC-721 tokens. This standard allows for the creation of non-fungible tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. This means that developers can create games that use NFTs as in-game items and rewards.
Another advantage of using Unreal Engine is its visual scripting system, Blueprint. This system makes it easy to create complex game mechanics without writing any code. This is perfect for those who are not experienced in programming.
In this guide, we will show you how to create a simple "play-to-earn" game using Unreal Engine and the ERC-721 standard. We will also provide some tips on how to monetize your game using NFTs.
Creating a Play-To-Earn Game in Unreal Engine
Before we get started, we need to download and install the following software:
Unreal Engine 4.25:
This is the latest version of Unreal Engine at the time of writing. You can download it for free from the Unreal Engine website.
Ethereum Wallet:
This is a desktop wallet that allows you to interact with the Ethereum blockchain. You can download it for free from the Ethereum Wallet website.
Metamask:
This is a browser extension that allows you to interact with the Ethereum blockchain. You can download it for free from the Metamask website.
Now that we have all the software we need, let's get started!
1) Create a New Project in Unreal Engine
Open Unreal Engine and create a new project by selecting "New Project" from the launcher. Choose the "C++, Third Person" template and click "Create Project".
2) Install the ERC-721 Plugin
Navigate to the Plugins menu and select "Add Plugin". Search for "ERC-721" and install the plugin. This will add support for ERC-721 tokens to Unreal Engine.
3) Create a New Blueprint Class
In the Content Browser, select "Blueprints" from the "View Options" drop-down menu. Right-click in the content browser and select "Create Child Actor Blueprint". Name the blueprint "BP_NFTPlayer".
4) Edit the Blueprint Class
Open the BP_NFTPlayer blueprint class and add the following components:
An Static Mesh Component for the player model. You can find free player models on sites like Polygon or Sketchfab.
A Scene Capture 2D Component for taking screenshots of the game world. This will be used to generate NFTs.
A TextRender Component for displaying the player's NFT balance.
5) Add the following variables to the blueprint class:
A "Public Key" variable of type "Text". This will be used to store the player's Ethereum public key.
An "NFT Balance" variable of type "Integer". This will be used to store the player's NFT balance.
6) Implement the following functions in the blueprint class:
The "SetupPlayerInputComponent" function will be called when the player spawns in the game world. We will use this function to get the player's Ethereum public key from Metamask.
The "TakeScreenshot" function will be called when the player presses a button (we will assign this in input settings later). This function will take a screenshot of the game world and generate an NFT.
The "UpdateNFTBalance" function will be called when the player's NFT balance changes. This function will update the TextRender component with the new balance.
7) Compile and Save the blueprint class.
8) Create a New GameMode Blueprint Class
In the Content Browser, select "Blueprints" from the "View Options" drop-down menu. Right-click in the content browser and select "Create Child Actor Blueprint". Name the blueprint "BP_NFTSGameMode".
9) Edit the Blueprint Class
Open the BP_NFTSGameMode blueprint class and add the following components:
An EventDispatcher Component for dispatching events to the player blueprints.
10) Add the following variables to the blueprint class:
A "PlayerControllerClass" variable of type "Class". This will be used to store the player controller blueprint class.
An "NFTBalance" variable of type "Integer". This will be used to store the player's NFT balance.
11) Implement the following functions in the blueprint class:
The "PreInitializeComponents" function will be called when the game mode is initialized. We will use this function to get a reference to the player controller blueprint class.
The "HandleTakeScreenshot" function will be called when the player presses the "TakeScreenshot" button. This function will take a screenshot of the game world and generate an NFT.
The "HandleUpdateNFTBalance" function will be called when the player's NFT balance changes. This function will update the UI with the new balance.
12) Compile and Save the blueprint class.
13) Create a New PlayerController Blueprint Class
In the Content Browser, select "Blueprints" from the "View Options" drop-down menu. Right-click in the content browser and select "Create Child Actor Blueprint". Name the blueprint "BP_NFTPlayerController".
