Unreal Engine’s power lies not only in its rendering fidelity but also in its flexible material system and gameplay architecture. Day 14 focuses on two critical pillars: materials and game modes.

You’ll start with an in-depth look at the Material Editor. Unlike other platforms, Unreal’s material system is node-based, allowing for precise control and limitless creativity. You’ll create complex materials from scratch using nodes like Texture Sample, Multiply, Lerp (Linear Interpolate), Fresnel, and Panner. We’ll also cover material functions for reusability and performance.

Understanding material instances is essential. You’ll learn how to create dynamic material variations by adjusting parameters like color, metallic, and emissive strength—without duplicating base materials. This is particularly useful in large environments where asset variation is needed for realism.

In the second half of the day, we dive into Game Modes. Game Modes define the rules of your game—what happens when the player spawns, which character they control, and how gameplay is handled. You’ll explore core classes like GameMode, PlayerController, and HUD, learning how they interconnect to form the basic logic of a game.

You’ll also get hands-on with the World Settings to assign your custom GameMode. This is the first step in setting up your own playable systems. Whether you’re making a shooter, puzzle game, or third-person adventure, understanding the GameMode is the first step to structuring gameplay correctly.

By the end of Day 14, you’ll know how to build dynamic, optimized materials and set up a basic custom Game Mode—bringing together visuals and game logic into a cohesive project setup.