I’ve shared the same concerns with Assets sold to the masses in Marketplaces and presented potential solutions to these issues in various concepts and forum posts over the years:
[TABLE]
- Mystique Entity System
- HierArch Emporium
- [CONCEPT] Crowdsourced 3D Game Art & Animation]([CONCEPT] Crowdsourced 3D Game Art & Animation - General Discussion - Unreal Engine Forums)
- The UMECHS Compendium of Interchangeable Modular Entity Asset Parts
- I Buy Modular Parts Website
- TUTORIAL C++ - Runtime Async Load Modular Character (Intermediate)
- Full Models -vs- Modeled Parts
- A New Model Pack System: Modular Entity Construction Sets (MECs)
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In a nutshell: **Modularity, Interchangeability, Extensibility, Mass Customization, and Price Point geared for the masses.
I truly believe the Marketplace can offer greater value to the public than just mundane assets. Modularity offers an infinite amount of variation. So, instead of putting the additional effort of customizing a bought asset on the purchaser, Content Creators could profit by offering additional Interchangeable Parts and accessories to customize existing assets.
Not only do I desire unique entities in my games, I desire my players to be able to customize them too. I seek readily customizable assets in the Marketplace and will spend lots of money on these types of assets. Who knows, with additional part/accessories, I may spend several hundreds of dollars on a single Entity I can customize 255 different ways in my games.
Many Games and 3D Apps such as DAZ3D, has demonstrated the potential of modular/customizable entities. Eventually, the Modular Content Creation methodology will become the norm. We’re on the forefront. The UE4 Marketplace could easily be the Leader-of-the-Content Packs.