3D Modeling Project Ideas for Mobile Games

If we omit hyper-casual gaming, AAA-like mobile gaming is on the rise. Players are expecting mobile games to be as realistic and immersive as PC and console ones. One of the most popular mobile games, like PUBG Mobile, Genshin Impact, and Roblox adapted 3D multi-platform titles.

Searching for mobile game design ideas, never ignore the possibilities of 3D technologies. Even if your game is 2D, you can add more complexity to it using pre-rendered 3D models as sprites. It not only adds in-depth space but gives you more flexibility when making changes.

We know how easy it can be to fall into the rabbit hole, polishing every extra detail of your model. The basics are the things you should be aware of in the first place. Throughout our experience in 3d modeling outsourcing, we picked out these key principles that make a good 3D model:

Silhouette. Make your character or prop recognizable at the first glance.

Readability. A mobile device has a smaller screen. Make sure players understand all the shapes they see.

Recognition. Players need to read the difference between ally and enemy.

Style. Choose an art style depending on the game genre and target audience. Thus, some mobile game art ideas will appeal to casual gamers, others to hardcore ones.

These fundamentals work best for 3D characters and props. However, a game itself is not a bunch of objects scattered around. It is a whole picture made of story, characters, worldbuilding, game design, and level design. Making a game concept, and brainstorming game level design ideas that will catch players’ interest.

In coming up with mobile game concept ideas, it is crucial to understand the market trends. When it comes to style, the US market is almost evenly split between realistic and cartoon game art styles.

Cartoon art style dominates in casual and hyper-casual games, and the realistic 3D art style is a top choice when it comes to mid-core mobile games. 2D manga art styles are more popular in the Japanese and Chinese markets, where they occupy almost half of the market. On the contrary, US and European users prefer 3D graphics.

The mobile gaming market is the most rapidly growing niche of the game industry. It occupies more than 60% of the market and is larger than console and PC gaming combined. The growing adoption of innovative technologies and increasing smartphone usage are contributing to the growth of the 3d modelling in the gaming industry.

To stand out among a multitude of competitors, you should come up with catchy and unique game ideas for mobile platforms. Also, don’t forget about video game logo ideas to build a unique brand identity for your project. A memorable logo should fit with the aesthetic and theme of a game.

Character design is one of the most fun parts of game world-building. If your creative well is running a little dry, try to search for some inspiration. Think about what type of character will fit in the world you’re creating. Real-life references of humans and animals are an easy way to find key elements like body shapes, poses, hair, and fur textures.

Look at artworks of your favorite artists or search for mobile game art ideas on Pinterest, ArtStation, DeviantArt, or simply on Google images. If you don’t have a character designer with strong drawing skills, creativity, and a wide knowledge of animation, you can use 3d character modeling services.

Creating a game environment, search for these types of references:

Architectural references are the architectural style direction. They include the design and construction of buildings, and interior and exterior design. Environmental references include locations of streets, squares, and cityscapes; terrain, landscapes, skies, mountains, vegetation and much more. Use lighting references to create the mood and the atmosphere of the game environment. Collect images of the lighting scenario you want your environment to take place in.

By doing this research and combining all the interesting components, you’ll find the theme of your mobile game design ideas. Once you’ve picked a setting, location and theme, the idea is set. Then you can speed up game development using background concept art services. Thus, you will get outstanding stylized backgrounds, while having time to work on other important aspects of your game.

After you come up with the setting of your game, it’s time to think about props references. Props are the individual game assets that make up your environment: furniture, set dressing, scene detail, etc. Collect visual references of props you’d like to place in the scene and references of the placement ideas as well.

Let’s imagine you’ve chosen a cyberpunk art style for your next project. It’s a subgenre of sci-fi used in titles like Cyberpunk 2077, Deus Ex, Death Stranding. To create a sci-fi atmosphere of a dystopian future, you will probably use cyberpunk props like city decorations with neon signs, high-tech but rusty and dirty surroundings, and robotic elements implemented in daily objects.

Games are time-consuming projects, and we know it better than anyone. Modeling characters and assets can be ten times harder than searching for mobile game concept ideas. Therefore, you should pick a smart way and try to optimize everything as much as possible. Game developers and, especially, 3D artists are masters of trickery.

We recommend you use these techniques that will make your models look good even with the simplest geometry:

• Use weighted normals
• Bake lighting into textures
• Pre-render sprites
• Use color grading

3D technology became so popular in video game development that players no longer need to utilize their imagination to fill in the empty blanks. With realistic graphics, 3D games provide players with a better immersive experience. In addition to this, technologies have enhanced so much, developers now have more freedom in what they can create.