In game design, there’s a lot of working parts. Much like a film, a video game may require many different creative minds working together to bring something to life. This includes sound designers, character modelers, animators, programmers, game designers; the list goes on and on. Of course, the big developers can boast an ending credit roll of over 200 people, but what if you’re an independent developer and you don’t know any 3D modelers or animators to help you make your game? Or maybe you’re not very good with programming and you want some pre-made scripts to help bring your idea to life. Well, if you’re working with Unity 3D, you might want to check out this list of Free Unity Assets from the Unity Asset Store.

What is a Unity Asset?

For those who may not have a working knowledge of Unity 3D, but are curious about it, an asset can be any number of things in Unity. An asset in Unity is a game object that has certain components attached to it, which may give it graphics, sound, physics material, functionality, etc. A simple example of an asset would be a 3D Modeled plant that you could place into your environment. Another example would be a Humanoid Character that can be scripted to say lines of dialogue when a user presses a certain key. This character also has scripts attached to it that allow the user to move the character using the WASD keys on their keyboard. Yet another example would be a customized level of a Space Station that you could use in your scene.

Finding 3D Models

Ultimately, assets are absolutely critical to the development of your game. If you’re like me, you can’t make a 3D Model if your life depended on it. I have a functional knowledge of scripting and am confident that, given enough time, I could bring functionality to my game. But I really have no hopes of ever being able to make a decent 3D Model. Or make decent textures or animate a character walking back and forth. And that’s the beauty of the Unity Asset Store. I can find models that other people, including the nice folks at Unity Technologies, have made and bring those into my game and use them however I want.

Furthermore, the asset store is an essential tool for educators and students. As a game design educator, you can easily come up with lesson plans and projects that utilize the free assets from the Asset Store. For example, maybe you want to do a project that emphasizes programming but you don’t want to have your students spend time coming up with assets that they can attach scripts to. You can head to the Asset Store and download some free assets that the students can attach scripts to and bring the assets to life. As a student, you’re likely very passionate about making a game, but you don’t quite have the means to do everything that’s required to make one. Maybe you’re good at modeling but not so good at programming. Some of the scripts on the asset store might be the perfect addition to the 3D Alien you just worked up in Maya.

In conclusion, the Asset Store is an extremely useful utility for game development. Whether you’re a student, an amateur or a professional, it’s a wonderful tool to fall back on if you find yourself at a dead end. And while the free Unity assets may not be the most cutting-edge, keep in mind that they’re FREE, and they save you from having to learn your way around multiple disciplines that you may not even enjoy or be skilled in. At the end of the day, you have to ask yourself if you could make a better asset than what you find on the Asset Store. If you can, then go for it. If you can’t, then why not grab the asset and start towards finishing your game?