My main concern is regarding intersecting geometry. Is intersecting geometry okay? It makes the modelling process really faster, but I am not sure if it will work in a game engine properly.
Another thing I'm confused from a long time is, when should I model a part of the asset as a separate object and when should I not?
My English is not that clear, let me know if you didn't understand my explanation.
Replies
Don't think too hard, you'll get a feel for it quickly
Also, browse around artstation and check out models with marmoset viewers. You can see what kind of topology other people are doing this way.
If staring at topology is doing nothing for you because you don't know what to look for, that's a good indicator you lack fundamental knowledge about how 3d works, so in that case head over to the wiki on this site to get a good primer and links to further education.
I'm a beginner and one of my latest (personal) challenges was to sculpt a high-poly tree in ZBrush and then bake normals onto a Blender low-poly with lower branches showing no seams, thus being modeled as one piece with the trunk.
I found out this was one thing that (apparently) nobody ever tried and I couldn't find any reference/tutorial/example that would address certain issues for me.
In the end I managed to achieve what I had in mind with a fairly satisfying quality/polycount ratio.
Let me know if you still feel like discussing this topic could help you acquire some useful information, I'd be glad to share this specific experience of mines.