Where do you guys buy game dev assets?

edited in Questions and Answers
So where can I get graphics / sounds / fonts, etc for purchase to do rapid prototyping of games?

Do you use any of these? Why?

Discussion welcome

Comments

  • http://www.glitchthegame.com/public-domain-game-art/ Try this for what you can get hold of. Maybe it helps?
    Thanked by 1Boysano
  • I make squares, and make them different colors.....
  • @ iPixelPierre and then what?

    It is a good "rapid" way of prototyping, but then what about after that?
  • I use squares/circles/cubes when prototyping and generate simple sounds with bfxr if I need them. Reason being that if I can make boring squares and circles feel fun or move interestingly, then I know that will just get compounded by good art and juicy effects.
    Thanked by 3edg3 Boysano dammit
  • dislekcia said:
    if I can make boring squares and circles feel fun or move interestingly, then I know that will just get compounded by good art and juicy effects.
    ^ This ^
  • I get that, but what I'm asking is do you ever buy ready baked game assets? Then again, you do have your own in-house artists.
  • So where can I get graphics / sounds / fonts, etc for purchase to do rapid prototyping of games?
    It is a good "rapid" way of prototyping, but then what about after that?
    Wait....what?

    Anyways, I usually check here : http://opengameart.org/
  • edited
    So nobody buys ready made graphics (packs) ?
  • Boysano said:
    I get that, but what I'm asking is do you ever buy ready baked game assets? Then again, you do have your own in-house artists.
    We didn't have in-house artists when we started. We built a game people liked and many offered to help make it look better. Giving other people the chance to impact the game like that was a really useful thing to do.

    I don't see the need for graphics packs. Sure, picking up individual assets via something like Turbosquid or the Unity Store is useful when you need a specific thing for part X of your game, but packs as a whole have never been useful for me. Either I don't need them and focusing on a specific artstyle too early doesn't help the prototype, or gradually refining programmer art helps create a unique look/focus for the game that skilled artists can get into and enjoy.
  • Graphics packs pros:
    1. They allow artists another avenue for generating income.

    Graphics packs cons:
    1. 9 times out of 10 don't follow the requirements you need them too. (edge flow, texture sizes, poly count) Animations are too generic. (you don't get everything you want and now you don't have the source rig to make more!)
    2. Other games can use the same assets as you.

    Colored unity primitives pros:
    1. Anyone can do it.
    2. If you have gameplay that is fun it attracts artists. (as an artist when I play a game that is just cubes and I'm enjoying myself, my next thoughts are: Hey I could totally make better art for this game!
    3. People will give you focused feedback on the gameplay instead of commenting on the squiggle of your main characters arm.

    Colored unity primitives cons:
    1. deving with primitive shapes can get visually boring after a while. (boredom that's easily overcome with killer gameplay)

    Programmer art pros:
    1. It also attract artists when coupled with good gameplay.
    2. It allows programmers to explore art they otherwise wouldn't sit down to make.
    3. Often leads to groovy/unique visuals

    You will notice programmer art doesn't have any downsides in my opinion.
    Thanked by 2Boysano dammit
  • I don't think there is a need to spend money on art for prototyping. Like I said, I myself make primitives.
    And yes I think it can get boring to look at but I'm having fun with the mechanics/creation to even notice the visuals.
    I'll be putting up a public alpha of my game within the next week or two with primitives. My enemy is a flat square that has "kill me" written on it :)
  • We bought art assets once before. We had to rework them so much (crap topology, crap optimization) that we've never done it again. But then we have a pretty large team of in-house artists.
  • I don't want to make case for buying art as-is because I agree with the above, but I have found that starting too primitive does not work for me. The amount of rework, especially with more complex 3d assets, are just too much if a game has passed beyond a certain point - it's not always that simple to plug in art afterwards. For 2d games it may be simpler.
    Thanked by 1Boysano
  • edited
    For rapid / cheap development :

    Mixed

    http://www.dexsoft-games.com/
    Unity store
    http://www.pixelprospector.com/indie-resources/

    Textures

    http://cgtextures.com/
    http://gametextures.com/


    Models

    http://www.turbosquid.com/
    http://3drt.com/store/characters/

    Sounds

    http://www.freesound.org/
    https://www.soundrangers.com/
    http://www.sfxsource.com/
    http://www.soundsnap.com/

    Fonts

    http://www.angelcode.com/products/bmfont/ (generate a font sheet)

    Icons

    http://opengameart.org/content/95-game-icons
    http://game-icons.net/

    -------------

    The grey-box prototyping argument is a valid one, but as with many things in life, people can take general rules of thumb and try to turn them into cast-iron laws. The line between art and gameplay is a bit blurry in some cases. Some mechanics can't be tested without having at least some prototype art.

