Metaphor3d
AI 3D Generated Assets
Generative AI is only in it's infancy, and there is so much room for disruption. In this startup, we explore using AI to auto generate 3D assets for video games. Meant for indie game developers and games like Roblox, this product focuses on eliminating that painstaking process of developers doing design and modeling by hand, but still retaining customization and uniqueness. Through creating variations of skins to meshes, this is just the starting point of how new technology in the VFX, VR, AR, and 3D will permeate into our culture and change how we interact with devices.
I've always have a fascination with how tech will evolve and change our way of life. So, as an stroke of luck, a close friend reached out to me to help him with a very ambitious startup in the AI space. As we started researching and interviewing potential customers, we started seeing trends and patterns emerge, primarily in how most developers spend so much of their resources either looking for 3d artists to make custom assets, or settling for less by using stock assets found in every generic video game. It was then that we both realized that, withrecent accelerations in AI research, disruption is bound to happen soon.
And so that got us thinking: what sort of interface is the best to auto generate 3D assets for video games and give it to developers? A discord bot? An email system to send back and forth queries and 3d generated assets? We started racking our brains for ideas, it soon became clear that the best way to do this is to create a web app that would allow developers to customize and generate assets on the fly.
And so we embarked to make a simple interface to ask and recieve 3d assets. I was in charge of design and making sure everything looked cohesive and clean, while my friend was in charge of the backend and making sure the AI was working properly. We started with a simple MVP, and then iterated from there.
These mockups showcase the final fruit of our labor through a final product and website. While simple on first glance, this project really taught me a lot about market research and working in an extremely technical environment. I learned a lot about how to work with AI and how to design for a very niche audience.
I also learned a lot about how to work with a team and how to communicate effectively. It was a very rewarding experience, and I'm glad I got to work on this project.
