10 October 2026 · 6 min read
Game-Ready 3D Asset Checklist: What to Check Before You Ship
Most "this asset does not work in our engine" problems are small and avoidable. Use this list before you deliver or accept a 3D asset.
Scale, units and pivot
- Correct real-world scale and units (centimeters vs meters matter between tools and engines).
- Transforms applied: scale 1, rotation 0.
- Pivot placed logically: at the base for props, at the hinge for doors, at the feet for characters.
- Facing the agreed forward axis.
Mesh
- Within the triangle budget (see polygon budgets).
- Clean topology: no n-gons, no stray vertices, no duplicate or hidden faces.
- Normals facing outward; no flipped faces.
- Hard edges and smoothing set deliberately.
- No non-manifold geometry unless it is intentional (for example single-sided foliage planes).
UVs
- Unwrapped with low distortion and no accidental overlaps (see UV mapping explained).
- Consistent texel density.
- Padding between islands.
- Second UV set for lightmaps, if the engine needs it.
Textures and materials
- Correct maps for the workflow (see PBR textures explained or game texturing basics).
- Power-of-two sizes, within budget, in agreed formats (PNG, TGA).
- Color maps in sRGB, data maps linear; correct normal map convention.
- As few materials as possible; shared where practical (see UV atlas).
- Texture and material names that match the asset name.
Animation and rig (if applicable)
- Skeleton in a clean bind pose with sensible names.
- Bone count and influence limits respected (see rigging basics).
- Animation clips named, trimmed, looped where needed, with frame rate agreed.
LODs and collision
- LODs delivered when required (see LODs explained).
- Simple collision shape where needed.
Naming and files
- A naming convention such as
SM_Chair_01,T_Chair_01_BaseColor. - Organized folders and no spaces or special characters.
- Format agreed in advance (see 3D file formats).
- Source files included if they are part of the deal.
The final test: look at it in the engine
Import into the real project, under real lighting, at real camera distance. Check scale next to other assets, material look, seams and performance. We do this review for every delivery. If you want to see our process, read how a 3D game asset is made or ask for a test asset.
