Unreal Engine 4 Terminology

This page describes the most commonly used terms when working with Unreal Engine 4. If you find yourself wondering, “What is an Actor?” or “What is a Component?” this page will answer your questions, and more.

Once you understand a term, check the topics linked at the end of the section to learn more.

This page uses some programming concepts, notably classes and subclasses. In C++, a class is a code template that contains variables and behavior and can be extended. A subclass is a class that inherits some or all code and functionality from a parent class.

All of the C++ classes mentioned on this page are specific to Unreal Engine.

Project

For more information, see Working with Unreal Projects and Templates.

Blueprint

For more information, see Blueprint Visual Scripting.

Object

For more information, see:

• Unreal Projects and Gameplay
• Unreal Architecture

Class

For more information, see:

• Blueprint Class
• Gameplay Classes
• Class Creation Basics

Actor

For more information, see:

• Actors
• Actors and Geometry

Casting

For more information, see:

• Casting Quick Start Guide

Component

For more information, see:

• Components
• Components Window
• Components in Code

Pawn

For more information, see:

• Pawn
• Possessing Pawns

Character

For more information, see:

• Character
• Setting Up a Character
• Setting Up Character Movement

Player Controller

For more information, see PlayerController.

AI Controller

For more information, see AIController.

Player State

For more information, see Gameplay Framework Quick Reference.

Game Mode

For more information, see:

• Game Mode.
• Setting Up a Game Mode

  Game State

For more information, see Game State.

Brush

For more information, see:

• Geometry Brush Actors
• Geometry Editing Content Examples

Volume

For more information, see Volumes Reference.

Level

For more information, see:

• Levels
• Level Editor
• Level Design Content Examples

World

For more information, see:

• World Settings
• Level Streaming