Prepare assets for use in games and interactive media projects
Overview
This standard is about preparing assets for use in games or interactive media projects. This can apply to all required assets apart from animated assets which are covered by a different standard.
This includes digitising and manipulating assets, producing assets for all required states of user interface, compressing, and saving assets and providing assets to others for use in games or interactive media projects.
This standard can apply to games or interactive media. Interactive media can involve any type of interactive media content, products or services including, but not restricted to, websites, applications, or online marketing campaigns.
Games and interactive media projects can be for multi-platform or multi-channel use and can also involve the use of immersive technology which can include, but is not restricted to, Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and Mixed Reality (MR).
This standard is for anyone who manages assets for games or interactive media projects.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
- obtain required assets in line with project timescales and schedules
- digitise assets and scan images and save them in appropriate formats
- crop, resize, edit and change resolution of images and video to meet project requirements, parameters and constraints
- identify parameters and constraints that will influence your choices regarding file formats and compression techniques
- select or create appropriate colour palettes for images and video
- digitise sound and music at appropriate sampling-rates and bit depths
- digitise video at appropriate frame-rates
- manipulate audio and video files as necessary to fit required length, removing unwanted sections and adding transitions or other effects
- compress digital assets, balancing quality against file-size, data-transfer rates and other constraints
- analyse project information to identify technologies and approaches to be used to implement interface design
- slice and prepare interface components to optimise technical implementation and smooth and fast operation of finished user interfaces
- ensure component assets for all required states of user interface are created
- save files into appropriate asset pipeline or version control systems
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
- project parameters and constraints including target platforms and their capabilities for delivering assets
- how to liaise with others to ensure you obtain the assets you need at the right time and in appropriate formats
- industry-standard software tools and how to use them including digital image manipulation tools and video and audio editing tools
- the effect of image colour depth, resolution and dimensions on file size
- the effect of video and animation frame-rates and frame dimensions on file size and data-transfer rates
- the effect of audio sampling rates and bit depth on file size and data-transfer rates
- appropriate compression techniques and types of compression
- how to achieve small file sizes and low data-transfer rates while maintaining asset quality
- how to slice (cut up) visual designs to create component assets for all required states of user interface including buttons
- how to ensure assets are fit for purpose.
- how assets will be used in finished projects
- appropriate file formats for each type of asset and how they can be supported by target platforms and intended authoring tools
- any naming conventions, standards, guidelines or specifications that you need to follow, and any version control systems or asset pipelines that you need to use
- the requirements and expectations of other team members involved including designers, developers, producers and project managers.
- how content can be repurposed for different platforms