I wanna gauge the interest in sci fi characters on the marketplace. I have a few I’ve done a couple of months ago, and some that I’m in the middle of working on. Before I begin to polish them and put work into placing them on the marketplace I’m curious if there’s any interest for characters of this genre. Just like my modular environment series, I would plan to do several packs should there be enough interest that way you won’t be limited to only a few characters. I will also make them customizable, mostly in colors/patterns/pbr but some mesh differences when I can.
I’m thinking 2 per pack, male and female of the same armor type. I tend to make my male/female versions similar but different at the same time. I’m not a fan of carbon copy armors when it comes to genders, more of a female/male interpretation of the same outfit/style.
Here’s one of the armor variants I would be bringing:
At the moment I just need to finish texturing the male variant of this armor. The hair and back flap texture isn’t final for the female variant either. I also need to figure out how to rig the characters to the UE4 skeleton, as when it comes to character work I typically just create the model/textures, easy pose and in engine materials. But if people are interested in sci fi characters of this quality, and a continual series to go along with the environment series I’m working on then please let me know. The pricing for a 2 pack will be around $100-125 should I end up bringing these to the marketplace. The packs will include male/female versions with customizable materials, 4096 textures and armor variants if applicable. (i.e. short flap, long - things of that nature). I will also see if I can include the obj files for the armors so developers can swap heads, or further modify to their liking.
Also this is something I’m considering tackling in the future, still have to get the next two Modular Sci Fi packs out which I’m hard at work on right now. If there’s enough interest in a character series, I would probably not be able to get around to it for a couple of months April/May the earliest.
Feedback will be greatly appreciated! And in the mean time, be sure to check out the Modular Sci Fi Environment series in my signature, the first pack of 3 is already on the marketplace!
As “a” buyer perspective I would be interested more in NPC packages over and above what would be considered a hero model.
Our hero models are made by design and can take months or even a full year to develop by design.
NPC packages though has a lot of appeal if the need is to fill the background with unique characters yet not as detailed as the hero model and to be honest once Daz 3D steps into the mix with game ready models (they call GRM) it’s going to be tough to compete against them.
This would actually fall under npc, rather than hero. It’s more of a specific armor set as opposed to character though a preset head will be included. If I were to do hero models it would most likely be through individual request as it would have to fit the needs/story of the developer. The styles I would create for armor packs would be things like mercenary armors (light, medium, heavy. The above is an example of light), civilian clothes, job specific outfits (i.e. engineer, military, scientist, doctor, etc.) The armors/clothing will generally be devoid of branding outside of the pack name so that the developer can put their unique touch on it. Texture/Mask files would be provided to account for that.
As far as competition goes, it’s really dependent on what the consumer is looking for in terms of style and quality. That’s why I want to see if there’s any interest in this genre of characters. Competition keeps us artists on our toes, and overall makes for good content between competing parties.
Ah OK in that case 2 per pack as an NPC for $100-125 is to much as once again it’s focusing on a predefined set of characters and although an opinion a NPC package needs to be able to create as many different characters as needed and better still either as a parametric or data driven system.
Daz3d > Daz Studio once again
Note about the 45 second part but the entire video uses the two base (1 male 1 female) Genesis alpha character built on a single bind pose rig. Hard to beat since the total number of different characters one can make is unlimited and I know of a few people working on the infinite NPC idea.
Gonna have to disagree with you on the pricing. Weeks/months of work goes into creating characters. Anything less than $100 for high quality characters is going to be undervalue, and not worth selling given the time sink these require. The extent of character predefinition will be the category of clothing as I mentioned above. It’d be your general armor sets, or specific and casual clothing. Even so, they will have a good degree of customization available to them to further adjust the final look. There are typically 4 colors and full PBR control I strive to allow consumers to customize when it comes to my assets, the same goes for the armor types - although I take it further when it comes to characters as you can introduce different base textures or pattern masks entirely which open up even more options.
From what I’m seeing with this Daz3d, it’s essentially the same thing. A marketplace full of characters and outfits you can purchase and put in your game, although a lot of them seem to be pretty generic in my opinion. Essentially it comes down to preference, which is why I’m interested to see if there’s a demand for scifi character packs before I consider tackling this when I finish my current environment series.
I’m not saying that it’s not worth it but if your thinking NPC then the idea of just two characters does not fit the design ideal of what a NPC at the technical level is or does. If anything we are saying the same thing but from a different perspective but I’m assuming that you are seeing it from the art stand point while as a buyer I’m looking at it from a usability stand point.
