A modular dungeon with assets that are made to be swapped in and out in order to make intricate maps. The assets in this project can be combined to make rooms, hallways and other simple areas by easily assembling them together.

Project Status

Complete, not shipped

Role

3D Artist

Software

Unreal Engine 4, Substance Painter, Maya

Modular Dungeon

Process

I built the models with the Unreal grid scale in mind and made them modular so they can fit in any configuration. After, I adjusted the pivot of each model and exported them at world origin so they can easily snap together in Unreal. Multiple models were fit into one texture sheet and the metalness, roughness and ambient occlusion textures were packed for better optimization. Other techniques such as overlapping UVs for were used for speed symmetry and extra resolution.

Model

Models are created based on the Unreal grid to allow me to snap them together later. The assets are modular so they can be set up in numerous configurations.

Pivot

Setting the origin/pivot in smart locations allows me to more quickly snap modular assets together. Drag and drop from the content browser will work more seamlessly since the default drop location is at the models origin.

Texture

Overlapping UVs allows me to create symmetry, increase texture resolution and optimize draw calls. Packing the roughness, metalness and AO into the RGB channels allows me to use less textures per model.

Assets

Walls

  • Wall_Acute

  • Wall_Flat

  • Wall_Obtuse

  • Wall_Stair_Left

  • Wall_Stair_Right

Tops

  • Top_Acute

  • Top_Door_Enclosure_Large

  • Top_Door_Enclosure_Small

  • Top_Flat

  • Top_Large_Door

  • Top_Obtuse

  • Top_Small_Door

  • Top_Stair_Large

  • Top_Stair_Small

Floors

  • Floor_Flat

  • Stair_Large

  • Stair_Small

Doors

  • Door_Large

  • Door_Small

Decoration

  • Asset_CenterPiece_Base

  • Asset_Flame

  • Asset_Globe

  • Asset_Pillar

  • Asset_Ring_Large

  • Asset_Ring_Small

  • Asset_Seating

Learnings

Modular Dungeon was one of my first experiences with game asset modeling. Many mistakes were made but I did learn some efficient tricks for asset creation and optimization.

The main takeaways are:

  • Set the pivot point and export at origin

  • Pack your textures to and use the RGB pins to modify elements

  • Custom lightmaps are better, don’t overlap them

  • Moving objects bring the scene to life

  • Exposed parameters allow for quick, iterative work