Dead2Rise – Build & Publish a Complete Game Using Unreal Engine 5, C++ and AI

Welcome to the most practical and complete game development course for solo creators.

In this course, I’ll take you step by step through the full process of building a third + first-person zombie survival horror game from scratch—all using Unreal Engine 5, C++, and the power of AI tools to help you speed up your workflow and unlock your creativity.

We’ll be building Dead2Rise, a dark and gritty zombie wave survival game set in an Old West town. You’ll scavenge during the day and defend yourself at night against hordes of undead enemies. And the best part? You’ll do everything yourself—even publish it on Steam—with full confidence.

- What You'll Learn:

• How to plan and design a full game from concept to publishing - Game Design Document

• Setting up a clean Unreal Engine 5 project for long-term development

• Creating a shared character base for both the player and zombies

• Setting up Enhanced Input for smooth movement, aiming, jumping, sprinting, and crouching

• Programming intelligent zombie AI with three enemy types: Screamers, Reapers, and Juggernaut zombies. They can see, hear and chase you + they can dodge your melee attacks and patrol when you are not in range.

• Building a wave-based survival system with a day/night gameplay loop

• Designing a full combat system with both hitscan and projectile weapons (rifles, pistols, shotguns, grenade launcher)

• Adding immersive UI elements (health bar, stamina bar, ammo counter, wave timer)

• Creating an inventory and loot system with medkits, ammo, and weapon pickups

• Implementing sound, ambient music, zombie FX, blood decals, lighting, fog, and VFX

• Saving and loading your game using a proper SaveManager and SaveGameObject

• Organizing your code with a professional class hierarchy and modular architecture

• Using AI tools like ChatGPT to write code, design systems, generate ideas, and solve problems instantly

• Version controlling your project with GitHub—only tracking what you need

• Packaging and publishing your game to Steam

- Why This Course Is Different:

I created this game and this course completely solo using the same tools I teach. This isn’t theory. This isn’t a collection of features. This is a real project, taught the way real games are built.

You won’t just “follow along”—you’ll understand how to build your own systems, how to solve your own problems, and how to finish your own games. With Unreal Engine, C++, and AI, you’ll have full creative freedom and complete control.

By the end of the course, you won’t need to ask “how do I build a game?” again.  You’ll know. And you’ll be ready to build whatever game you want—independently.