LoadingScreen

As time goes on, consumer-grade computer components become not only more affordable, but also more powerful, with certain consoles even advertising top-of-the-line features that let you switch from one game to another almost seamlessly, thus reducing loading times and maximizing end-users’ convenience.

However, when it comes to PCs, the hardware specifications are significantly more varied, meaning that game developers need to ensure that a certain playable threshold is reached when the target device meets the minimum requirements. As such, despite being considered undesirable by many, the transitions between levels are still important, which is where LoadingScreen comes into play.

While the latest iteration of Epic Games’ Unreal Engine Editor does have a number of built-in settings for creating custom loading screens, many developers may have different workflows that incorporate other utilities for this particular purpose, which is why the plugin at hand sets out to make it easier for users to pick finished multimedia items and implement them in their projects instead of configuring them from scratch.

Usually, pitch black screens with no audio can be interpreted by players as the game malfunctioning, thus a dedicated loading screen is the right choice from both functional and artistic points of view, since developers can incorporate a mixture of early concept art and useful gameplay tips in-between the level transitions.

Loading screens are a perfect opportunity to add video-based cut-scenes, which the app not only supports, but also includes an option to skip them once the level is loaded in the background for potential replays or lost game files that lead to players having to restart their progress.

Whether you want to integrate video-based cut-scenes as the player progresses from one level to another, or you simply wish to avoid further customization of an existing image that you want to set as the level transition, LoadingScreen may be a good option for your use-case, given its lightweight form factor and ease of use.