What is a "game ready" asset?

Mohamed_Salah_Bchir

What does it mean?
What are the requirements?
Any extra information? links? thanks.
As far as i know. it should have PBR texture and it should be low poly. Am i wrong?

Neox

Classic answer:

It depends.

It doesnt have to be PBR or lowpoly. It could be quite high in polycount or use handpainted textures.

in general i would say, if some recruiter asks for it, they want to see _finished_ content that is ready to be in A game.
Dependent on the game type, plattform, budget and so on "game ready" can mean many different things.

Mohamed_Salah_Bchir

thanks for the reply. what about "finished content"? What is the final phase? Is it texture? I have no experience with game engine so texturing is the last thing i know. is there a specific format? much appreciated

oglu

Could be a maya/max file, FBX file with texture, a Substance Painter file or in-engine.
You have to ask. 

Neox

final is a model that will go this way into the game, with textures and shaders applied, presented inside the engine as you would have it in the game - if possible

if i look at your portfolio, you'd get the same comment from me. besides the Zelda sword I don't see any game art in there, i see many renderings, many half finished things. Models, barely any texturing, little to no rendering. It is mostly focussed on models right now, not on final content. Even for the Archvis or Ad like stuff, this is not what final architecture visualisations look like, nor how final perfume bottles in advertisement would look.

Mark Dygert

Usually when someone hears those words, they have a portfolio full of non-textured zBrush sculpts or renders that aren't using a game engine. Materials are often lacking or missing and the projects in their portfolios seem unfinished. Most game artists are "end to end solutions", meaning places don't hire people just to model and ignore textures/materials. They want someone that can take a model from concept to completion without any issues or hick-ups.

A game ready asset is usually a fairly low poly mesh that doesn't waste triangles, that can deform/preform well. Usually textures are baked from a high poly source, with the final materials built out in whatever game engine you're using to display it. There isn't an excess amount of polygons and textures are minimal sizes with the UV space being used appropriately. Large textures with a lot of wasted space are often viewed as amateurish and not "game ready". Same goes for failing to demonstrate materials and textures that accurately represent the object and style.

EDIT: After looking at your portfolio, I completely agree with Neox, I would say the same thing, especially if you where going for job in the games industry. You'll need a lot more work that demonstrates a complete mastery of the pipeline from beginning to end. Even if you've never worked on a game professionally, you still should have a portfolio full of content that looks like it belongs in a game.

Mohamed_Salah_Bchir

thank you all