Why You Should Know About Unreal Engine
Even If You’re Not a Game Developer
In May 2021, Unreal Engine 5 (UE5) entered its much anticipated early access phase. By introducing new tools like the lighting and reflection system Lumen or geometry visualization Nanite, this new version of Epic Games’ game engine is set to herald a new era of photorealism and high-fidelity. As intriguing as this future is for gaming however, it would be a blunder to regard Unreal Engine as a tool exclusive to game creation. Taking a look at the various present-day use cases of UE4, the current engine version originally released in 2014, it quickly becomes clear why.
ArchViz & Automotive Design
Two fields that have been heavily proliferating UE4 outside of the games industry are Architectural Visualization, often referred to as ArchViz, and Automotive Renderings — both of which utilize the program’s real-time ray-tracing technology to build virtual scenes that can be easily confused with reality. Regarding the automotive industry, the most prevalent scenario might be showcases of specific models, taking the Audi R8 2021 Showcase as an example. The most innovative format though, is the creation of entire interactive showrooms that allow users to browse different models, change the paint, open doors and customize the overall configuration of the respective car conveniently in an instant (2020 Pagani Showroom). To achieve this, Unreal Engine is leveraging the NVIDIA RTX platform, allowing for customization to be processed in real-time and for the showrooms to be streamed to connected devices via Pixel Streaming. A natural evolution considering the long-standing tradition customization options represent in racing games such as the Forza Horizon series.
Fashion, Product Design & Cinematography
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Trendsetter that the fashion industry is, the Unreal Engine’s capabilities haven’t gone unnoticed by major players here either. Luxury fashion house Balenciaga created a game called Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow to demonstrate their 2021 fall collection and Gary James McQueen even held a digital fashion show in June. The key to these projects is the integration of Quixel 3D Megascans, a massive asset library renowned for photorealistic scans of a vast collection of materials, surfaces and objects — no matter if one is searching for something as small as fingerprints or as large as modules for entire buildings, Quixel has it in (U)HD.
Moving on to product design, it is common practice to use designated software such as Substance, Blender or Alias for actual modelling and texturing. Still, UE does not fall short in this sphere either. On the contrary, it proves to be a powerful tool in conjunction with these programs which enables designers to display their work in evocative cinematographic showreels (here’s an example). And while we are talking about cinematography, everyone who has watched Disney’s The Mandalorian has witnessed a film set created in Unreal first-hand.
Digital Tourism & Mixed Reality
For those who’d rather explore outlandish environments on their own, real-life locations like the Lehman Caves, limestone caves situated in the Great Basin National Park, (Nevada, USA), can be visited from the comfort of your home by way of a meticulously crafted 3D recreations in UE4. Last but not least, a use case that will likely be considered seminal in retrospect is application in the context of mixed reality. In 2019 for instance, the historical Apollo 11 spaceflight was re-enacted by wirelessly streaming visuals from UE4 to Microsoft HoloLens2 devices. One small step for Unreal, one giant leap towards the Metaverse, so to speak.
To recapitulate, Unreal Engine goes far beyond what we understand when we say “game engine”. It’s just that “real-time 3D creation platform for photoreal visuals and immersive experiences” — directly taken from the official website — is less succinct. And when discussing Fortnite, Final Fantasy Remake or Sea of Thieves, all of which are games developed in UE4, going into this depth for the sake of holistic explanation would be a hindrance rather than help driving home a point. That said, Unreal Engine opens the doors to countless possibilities for design, cinematographic productions and digital tourism as well as the presentation thereof. To this point, it wouldn’t be at all surprising if the full release of UE5 next year will result in a paradigm shift as to how we approach digital experiences, both as creators and marketers.