14) Edit the Blueprint Class
Open the BP_NFTPlayerController blueprint class and add the following components:
An EventDispatcher Component for dispatching events to the game mode blueprint.
15) Add the following variables to the blueprint class:
A "Public Key" variable of type "Text". This will be used to store the player's Ethereum public key.
16) Implement the following functions in the blueprint class:
The "SetupInputComponent" function will be called when the player controller is initialized. We will use this function to get the player's Ethereum public key from Metamask.
The "TakeScreenshot" function will be called when the player presses a button (we will assign this in input settings later). This function will take a screenshot of the game world and generate an NFT.
The "UpdateNFTBalance" function will be called when the player's NFT balance changes. This function will update the game mode with the new balance.
17) Compile and Save the blueprint class.
18) Edit the GameMode Blueprint Class
Open the BP_NFTSGameMode blueprint class and do the following:
In the "PreInitializeComponents" function, get a reference to the player controller blueprint class from the "PlayerControllerClass" variable.
In the "HandleTakeScreenshot" function, call the "TakeScreenshot" function on the player controller. Pass in the screenshot as a parameter.
In the "HandleUpdateNFTBalance" function, call the "UpdateNFTBalance" function on the player controller. Pass in the NFT balance as a parameter.
19)
In the GameMode Blueprint Class, add an Event Begin Play node. From the EventBeginPlay node, drag off and add a Get All Actors of Class node. Search for "PlayerController". Get the "bp_nftplayercontroller_c" class and drag it into the Object pin on the Get All Actors of Class node. Drag off of the Array pin on the Get All Actors of Class node and add a ForEach Loopnode. Inside of the ForEach Loop, add a Cast To BP_NFTPlayerController node. Connect the Exec pin on the Cast To node to the Exec pin on the ForEach Loop. Drag off of the As BP_NFTPlayerController pin on the Cast To node and add a Get Player Controller node. Connect the Return Value pin on the Get Player Controller node to the Object pin on the ForEach Loop.
20) Compile and Save the blueprint class.
21) Edit the Default Pawn Blueprint Class
Open the DefaultPawn blueprint class and do the following:
In the "PreInitializeComponents" function, get a reference to the player controller from the "PlayerControllerClass" variable.
In the "TakeScreenshot" function, call the "TakeScreenshot" function on the player controller. Pass in the screenshot as a parameter.
In the "UpdateNFTBalance" function, call the "UpdateNFTBalance" function on the player controller. Pass in the NFT balance as a parameter.
22) Compile and Save the blueprint class.
23) Assign the Blueprint Classes to the GameMode and DefaultPawn Variables
In the Editor Preferences window, go to the General section and click on the Game Mode Override drop-down menu. Select "BP_NFTSGameMode" from the list of options.
In the Editor Preferences window, go to the General section and click on the Default Pawn Class Override drop-down menu. Select "DefaultPawn" from the list of options.
24) Save the Editor Preferences.
25) Edit the Input Settings
Go to Edit->Project Settings and select the Engine->Input settings category. In the Bindings tab, scroll down to the "NFTPlayerController" section and add the following bindings:
PressScreenshot: Mouse0 | ControllerButton1
UpdateNFTBalance: n | Gamepad_FaceButton_Bottom
26) Save the Input Settings. Your project is now set up to develop NFT based "play-to-earn" games!
27) (Optional)
If you want to deploy your game to the web, you will need to install the WebAssembly target support. To do this, go to Edit->Plugins and search for "WebAssembly". Install the WebAssembly target support plugin.
28) (Optional)
If you want to deploy your game to Android, you will need to install the Android SDK and NDK. To do this, go to Edit->Preferences and select the External Tools->Android menu category. Click on the "Setup Android SDK" button and follow the prompts. Once the SDK is installed, click on the "Setup Android NDK" button and follow the prompts.
29) (Optional)
If you want to deploy your game to iOS, you will need to install the Xcode command line tools. To do this, go to Edit->Preferences and select the External Tools->Xcode menu category. Click on the "Install Xcode Command Line Tools" button and follow the prompts.
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