As computer hardware continues to advance, with software to match, we have entered an age where creating amazing-looking digital media is easier than ever before, even at an entry-level.
In development, a “pipeline” is roughly synonymous with the “workflow” you use to get the models, textures, and sounds (among others) from your Digital Content Creators (DCC) like Photoshop, 3DS Max, or Audacity to your game.
There is no standard in a pipeline, but every company must adhere to one reference. For example, asset production for game purposes is different from animation film needs.
When it comes to asset pipeline, there are typically three stages included with each various sub-stages.
Preproduction
Preproduction is where design and concept work happens. Concept art may be sketched, and reference imagery may be gathered. For example, if the target graphical asset is a 3D model of a 1969 Ford Mustang, reference imagery would include photographs of that vehicle. In a large game development team, designers, concept artists, and lead artists are the people who do the preproduction process.
Read Game Prototyping
Production
The next stage of the asset pipeline is production. Asset production will vary quite a bit depending on the type of asset you’re creating. In the case of 3D graphics, this stage typically includes modeling, UV mapping, texturing, rigging, and animating. These steps may be completed by one or more people, using one or more tools, and involve a lot of file formats. In a large team, different individuals make take on each of these roles.
Read Become a 3D Modeller and UV Mapping
Integration
The final stage in the asset pipeline is integration, which is integrating the asset into the game. On a small team, integration often is done by the art and design teams with assistance from the programming team. At a larger team more specialized roles to big leases that take on this task such as a level designer or technical artist. It’s important to note that the asset pipeline is often not linear.
Once an asset has been integrated into a game, design or production modifications may necessitate updating. Asset production is frequently an iterative process, similar to game development itself. It is critical for the project’s success to orchestrate a seamless and efficient asset stream.
The game’s development will come to a standstill if the asset pipeline breaks down. One of the processes that frequently leads to a breakdown is the one that occurs between the creation of the asset and its integration into the game. This stage is critical for ensuring that the asset functions properly in the game and looks and sounds as it should. The integration process is heavily reliant on the game engine you’re using.
Coordinate and organize is important too!
It’s crucial to coordinate among your team and produce a unified process that works for you and your team. Another critical part of keeping the asset pipeline up and running is staying organized. It’s not uncommon for games to have hundreds or thousands, or even millions of game assets. Tracking where assets are in the pipeline, who’s responsible for it, doing tasks related to it, and a historical change log are all things that you may want to track.
Another important thing is to come up with a file naming format. It is about how will you name files so you can quickly find and identify them? Make sure you come up with a standard way of naming files and communicate it across the team. This stage becomes even more important if you have a set of source files that are separate from your project production files.
How you will share assets across the team is another important consideration. You can use cloud storage, such as Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive, for example, Or use something like UnityTeams, or GitHub, or some combination of these.
And remember to have a backup strategy. If a drive dies, make sure you can recover quickly. You don’t want to risk the success of your project or possibly your company on a single hard drive.
As you can see, there are a lot of details that go and into having an efficient and smooth asset pipeline. The better you are at managing your asset pipeline, the more likely you will be able to bring a game project to completion.
Reference source: blender.org || Quora || intel.com || coursera || graphics.cs.cmu.edu || gamedeveloper.com || cgcookie.com
