In this chapter, we will touch on the components of a game that are extremely important but often go unnoticed unless they are badly designed and out of place. Yes, we will cover particle system and sound in this chapter. In most games, they blend in so naturally that they are easily forgotten. They can also be used to create the most memorable moments in a game.
Just to recap, particle systems are used very often to create sparks, explosions, smoke, rain, snow, and other similar effects in a game that are dynamic, kind of fuzzy, and random in nature. Sound can be in the form of ambient sounds, such as the sound of rustling leaves and wind, one-off sounds, such as a pan dropping in the kitchen, or repetitive sounds, such as the running steps of a character or even music playing on the radio. Sound can be used to set the mood of a game, alert the player to something that needs attention, and provide realism to a level to make a place come alive. Let's get started.
A particle system is a way to model fuzzy objects, such as rain, fire, clouds, smoke, and water, which do not have smooth, well-defined surfaces and are nonrigid. The system is an optimized method to achieve such fluid-looking and dynamic visual representations by controlling the movement, behavior, interaction, and look of many tiny geometry objects or sprites.
Using a combination of different particles made of different shapes, sizes, materials, and textures, with different movement speeds, rotation direction/speeds, spawn rates, concentration, visibility duration, and many more factors, we are able to create a huge variety of dynamic complex systems.
In this chapter, we will learn about the components of the particle system using Unreal's Particle System editor and Cascade editor and use these editors to create a few additions for your level.