    For example, something like the combat system in God of War or fighter games, you couldn't really get a good sense of how the combat would feel with just grey boxes bumping up against each other, you'd need at least a simple-but-rigged humanoid with some animations in there.

    You may also be testing something other than mechanics, such as atmosphere/mood, art style, scene composition. And, like others have said, it can be a way to attract art talent. You may be able to see your vision for your game in amongst the grey cubes, other folk might need a bit more audiovisual stimulation to get excited.

    And the final reason, honestly, is just because it's fun and motivating. Game dev should be something you enjoy. It can be motivating to see a cool model, texture or sprite in your game, listen to some moody background music, hear your shotgun roar as you fire it in an enemies face, see some explosion particle effects. Even if it's throw-away.

    Just don't get carried away, don't treat it as final art and obsesses over it, and don't spend money you can't treat as "throw away".
  • Hi thanks for all the discussion!

    I agree with you @garethf, and also I do believe there is a gap in the market for well packaged game dev assets.
    I surely would love to find a 1 stop shop with packages that are designed as 1 style.
    Of course if you have to rework the assets, then it means your artist or game mechanics didn't match the pack style well or you the product was miss-represented which is just a shame..it would make more sense to use a pack to start a game and then develop it further.

    I do like the concept, especially since I'm a solo programmer, and can't afford just to spend my whole pension on hiring a studio with the great creative artists , etc staff I would like...
    I like the idea of polished products, versus free unpolished products. In large what apple did with its appstore to software for devices vs. android. So what I do not like about opengameart is that it is so difficult to find a complete set, even a small 2D set of complete matching styles.

    I was wondering if any game devs studios would sell their old asset packs for games, they decided to can for whatever reason.
    With assets I mean everything: sound/sprites/fonts...
  • edited
    We recently brought some artwork from GraphicRiver.
    This Guy
    and this Guy has some pretty stuff.

    And we are currently working on our own game asset shop, where we sell graphics that we do not use in our games.
  • edited
    I pay for membership on cgtextures.
    That's about all.

    As @Elyaradine pointed out, paid models are usually pretty meh.

    I am working on an asset pack that contains 2 sets of the same assets.
    One set is non triangulated so artists can modify them without having to spend hours removing edges before tweaking which is usually ready for sculpting out of the box. All unwrapped ofcourse.
    And a second set which is the in-game optimized versions.

    Depending what exactly you are looking for Boysano.
    I have made my Xoi San game assets public, all the sprite sheets and fonts.
    The only thing i couldn't make public was the sound as the guy who made them felt he wanted to keep them non distributed.

    But there are loads of royalty free sound effects sites.
  • There are many freelancers right HERE in the MGSA forums... All you have to do is ask.

    Good, red blooded, local, SA people who are awesome at their craft and are begging to get involved with all sorts of projects.

    Why pay for expensive overseas artists and assets? These forums will put you in contact with some great graphics experts, musicians, coders for rent, game designers and others who cost a fraction of the overseas artists.

    If ever I am lucky enough to be involved in developing a game that is internationally accepted and deemed "successful" , I sincerely hope it would be in collaboration with local people who aren't necessarily established yet.

    So my answer is: right HERE on MGSA. Your one stop shop...
    Thanked by 2iceblademush Boysano
  • My/our method has always been to make the stuff ourselves. It may not be the quickest, of course, but we get what we need and we more or less know each-others visions ;) Everytime we need something, one of us would just try and do it. Learnt quite a bit in the process :)

    *Disclaimer: I realize this solution may not be viable for everyone.. ;)
    Thanked by 1Boysano
  • my friend
    i know a site sell Game Resources Game Icons Maps Original Painting UI Material and Effects.
    www.brushcity.com
    check it
    image
  • I pixelart by design, then replace with proper gfx afterwards :D
  • edited
    Recently I also purchased some stuff from GameMaker's or YoYogames new marketplace....love how you can just import it into the game engine. Actually we have sold a few scripts on there as well funny enough.

    I definitely would like to collaborate more with local artists and devs...all in good time.
  • I often buy stuff off of the Unity Asset store when I want to get something in a game quickly. Mostly scripts for visual effects, but I've bought graphically animated particle effects and music before.

    If I'm prototyping a game on my own I'd tend to make a game that doesn't need art to work. In which case there isn't really a need for asset packs and whatever programmer art I throw together will work fine.

