Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Limitations
—Before you begin to model a character, it's important that you know
all the applicable technical restrictions. These will include polygon counts and tex-
ture page limits.
With all the necessary information ready, let's look at how to properly store it.
Artwork Storage
An important piece of information you should obtain at this stage concerns the storage of
your artwork. Is there a specific directory structure in place? Does an area exist on the net-
work where all the artwork for a particular project will be stored? Does this location get
backed up frequently and regularly?
Many game development studios have custom-written software in place to take care of art-
work storage, but deserving of mention is one of the best and most widely available: Ali-
enbrain. A clever application, Alienbrain holds all the game assets on a server to which
the development team has access. When a piece of artwork is begun, it is stored not only
locally but also on the server. These server files are then locked. An individual wanting to
work with a file must “check it out” and then check it back in at the end of the work ses-
sion.
This is just the tip of the Alienbrain iceberg: The program is capable of much more. It has
plug-insavailableforMaya,Photoshop,andmanyotherapplicationstospeedupworkflow
and make things more user friendly, while all along keeping regular backups of your work
in case the worst should happen.
You can find more information on Alienbrain by visiting their Web site
www.nxn-soft-
As good as Alienbrain is, it does not set up a directory structure for you. The leads on your
team should establish this so that everyone knows where everything is at any given time.
The directory framework can be as simple as the structure seen in
Figure 2.1
.
