The Many Ways to Get Started with Making and Selling Game Assets
Can you turn game assets into a money-making opportunity? A gameHER gives you the lowdown.
By Lina Becker
Video games are now the biggest entertainment industry in the world. This means big business, so much so that the market is quickly expanding at an unprecedented rate. For most people, a bigger market simply means more options when it comes to entertainment. For you, it might mean an enormous, irresistible business opportunity.
But before you write the opportunity off as only for those who have a computer science degree, there is the often-overlooked asset design market. Keep in mind that the term asset encompasses 3D models, audio clips, sprite sheets, user interface graphics (GUI), and everything else needed to flesh out a digital world.
Yes, there is certainly a level of technical know-how required to become an asset designer. But even for a creative type that’s never dabbled in the market, getting started is easier than it has ever been.
Here’s the what, the how, and the why:
How Game Assets Work
Before we go further, we need to introduce you to Blender.
Blender is an incredibly diverse open source 3D design tool that can create models that are not only usable in movies as digital effects, but also those that can get adopted into games. A dev can sit down, put in the hours, and create their own model using Blender’s tools. Or, alternatively, they can buy models in the Blender Market that you’ve created, download them, and skip hours, if not weeks, of work.
In turn, these models may then get exported into a game engine, such as the highly popular Unity.
The big question is will the model you’ve created work as expected?
A phrase used in the industry is game ready, which is exactly what it sounds like. Is the asset ready, right now, to get dropped into the game engine?
This is where having knowledge of the video game industry is essential. A game ready asset is immensely more appealing than one that has to be manually tweaked, and as such will get far more attention. Put simply, if a designer buys your game ready assets, they expect to be able to make use of them immediately.
What Is Game Ready?
A 3D model used for film digital effects must be as high quality as possible. It’s required to pass for real life, which means that it must be modeled down to the tiny imperfections on the surface.
Yes, it will take drastically more processing power to render the item, but this matters less, given that many hours will be available for the final render.
The same is not true for video games.
A game must render in real time, meaning that there are distinct limitations on how detailed a model can be. If a gaming PC is extending most of its resources on a single lamp, there isn’t much power left over for the entire rest of the game. So, although game model assets are expected to look good, they must also get created with distinct limitations kept in mind.
Beyond the detail of the model itself, it is also important that universally accepted techniques are implemented.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
As far as creating an asset is concerned, you can be good at making quality items, only to fall short in the logistics.
Remember: Keeping your work neat is as important as making something good. The developer at the other end has to work with the assets, and if they aren’t sure what they’re looking at, they won’t be happy with the purchase.
Let’s say that you’re designing a 3D model of a car. Enormous time and effort can go into creating each individual nut and bolt, down to the screws that hold on the mirrors. This is fantastic, and will certainly go a long way to selling realism. But does the dev need each individual part separate? The answer is a resounding no. Most of these parts should get combined into a single mesh, drastically reducing clutter. Only the parts that need to operate should be kept separate.
The same goes for naming the parts.
When looking at a model, and trying to utilize it, a dev wants to quickly and easily understand how everything gets put together. If parts get labeled with obscure names, they’ll have to invest time labeling everything themselves. Instead of calling the screw “screw 1,” it would be far better to call it “side mirror (left) screw.” Though, as we said before, that screw should have been included in a much bigger mesh called “car body,” for example.
Where To Sell Game Ready Work
So, assuming you now have some game ready assets, where can we get started selling them? Here are some of the most popular online stores.
GameDev Market is an excellent, all-encompassing market that is perfect for designers starting out. The store includes everything from 2D sprites to high quality 3D models. Music, sound effects and GUI are also available. More importantly, forums are provided that connect you with developers.
TurboSquid is highly regarded in the industry. It’s known for offering some of the highest quality 3D models available today.
Game Art 2D is exactly what it sounds like, focusing specifically on 2D sprites and tilesets.
The Unity Asset Store is very popular, acting as a natural hub for Unity developers. It provides everything needed to make a game.
The Unreal Engine Marketplace is much like the Unity Store but it acts as the hub for developers that make use of the immensely popular Unreal Engine.
Entering A New Market
If you feel you have the creativity but are hesitant to enter a seemingly overwhelming market, keep in mind that everyone started somewhere. Just remember that it never does any good rushing into something new, especially if you’re intending on making money.
Taking the time to understand what devs and players want and how to meet those demands is a great first step.
There are several great free-to-browse guides laying out guidelines on how to deliver content to developers. For a newbie, this is essential reading. Don’t forget that others already in the market are also generally happy to help you get started, especially in the female gaming community. Before long, you could be racking up those invoices and raking in the cash.
About the author:
Lina Becker started her career in education as a remedial teacher. In 2012 she became a freelance editor, working with various media outlets where she covers topics ranging from education to productivity. Lina is fascinated by how people can use their energy to grow into better versions of themselves every day - we all have so much untapped potential within us!
Check out this blog by Lina on how gaming can help you achieve a creative flow state.
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