I am a student and it is very hard for me to find assets(convex levels- quake like, fully textured). I was thinking it would be great to have this kind of levels say in a popular format like .3ds, for download here. What do you think? Using just the exsting geometry in a quake level won't dom that is not convex anymore

Quote: Original post by Deliverance
What do you think?

How do you make it happen? What are the intellectual property rules? By adding content to an asset database intended for academic use, what restrictions/freedoms is the artist agreeing to? What are the returns to the artist?

The key in transforming a "cool idea" into a working solution is answering questions like these. I haven't given the matter much thought, so I have no answers. Have/do you?

AFAIK google's SketchUp program (which they recently acquired) is aiming to do something very similar to this. You can google for pre-made levels/objects and download them and import them into the SketchUp app. I believe there are tools by which you can convert sketchup to some game formats. SketchUp is perhaps not the ideal format but what's important is that the implementation of the tool is answering a lot of the questions that Oluseyi points out.

Ownership and tradeability of assets is configurable by the submitting artist.

-me

One problem with that is that no self-respecting 3d artist uses sketch-up. It'd be akin to a 2d artist using crayola crayons...the little box.

The idea wont work without someone managing each and every piece of content that comes through, because everything is going to be scaled differently and formatted differently. Good luck, but meh.

I got SketchUp just for the heck of it, and because I was curious of its drafting/design "capabilities." There is one thing I like about it, and its the measurement bar. It lets you know of realtime x,y,z distances in preferred units. It has many handy snap points, and can produce decent stuff after some work.

This software produces cartoony, architectural display type models. It allows 3ds import/export and lots of handy tools. Its nothing great, but interesting nonetheless.

As for the topic, you won't find my success in these forums, because this whole forum is primarily programmer-based (that's another discussion). Nevertheless, you could try, but I doubt many people will contribute. As mentioned, how will they get repaid? Not many people want to build a full-fledged level for no compensation. What about licensing? "GPL", "Open-Source (free to edit & distribute?)" ? I love the idea, but implementation and getting contributions/attention will be very tough. I don't mean to discourage you, but wanted to let you know of possible hitches along the way.

Here is something similar but not quite the same, just props not full levels. Yes, a flexible-team community project can work, but be prepared as the facilitator to invest at least as much time in watering the garden as you do actually contributing to and benefitting from the work, especially near the end of a project.

The Low Poly Cooperative.

Scott

Thanks for the replies guys, sadly I realized that making such an idea happen is not just as simple as filling a glass with water. Due to the fact that this idea requires the involvment of an(/) experienced person(s) in the field of copyright, laws and free software/academic software distribution I don't think I could answer /solve all the problems arrised by it. I'm no expert in such fields. It seems like it is very easy to create something cool/good and give it away with money but it is so hard to deliver free stuff, that can help other people, sometimes. Anyway it seems the only solution would be to buy such assets from The Multimedia Department at GameInstitute
They are aware of the importance of assets and decided to help students, it is not free but I guess everyone could make an effort if they are really serious about gamedev. Here's what they say:

"Over the last four years, innumerable Game Institute students have written in to ask “where can I find quality art assets for my demos?” Unfortunately, for the student, amateur, or hobbyist game developer, the outlook is generally grim. Hiring artists and animators for small projects and demos is typically way too costly. This is especially true when those projects are simply for learning purposes and are never intended to see the light of day commercially.

More often than not, student demos wind up littered with boring and unattractive programmer art or filled with one-off pieces of artwork downloaded or purchased on the internet that lack any consistent overall theme because they were created by separate artists. In the end, students create maps and levels that are filled with “placeholder” artwork that never actually gets replaced!

Working with properly designed game art assets allows the student to focus on their code and game play mechanics without getting sidetracked into playing the role of project artist. It also allows for a more accurate and helpful code benchmarking, since the scenes are generally more complex than those that are designed to be placeholder, placing a higher stress level on the engine. And not to be overlooked is the incredible feeling of satisfaction that the developer gets when working with quality game art from day one. Their own projects look and feel much more like the professional games they play every day and are one day hoping to build. During times of intense study, this can certainly provide a much needed morale boost to keep a student motivated.

Because we know how hard it can be for students to go out and find skilled designers to work on their projects, we have decided to bring the designers to you. Recently, Game Institute has sought out professional game artists, animators, and sound designers working in the games industry and asked them to develop high-quality content that we can make available to our students at a price that won’t break the bank. In the end, our Multimedia Department was born, and our first set of assets is ready to roll out the door. "
The text was ripped from here "http://www.gameinstitute.com/assets.php"

Quote: Original post by Deliverance
Anyway it seems the only solution would be to buy such assets from The Multimedia Department at GameInstitute

Or Turbo Squid. Or any of the plethora of other "buy assets here" websites. You'll still end up with fragmented art direction, partly because the assets will have been created by different artists/processes/tools, partly because the assets will have been created without a design brief in advance that lays out the art direction, and partly because you'll be fitting your design to the available art, not vice versa.

Quote: Original post by Oluseyi

Quote: Original post by Deliverance
Anyway it seems the only solution would be to buy such assets from The Multimedia Department at GameInstitute

Or Turbo Squid. Or any of the plethora of other "buy assets here" websites. You'll still end up with fragmented art direction, partly because the assets will have been created by different artists/processes/tools, partly because the assets will have been created without a design brief in advance that lays out the art direction, and partly because you'll be fitting your design to the available art, not vice versa.

Well GameInstitute does not offer "fragmented art", they are aware of this. I see only two solutions: buy the artwork or get it for free from coleagues in the University that are passionated about modelling/animation. The second is better :)

Here's what GameInstitute has to say about "scene consistency":
"One of the major hurdles faced when students attempt to put together artwork for their demos is consistency of theme. It is easy enough to find individual models and textures and even the occasional animated character or two, but making sure that all of these pieces look good when placed together in the same scene is quite a challenge.

Our asset packs offer a complete and affordable solution to the student developer. They include fully textured and lit environment and structural assets with polygon counts suitable for real-time rendering. They also include fully skinned, rigged, and animated characters, weapons, and vehicles that fit the overall theme of the pack.

Our Asset Packs are designed to save you both time and money; two things which the aspiring game developer rarely has to spare. They also serve to allow for easy assembly of very attractive demonstrations that would be perfect for any student portfolio."

Quote: Original post by Deliverance
Well GameInstitute does not offer "fragmented art", they are aware of this.

You drank the Kool-Aid, didn't you?

Look, everything they write is marketing BS. I work in sales, I know marketing BS when I see it - it's what I do for a living!

So they provide you with a "fully textured and lit environment and structural assets with polygon counts suitable for real-time rendering" that includes "fully skinned, rigged, and animated characters, weapons, and vehicles that fit the overall theme of the pack." But do they fit your design? Do they address every need in your design? If not, you're going to have to pull in pieces from other content packs.

So unless all of their asset packs have a single art direction, you're still going to end up with thematically fragmented results. There's really no escaping it.

For development projects, early-stage demos and proofs of concept, it doesn't matter. For professional-quality projects, go out and commission some damn assets!