The need as a developer is to keep the memory foot print and deliverable package with in reason and filling up with 200+ artistic appealing NPS does not make for a very appealing asset as to the “need” to limit resource requirements. Granted I don’t realize the full extent of your design intention but as outlined suggest NPC packages being available as unique and unique means a rather expensive resource hit.
Easy solution though is since UE4 supports full body morphs you would only need one Alpha frame that equals instancing copying of the same resources with out duplication and sell clothing packages and injectors instead of yet another unique package to have to fit.
Granted I might not understand your full intentions but as to what I would buy as a developer of my own game I would be more interested in how you product solves the problem of resource overuse that helps deliver a reasonable size package that looks good that I can fill an entire world with characters at a low cost.
I think you’re misunderstanding the intent of these packages. These are not preset NPCs, these are customizable armor/clothing packs with a default head attached which can and should be replaced to fit the need of the respective project. I’m well aware of the need for usability and variety when it comes to content that can be used by many, which is why I stress modularity as much as I can with my assets.
The packs will follow different styles and “jobs” that will allow for diversity in NPCs. I don’t follow how this will present a problem with limited resources. You have a finite amount of npcs you can fit into a scene when you want to maintain good performance, but that doesn’t mean they need to be the exact same model nor does it mean that the one model will fit every npc need. Since this is scifi, take Mass Effect for example. Their NPC asset pool ranges from heavy/medium/light armors with different texture variations, or unique outfits per faction, around 2-3 civilian outfits per gender/species, 2-3 military uniforms m/f, 1-2 scientist outfits m/f with several texture variations suitable to the respective needs. This is just an example, but should give you an idea of what I’m talking about. It’s the same approach I’m taking with my modular scifi environmental assets, starting with hallways and now moving onto general rooms and exteriors. Then it will be thematic packages, i.e. cargo holds, laboratories, hangars, additional props, etc. This allows for a continual growth of available modular assets. (modularity in mesh, as well as materials as seen in my first pack).
Sure always room for more stuff but I still think the initial pricing is outside of the current fair market pricing for similar items already available that are far less expensive.
Not to be discouraging but it’s not how good it looks, sorry your not selling art, but how many units you can sell in bulk.
As part of your marketing plan you might want to see what it takes to be a merchant on Daz3d’s market place as it is rather massive as compared to Epics. For that matter some of the products you are current selling on the market place could be sold over at Daz with a bit of repackaging.
It isn’t discouraging at all. And again I disagree with your assessment of price. I may be an artist, but I think you misunderstand me as a stranger to game development which I am not. You have to understand that these characters take time to develop, and that selling it too low would essentially be a waste of time and resources. Selling one of these characters to an individual buyer, it would be in the thousand range. $100-125 is a more than reasonable price considering the quality, quantity, and modularity that will be offered. But again, thank you for your feedback. =)
You state:* “I will also make them customizable, mostly in colors/patterns/pbr but some mesh differences when I can.”* and intend to market for $100-125. I would consider paying that price if you’re including the Blueprints Module to manage in-game customization too. I’ve been in discussions with several Game Devs & Artists working on Modular/Morphing Character Customization System (CCS) and Assets for distribution in the Marketplace. There are some fancy CCS in the works to include Procedural Characters and Morphing/Modular Clothes:
In my opinion, you’re competing with CCSs that will be marketed for significantly less (and possibly FREE). CCS Devs are teaming up with Artists, who intend to generate profits by furnishing a steady supply of High Quality modular Outfits, Armor, Accessories, Attachments, Morphs, and Animations for their Customizable Character. A similar sales model comparable to Daz3D, which is fairly successful.
You State: “I will also see if I can include the obj files for the armors so developers can swap heads, or further modify to their liking.” To be very honest, I don’t want to spend time tweaking a store-bought asset, nor developing a head-swap system. The new CCS are offering to remove those burdens and add Head/Face Morphs & Lip Sync, turn-key. Head-swapping also suggests limited modularity, when I desire the ability for my players to swap arms, legs, and other body parts as well.
Perhaps a marketing strategy would be to offer Modular Sci-Fi Outfits & Accessories, opposed to a “Sci-Fi Character”. Modular Outfits could offer greater flexibility in how assets are bundled for sale. The more granular the modularity, the better. One can offer a variety of packages to fit any budget. So with that said, yes I do believe you can charge $100-125 by diversifying the outfit assets in smaller $15-25 bundles.
