Mastering Unreal® Technology: Advanced Level Design Concepts with Unreal® Engine 3, Volume II

Chapter 5. Creating Special Effects with Particle Systems

At its most basic level, a particle can be defined simply as a point in space. In game engines such as Unreal, these points are animated within the scene to create behaviors such the motion of dust, flames, rising smoke, or a near infinite variety of other effects. The particles are then rendered in-game in a variety of ways, usually by placing a small piece of geometry at the location of the point, such as a plane. This plane faces the camera and displays a particular texture, allowing designers to create the visual aspect of effects such as smoke, dust, and fire (see FIGURE 5.1). However, ...