Explore AWS GameKit in the Unreal Editor

Summary

This overview gives game developers a brief survey of the AWS GameKit plugin tools and functionality for the Unreal Editor.

When working on an Unreal project with the AWS GameKit plugin enabled, you can use AWS GameKit components to:

• Manage your cloud project – Set up an AWS GameKit configuration for your Unreal project, link to an AWS account, and manage staging environments.

• Deploy backend services for your cloud features – Configure and deploy a backend for each game feature.

• Build AWS GameKit features into your frontend – Use example materials to experiment with cloud feature functionality in your game or for rapid prototyping.

Manage your cloud project

Each Unreal project must have a companion AWS GameKit cloud project to manage the Unreal project's backend services on AWS. The cloud project contains your configurations and code for each cloud fetaure. AWS GameKit uses this information when deploying and interacting with AWS resources for these features.

Find cloud project settings

1. In the Unreal Editor toolbar, open Edit, Project Settings and go to the AwsGameKit plugin section.

2. Expand the Environment and Credentials section, as shown in the following screenshot.

Work with cloud project settings

Note

If you use AWS credentials for users created with the new AWS IAM Identity Center, you might experience unusual behavior and messaging. These credentials provide short-term access only, which means you must regularly generate new credentials and enter them into the plugin, If you created users with the automated script supplied with the AWS GameKit download package, the AWS credentials for these users are long-term access keys.

• Set up a cloud project. When setting up a cloud project, you provide the following information:

  • Game title is a unique alias for the cloud project. AWS GameKit stores cloud project configurations and code in a folder with this name in the Unreal project folder, and references the game title in all AWS resources deployed for the project.

  • Environments let developers manage multiple replicas of project's backend in parallel, such as for development, testing, and production. Users set the active environment they want to work in. Project teams commonly start with the default Development environment.

  • Region specifies the physical location where AWS GameKit deploys the AWS resources for an environment. Each environment has one designated region.

  • AWS account credentials identify which AWS account to use for the project and validate an account user. If the account is valid and the user has access rights for AWS GameKit, then they can deploy or update AWS resources for the project's backend.

• Work with an existing project. Specify the game title, choose an environment to work in, and submit your AWS security credentials.

• Switch environments. Only one cloud project environment can be active at a time. All actions you take on cloud features and deployed backend resources impact the active environment only. You can switch to a different environment on this page. You might also have to resubmit security credentials.

• Change account credentials. AWS GameKit automatically reuses security credentials from the previous session on the current device. If your credentials have changed, use cloud project settings to submit new ones.

• Change deployment region. You might want to change the location where AWS resources are deployed for the active environment. You can't change the deployment region if the environment has AWS resources deployed.

Deploy backend services for your cloud features

In feature settings, users can build a cloud-connected backend for each AWS GameKit feature. After selecting an environment to work in and submitting credentials, users can configure a feature and then create or update AWS resources to run the feature's backend. AWS GameKit maintains each environment's feature configuration and deployment status in the cloud project.

Find game feature settings

1. In the Unreal Editor toolbar, open Edit, Project Settings and go to the AwsGameKit plugin section.

2. Expand the section for each game feature. For example, the following screenshot displays the settings for the identity and authentication feature.

Work with feature settings

• View status of deployed features. Each feature section displays the feature's current deployment status. Configuration settings reflect the feature backend as deployed. If the feature isn't deployed yet, the default values are shown.

• Configure feature settings. Each feature has settings that you can customize before deploying the feature backend. For example, with identity and authentication, you can choose to let players log in with a registered user name and password, a Facebook account, or either.

• Deploy, update, or delete AWS resources. After choosing feature settings, you can create new AWS resources for the feature or update them if they're already deployed. You can also remove the feature by deleting the deployed resources.

• Access feature dashboards. You can activate a metrics dashboard for each AWS GameKit feature. Each dashboard contains operational metrics for the AWS services and resources used by the feature. For example, you can monitor API calls to the backend. Dashboards use the Amazon CloudWatch service.

Build AWS GameKit features into your frontend

The AWS GameKit plugin provides tools for connecting your Unreal project frontend to your backend services on AWS. These include the AWS GameKit API for connecting with the backend services for each feature and example assets to illustrate API calls and core workflows for the frontend.

After you deploy a feature's backend services on AWS, your Unreal project is automatically configured with the backend endpoints for the current active AWS GameKit environment. You can make live API calls and run levels with example assets that communicate with your project backend.

Find AWS GameKit assets and tools

In the Unreal Editor, open the Content Browser and locate the following folders:

• AwsGameKit Content contains example blueprints, UI elements, and widget blueprints for each game feature. There is also a complete game example for the user gameplay data feature

• AwsGameKit C++ Classes contains example C++ code and resources for integrating game feature functionality into a game using C++ code.

  • The AwsGameKitEditor public folder contains a code example file for each game feature. This code includes function calls for all API operations for the game feature.

  • The AWSGameKitRuntime public folder contains function libraries and utilities that support the example assets.

Test calls to your project backend

If you've deployed a backend for any of the AWS GameKit features, you can make direct calls to it in the Unreal Editor:

1. In the Content Browser, open the AwsGameKitEditor public folder and choose a code example file.

2. Add the asset to a level in your project, and select the object in the viewport.

3. Open the Details panel. The custom AWS GameKit Details UI displays all the API calls in the code example file.

4. Log in with a player account. If you haven't set one up yet, use the identity and authentication example file to register and verify an account.

5. When working with the achievements code examples, use the provided function to save a set of sample achievement definitions to your achievements backend. You can use this data to experiment with the achievements functionality and delete it as needed.