The Modular Sci Fi Environment looks awesome and its obvious you understand the value of modularity for items sold in the marketplace. I believe there’s great value in collaborating with a CCS Dev to supply their Customizable Character with Assets. I understand my suggestions and recommendation will not align with your original design and marketing plans, but, Characters serve a different purpose than level assets, and thus are purchased differently.
Thank you for your feedback. I will take it under consideration and continue to monitor the market when it comes to character packs. If I were to bring characters into my marketplace library I will want to make sure I do it right, so feedback and monitoring will be instrumental in determining the best approach.
Hey intoxicat3, thanks for your feedback! I’m still looking into doing characters in the future. I will be announcing when there is more information to share. =)
You are maybe the best artist here but could you think about making non-scifi props someday? It seems that when looking at Marketplace and Trello today, it’s just a scifi this and scifi that. Sure, very nice looking packs I have to say. If we look sales charts example from Vgcharz, there are only few if any scifi oriented games on top of the chart. So why Unreal 3rd party artists are so keen on making scifi?
I would like to see a modular pack what you could use to build like old mansion or something like that. Those props could be used fantasy games, moder survival horror games, ect. So much more variety and I’m sure that those would sell more. Which are top games atm? Well games like Bloodborne, Darksouls, The Evil Within, The Order: 1886. All different genre games but could use the same props. And horror games in general are the big thing nowday. New Resident Evil’s are released all the time and they even make HD versions from the old ones. Outlast, Daylight, Until Dawn, The Forest… List keep going.
So is there a possible that we could see your amazing work in other type of environments. Space is so old and we saw that in Atari
Hey , thanks that is very humbling! I actually do have plans beyond the scifi series, namely expanding into other styles such as modern or fantasy. The reason I chose scifi first was because as you said there were very few games that use the setting. I wanted to be able to contribute quality scifi assets for indies to have access too should they be interested in making a scifi themed game. Hopefully these packs will also inspire people to look into developing a scifi game or project as well. I will be moving on to other styles, but I will complete this series first. My main priority right now is delivering the largest, highest quality asset library for scifi developers. There will be time for the other styles in the future . =)
Well you have managed to contribute quality scifi assets to all Unreal users. Your work is clearly the best there is in Unreal Marketplace atm. I still haven’t bought anything from you, just the fact that I’m not making a scifi game, so that’s why I just wanted to ask you because I know that props made by you are the best I could get. Example this picture you posted in your Scifi interior topic is best picture I’ve seen from anybody made by Unreal.
And if I’m correct, you even offered props in that picture for free to those who have bought your pack? This tells a lot about you as an artist. You seem to care about your customers and offer them Updates ect. So keep doing scifi people happy and I’m sure you already have. But we non-scifi gamemakers and other are just so keen to wait what you have to offer to us.
ps. did not pay anything for me, I’m and I approve this message.
Thanks kanizitas. =) I’m actually still going to be developing content packs for the Modular SciFi Series for the next year or so at least. New competition is welcome, it helps participants to strive for the best and ultimately the consumer wins. I’m excited that more people are getting into scifi content packs. =)
Thanks again , that is very kind of you to say! I just try to create assets that I would want to buy myself. =) I’m definitely looking into other styles for people like you who aren’t into scifi. Rest assured I will not be stopping development of marketplace assets provided I am in good health to do so and epic is still allowing submissions. =P
The Modular SciFi Hallways pack has received a free expansion update, yes. It’s something I am looking to provide in future content wherever possible. I want my customers to have the best asset library they can find. Regular additions through paid packs, or free updates are a big part of that. It’s also about my appreciation for my customers. They have been VERY supportive of my first pack, and I am very grateful. I want people to know that I will not abandon the content, and that they won’t be stuck with only a few assets and forced to pay someone or look elsewhere for similar content. This is why I want to finish the Modular SciFi Series before moving onto something else. =)
But I am happy to hear where people want to see me go next, so please keep the suggestions coming! I have an idea of where I would like to go, but the more feedback the better. Thanks again for your kind words and your interest in my packs. =)
Yeah, I’d buy them as long as you don’t mind them being re-sculpted and re-skinned?
Decent base models are hard to come by, which maybe not your intention for use as such. So for me the biggest factors would be the quality of textures / .SBAR files and base mesh integrity that can be turned into whatever else.
