Approaches to the Book
This is a practical hands-on book since most people learn best through doing. It is not for cozying up in front of the fire and reading, but to have by your side as you sit at your computer producing and implementing audio in real games. In any system there are usually multiple ways in which you can achieve the same results, some of which may be ‘better’ than others. We have chosen the methods for the book on the basis of demonstrating the principles in as straightforward a way as possible. Making a game is a complex process. Although in some places there are a few steep learning curves, approach it with patience and a methodical attitude, and you will have lots of fun!
Let us say straight away that we expect very few people to complete the whole book! Take what you need and then use it as a reference to return to as and when you need it. If you are focused on learning about a specific aspect or role, then use the chart below as a guide to which sections might be of most interest to you.
There are 12 different game levels to download and play around with, one for each chapter or section of the book (visit www.gameaudioimplementation.com). There are lots of different games here in all types of genres, so you should get a wide experience. As you start each chapter, you should download the relevant chapter project. We explain things in as much detail as we have room to do in the book, but for a full understanding of the systems, you’ll want to open up the demonstration levels and take a deeper look. We’d recommend downloading and printing out the ‘Locations Guide’ document from the website which gives a quick overview of techniques and where you can find them in the demo levels.
Each technique in the book is accompanied by an exercise. You should also download the exercise level, which is one big map that you will gradually populate as you work. By the end of the book, you will have a complete game that you can use as your own demo project. Follow through the exercise instructions, but also look back at the description of our demo systems for further guidance. We have also included screenshots of the systems for each completed exercise as a separate download on the website, so you can take a peek if you get really stuck. And don’t forget to check the FAQ on the website.
The Unreal Engine is constantly updated, so things change and occasionally break! We will check regularly and update the demo levels when required, and we will highlight the recommended Unreal Engine version on the download page. Don’t forget to also look at the Unreal Engine website and the News and Learn tabs of the Epic Launcher for lots of additional tutorials on various aspects of the program that might come in handy.
Sound designers Andrew Quinn and Joe Thom have also put together a fantastic resource of sound effects on the site for you to download and use. These can be found on the Sound Library page of the website.
Health warning: Although you are going to be building lots of systems yourself, it’s always worth getting your programmer/engineer to take a look as well in terms of optimization.
The Formatting of the Book
We have tried to format the book so that things are as clear as possible and you can quickly find the things you need. This may appear a little bewildering at first, but hopefully it will all soon start to make sense!
Project:
Level:
These are the projects you should download, and maps or levels you should open for each chapter. We are going to be using the terms map and level interchangeably.
This indicates a particular area of the demo level map or exercise level. You can find these in game by searching in the 
World Outliner. Each area is indicated in level by an in-game icon that bears the *Area* name.
They are usually also accompanied by (Bookmark #) to indicate the shortcut key you can use to jump straight to this area of the game in the editor.
“Blueprint Section”
These are sections of the Blueprint where we have added a comment box to help your find them.
Interface Panels
The interface of the Unreal Editor is comprised of many Panels that allow you to access different things. This icon indicates that we are talking about one of these.
[Actors], [Blueprint], and the [Level Blueprint]
These are either in-game [Actors] you can find in the game world itself or [Blueprints], which are systems where you can control game events and variables. The [Level Blueprint] is a special Blueprint where you can design the main gameplay systems.
<Blueprint Nodes>
These are the individual functions that you string together in Blueprints to create gameplay.
These are game assets that can be found in the Content Browser (with the exception of Blueprints).
-Sound Cue Nodes-
These are nodes that are specific to Sound Cues.
Variables and Menu Options
These are, well, variables and menu options.