    Though recently I'm more excited about prototyping games where the art style is part of prototype. And because art asset packs tend to be kind of one-size-fits all they don't ever synergize well with the gameplay I'm aiming at, so I need to work with an artist.
  • https://www.fiverr.com/ if your looking for something specific
  • Humble Bundle right now has a bundle of a buggerton of assets for Cryengine. Which is pretty good value for just having assets.

    https://www.humblebundle.com/

    Question: Does anyone know if those assets can only be used in Cryengine? Technically or EULA wise?
  • In the email I received it states:
    "Over 20,000 royalty-free files to be used on CRYENGINE!"
    So it seems CryEngine only.
  • I have read a twitter post from them saying for CRYENGINE only. Can't find the link again
  • edited
    Madison Pike LLC asset license is here: http://pastebin.com/Jc4YAeGt

    tl;dr Madison Pike assets may be used in any commercial or non-commercial project built with any engine. Crytek provided assets and starter projects may only be used in CRYENGINE projects.

    This license will be added to the download page for purchasers of the Humble CRYENGINE Bundle, and working on it being added to the descriptions for non-purchasers.

    Expect to have it updated on the site tomorrow, Wed March 16th.
    And the Twitter post is here: https://twitter.com/cryengine/status/709874255010267136

    So you can use some of the assets in anything, but not the Crytek ones.

    FWIW, it is about 70GB total, which I'm downloading and happy to give to any Durban people if you want to avoid the download (and show me your receipt).

    EDIT: I made a pretty picture for if you're not using Cryengine

    image
    Thanked by 3konman Ramperkash Tuism
  • How good is the Audio Kit they have on humble bundle?
  • edited
    @roguecode that is a very pretty picture indeed. Too bad it's not part of the bundle...
    On a serious note that's exactly what I wanted to know: How much of it I could use in Unity if I do buy it.

    I'm actually considering pilfering code from starter projects for rapid prototyping (in other engines most likely). I wonder how that would work legally.
  • Thanks for this guys! If there's anyone in Jozi who has downloaded these assets please let us know too... Gods the whole pack is like bigger than my entire monthly cap XD
  • @roguecode that is a very pretty picture indeed. Too bad it's not part of the bundle...
    On a serious note that's exactly what I wanted to know: How much of it I could use in Unity if I do buy it.

    I'm actually considering pilfering code from starter projects for rapid prototyping (in other engines most likely). I wonder how that would work legally.
    Something to note is that a lot of the models are in .ma (maya) format. I haven't looked into it yet, but I'm hoping there is a free way I can convert them to FBX's.

    Regarding using these in prototypes, maybe that is fine even for the Crytek stuff as long as it doesn't make its way to the final commercial product?
    Any lawyers here?


  • As far as I know, .ma is the non-binary form of Maya files. I believe that means you could open it up in a text editor and view the contents. I imagine that because of that someone would've written some sort of parser to let you open it in other software too, but after a casual search I didn't find any hits for doing it with Blender. :/

    Worst case scenario, you could maybe grab a Maya trial and just spend your 30 day trial exporting files into obj or fbx...?
  • I'm actually considering pilfering code from starter projects for rapid prototyping (in other engines most likely). I wonder how that would work legally.
    As far as I understand, most of the engines have clauses about their free content and starter content that only allows it to be used in the engine it is intended for.

    Unreal Engine has this clause:
    UE-Only Content

    For UE-Only Content, you may exercise your rights under the License only if and to the extent that the UE-Only Content is utilized in combination with the Engine Code. For example, you may not develop or Distribute a Product that consists of or contains UE-Only Content but does not contain and require the Engine Code (including as modified by you under the License) for its use. The UE-Only Content will be subject to all of the terms of this Agreement that apply to Content, as well as the additional limitations described in this paragraph. All references in this paragraph to UE-Only Content include modified versions thereof made by you under the License.
    So I would just check the relevant licenses first, just to be on the safe side.
    Thanked by 1Ramperkash
  • As far as I know, .ma is the non-binary form of Maya files. I believe that means you could open it up in a text editor and view the contents. I imagine that because of that someone would've written some sort of parser to let you open it in other software too, but after a casual search I didn't find any hits for doing it with Blender. :/

    Worst case scenario, you could maybe grab a Maya trial and just spend your 30 day trial exporting files into obj or fbx...?
    Yeah, I also can't find a standalone tool that does this (which is kind of weird). I'm downloading the Maya trial and will see if I can write a script to bulk convert all the models.
  • @Tuism I could DL the assets rather easily (if I got the bundle, I don't really see it having much value for me) the trouble is more finding some kind of external storage large enough to put it on and give to people to pass around and such.
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