Let’s dive into a topic that’s obviously something we’re strong advocates for and which can prove to be a crucial piece of the project puzzle, especially for indie game devs - the key benefits of using pre-made game dev assets in your project!
It doesn't matter if you’re a solo indie dev working hard on your passion project or part of a small team aiming to make your mark in the gaming world, the journey from initial concept to (hopeful) launch is often filled with numerous challenges.
Among these, time and budget can often prove to be the biggest to overcome and that’s where the right assets can come in as a potential game-changer.
Your Game Budget’s Best Friend
Developing game assets from scratch can be expensive if it isn’t a skill you’ve got in your own locker.
Depending on the complexity of your game, you may need artists, animators, audio composers, modellers and a host of other specialists to produce everything needed.
This is where pre-made assets can come into play.
Instead of a large chunk of your budget going towards hiring external designers/composers or using in-house resources, purchasing ready to use assets can be a huge cost saver. Whether it’s
2D characters or
textures,
music or
sound effects, they can provide a treasure trove of resources to fit any budget, no matter how big or small.
By saving on the asset creation side of things, it means you then free up more of your precious budget for other areas, such as marketing, further development, or, dare we say, a decent coffee machine for those late-night coding sessions!
Time is of the Essence
While there can be multiple ways to increase the budget that is available for a project, finding more time can often be a much more difficult task and in the fast-paced game dev industry it’s something you can’t afford to waste.
So, even if you or your dev team have the necessary skills to cover all of the asset creation side of things for your game, it will still take up a significant amount of time, which is again where using bought assets can bring a big benefit.
If the time saved on asset creation can be better utilised in other areas, then you can significantly accelerate your development process, allowing you to work smarter, not harder!
All of this can not only speed up time to launch, but could also make more time available to focus on other key aspects, such as refining gameplay, comprehensive testing, or adding unique features that will make your game stand out from the crowd.
Flexibility and Experimentation
On top of the cost and time savings that can be found using pre-made assets, you can also be much more flexible during the dev process.
Whether you’re in the early prototype stages of your game or are already firmly in the thick of development, you can get more freedom to experiment and iterate on your game’s design, without the commitment of having to get more assets custom made to meet requirements.
Even if you don’t intend to use any/all of the assets in the final version of your game, they can be invaluable during the early prototyping dev phases for testing concepts, layouts, and getting the overall game mechanics polished for the end user.
Taking this sandbox style approach to game development can help to encourage creativity and innovation, which makes it simpler to pivot and adapt as your game evolves. Doing this will not only accelerate the feedback loop, but it can also help in identifying potential issues early in the development process, saving you from them turning into larger problems at the later stages.
The Bottom Line
Whether you’re going to include pre-made game assets in your final game or just want to utilise them to speed up testing, you can save yourself time, budget and potentially a whole lot of headaches.
Prototyping with high quality assets rather than just basic placeholders can also provide a more accurate representation of the final product, which could help to attract investors or publishers and build up more hype prior to launch.
With there being tons of amazing assets on GameDev Market, many of which are low cost or even free, you don’t even have to spend much, if anything at all, to see the benefits.
So, the next time you’re staring down the barrel of an impossible deadline with a shoestring budget, remember that GDM might just have the silver bullet you need.
Happy asset hunting!
P.S. - Check out our
Asset Creator Sale category to find the latest short term asset promotions direct from our sellers.
