Game DEV TRACK
“The curriculum that you've created is really outstanding.”
-Piotr Wyczółkowski
Software Engineer Expert @ Sportradar
Developing your own games is a huge undertaking, at Hard Edge you will be taught by a Lead Technical Artist and Programmer currently working in the AAA industry.
Wheather you are looking to be an indie dev or want to land a job as a programmer the Game Dev track aims to equip you with intimate knowledge of the engine that would take years to learn.
From programming foundations, to your first games within weeks we offer over 90 hours of video content to supplement your learning in the live classes.
Core concepts covered:
C++ & Programming Foundations
Learn Coding by Making games
Introduction to Unreal Engine, Importing assets / Modifying Templates
Unreal Engine’s Data Structures and Achitecture
Blueprints
Locomotion and Animation
AI Systems
Gameplay Ability System
Performance Optimization / Profiling
Materials and Visual Effects
Join us - get an edge.
Game Dev Like you’ve never seen it before
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DURATION
12 Months
1 Live Class every week (~2hrs)
1 Q&A Session every week (~1hr)
Classes and Q&A’s will be recorded
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Video Content
Every module is acompanied by pre-recorded video content to supplement your learning.
~20 Hours Per Module
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Career Coaching
CV and Portfolio review during the entire lenght of the course.
Mock Interview, Application Support.
Continued assistance after the course is finished help you land the industry job you dream of.
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Real world Skills
C++ and Programming Fundamentals to start, then a deep dive into the Unreal Engine, making games as we learn.
We do the job and know what it takes.
No stone left unturned, speak with confidence about the topics you learn.
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Community
Join our Vibrant and helpful community on Discord, share your work get inspired and collaborate.
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Industry Speakers
Code Reviews, Career Tips with Guest speakers.
Get exclusive sessions and presentations from industry leading professionals to help you get an edge.
Modules
C++ & Programming Foundations
Becoming a game developer is probably one of the hardest things to do ! But we are here to help.
Learning programming from scratch doesn’t have to be painful and I promise even if you are a visual learner you can get there !
We take it slow, and start with the basics concepts all taught in a practical way.
As soon as we can, we start building games with Visual Studio and Raylib.
And right after that we being our transition to the Unreal Engine.
Student Artwork by Lemeng Shao
Blueprints / Tooling
A capable tech artist must be comfortable navigating multipe disciplines, blueprints are an incredibly important part of the Unreal Engine.
Take a step above the training you can find elsewhere, learn programming patterns and correct workflows.
Avoid common pitfalls that will endanger performance.
Build a small game prototype from scratch then optimize it !
Create UI with UMG and shaders
Enhance design speed with Editor Utility Widgets / Blueprint tools
Take advantage of Procedural Content Generation
Student Project by Mathew Puckey
Optimization & PRofiling
Tech art is the first line of defence for performance and optimization issues.
A strong pipeline and validation structure is key for sucess.
Learn how to use Unreal Insights and how to inspect a rendered frame with PIX / Render Doc.
Take the game you’ve just created and learn the how’s and why’s of improving its performance.
Detect bottlenecks, squash spikes and eliminate hitches.
Understand Unreal’s Threadding Architecture
Learn how to use Unreal Insights
PIX
Validators
Nativizing Blueprints to C++
Python
Automation is one of the most important skills to learn as a tech artist.
There is no better tool to save time and build efficient workflows than the Python programming language.
Learn how to program from scratch, build time saving tools and demonstrate to hiring manager that you know exactly what it takes to help a production run smoothly.
Automate time consuming tasks
Build tools for DCCs (Maya / Blender / Houdini)
Learn UI / UX for tooling
Implement Python in Unreal
Learn to build automated rigging systems, tools for export/import into Unreal and more !
Limited Enrollment
Limited Enrollment
Enrollment is limited to 10 students per pod.
Maximum 2 pods.
The program starts every 3-6 months.
12 Months of Tech art with our Director Filipe Strazzeri - Live lessons every week - Pre recorded content - Career Coaching - Technical Art honed into a fine edge taught like you've never seen before. Please note that installment plans cost more due to transaction fees.
Frequently asked questions
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Tech art is a specialized skillset inside 3D art and game dev. As such there are basic requirements to get the full enjoyment and sucess out of the course.
Experience building 3D models & materials with software such as Maya / Blender is required.
Understanding of Physically Based Rendering (PBR).
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Yes all lessons are recorded, we ask that you download the archives right away as they will get removed from our cloud after 6 months.
Our classes are delivered via Zoom and pre made videos are using vimeo.
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The Tech Art Track is focused on shaping the next generation of Technical Artists.
Our focus is on building generalists as that will give you the greatest reach in the job market and will also allow for specialization in one field that you enjoy the most.
Teams look for versatility, pro active jack of all trades are highly sought after in the job market.
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Classes run on weekdays for 2 hours - Once a week.
6PM UK Time (GMT)
11AM LA Time (PDT)
(Guest speaker sessions will be extra to this)
Our instructors work in the industry during the day, they moonlight here to provide you with expert content.
Your pod will be assigned a slot, on a weekday that best fits your schedule, we try and group students in similar timezones.
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Our feedback is given directly during the first hour of the live sessions, Q&As are held and we do our best to cover every student’s needs.
We also give feedback in written format on the discord, audio messages or in private calls.
Not everyone can make the live classes, but nobody gets left behind.
We will take care of you.
If your class is very large (max 10) we may do individual feedback separately as we still teach fresh content in the classes and there has to be at least 1 hour alocated for that.
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No other course exists that will shape you into a tech artist in 12 months.
This is a mentorship through and through, we will guide and help you every step of the way.
Our content is specialized and unique, we work in the industry and most of our insider knowledge cannot be found elsewhere.
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Yes we know life can sometimes get in the way.
All video content and live lessons are available to you and so if you cannot continue the course for whatever reason it is possible for you to learn at your own pace.
We will also make sure you get all the career advice / coaching needed if you fall out of pace with the rest of your group.
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In order to be sucessful in anything you have to dedicate time, we recommend at least 1 to 2 hours per day of the week during the program to achieve best results.
To be a tech artist means to be driven, thirsty for learning, there is always something new in the horizon.
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Zoom
Unreal Engine 5
Visual Studio Code / PyCharm (Python)
Visual Studio / JetBrains Rider (C++)
Optionally your 3D application of choice (Maya/ Blender) if you wish to produce custom content during the course.
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If you aren’t able to pay in full or in 4 installements please get in touch via the contat form and let us know your situation.
We are flexible and would like to help.
Lets talk and see what we can do.