The Making of My Game
Goldanniyatech

Modeling
Animation
Texturing
World
Gameplay

Introduction

I began creating my action-adventure game Goldanniyatech (codenamed Golden) in 2018, alongside writing my PhD thesis on the semiotics of game development from a technical standpoint (started in 2018 and successfully defended in 2024 at Sorbonne University) and teaching Computer Science in higher‑education institutions since 2022.

My game is entirely developed by me and from scratch, without external assets, external plugins, or generative AI for content creation. I only use generative AI for textual brainstorming and learning.

Terminology

I also mix both Unreal Engine, Substance Painter and Blender terminology. For instance, a Skeletal Mesh doesn’t have a real equivalent in Blender. We can talk about the Armature modifier or a bone-based animated mesh, but it’s cleaner to use unreal Static & Skeletal Meshes. Hard Surface and Organic distinction is meaningless here, as a Hard-surface model can have an armature with bones (a factory machine) while an organic model can be a Static Mesh (a statue or an non-animated action-figure)

Benchmark Demo on Epic

My Pipeline

My pipeline allows me to maintain full control over creating my game.

Unreal Engine 5 is my game engine of choice, as it’s an amazing engine, truly designed for open worlds and very heavy 3D graphics. I build gameplay systems using Blueprints and C++, create many particle systems & emitters using Niagara, and rely on advanced rendering features such as Lumen and Nanite.

Blender is my only 3D DCC because it’s extremely convenient for my workflow. I use it for modeling, a bit of sculpting, UV unwrapping, and armature‑based animations.

Substance Painter is where I create my semi‑stylized PBR textures directly on my 3D models.

FL Studio is also part of my workflow for music and sound design, even though I’m still learning it (I’m no musician 😅).

Modeling

Modeling & Sculpting

I create all my 3D models entirely in Blender, starting from simple primitive shapes like cubes or spheres. As I don’t need to respect size accuracy, I never use on-scene image references or blueprints (not to be confused with Unreal Engine’s Blueprint 😅).

I mainly rely on polygonal modeling techniques, which give me precise control over my meshes’ topology. It’s also the techniques I’m mostly familiar with 😁.

Sculpting is something I use very occasionally.

I keep procedural modeling to a minimum, mostly limited to a few non-destructive modifiers like Subdivision Surface, Mirror or Array.

I experimented with Geometry Nodes, but I ended up abandoning that. I really like to have full control and using nodes is really not enjoyable for making assets.

Amber Car from the open-world game Goldanniyatech

A Raptor truck from Goldanniyatech, made with Blender

A Wolf from Goldanniyatech, made with Blender

The main Mansion gate from Goldanniyatech, made with Blender

UV Unwrapping

UV unwrapping is often considered a tedious process, hated by many of my students 😅. After years of practice, though, I’ve gotten used to it. Since I work on real-world models for my game rather than pure portfolio assets, my goal is to create functional, clean UVs in Blender.

I typically mark seams during the modeling process (though sometimes I forget 🤓), then I almost always use an Angle Based unwrapping method so it’s easier for me to recognize parts later.

I’ve experimented with auto-unwrappping in Substance Painter (on the Carminic Candle model shown later and displayed in-game in the Halloween Adventure Zone), but I really prefer a manual, more controled unwrapping.

I try to work as quickly as possible, though, while ensuring my UVs are properly unwrapped so I can create high-quality textures later. Thus, the result is never perfect, as most real-world projects are far from flawless portfolio assets, but it’s still good enough to suit my needs.

Animation

Bone-based Animation

As I’m making a stylized game, I handcraft every single animation from scratch in Blender, without any motion capture or existing data. It gives me the ability to create exaggerated, expressive movements, inspired by some amazing 3D animated movies.

However, the downside of my approach is that… I only create a very, very limited amount of animations (I learned to limit myself the hard way).

Obviously, as it’s impossible to export, I only prototype keyframe-based animations (adjusting position, rotation, or scale of objects) in Blender, mostly for things like door movements. Then I script everything with Blueprints directly in Unreal Engine as these animations are typically handled by the engine.

When it comes to organic models (characters, animals and monsters), I create custom armature in Blender and make animations by hand. I never use Rigify as I want to work on custom rigs only for better performance.

Texturing

PBR Texturing

For texturing my models, I mostly use Substance Painter. From time to time, I also use Photoshop to fix issues with some textures or create fictional posters and advertisements displayed in my game.

I have always been a big fan of painting textures directly on the model, rather than creating them in Photoshop based on the UV layout. Today, I specialize exclusively in stylized 3D models, and working with the PBR (Physically-Based Rendering) shader is quite challenging for that, to say the least.

Building the World

Unreal Engine Editor with Goldanniyatech open-world level

Making the Map

Using Unreal Engine 5, I build the virtual universe leveraging the powerful World Partition system, even for a relatively small world 😅. I mostly I mostly place assets by hand and tend to avoid creating modular assets or scripts, as there is always a trade-off between generic modularity and unique detail.

This way, every building and location in my world feels distinct and carefully crafted, giving the environment its own personality and charm.

Shark Traveler Train from Goldanniyatech

FilmBoX Exporting & Importing

I export all my models using the well-known proprietary Autodesk FBX (FilmBoX) file format. In my experience, it’s straightforward to use and well-supported by Unreal Engine.

That said, there are a lot of tricks for importing a model correctly into Unreal, such as applying scale or changing scene units in Blender (for animated models). But after plenty of trial and error, the process becomes much easier and more predictable.

There are a lot of ongoing debates around the “best” format for real-time 3D assets, or how FBX might get replaced by glTF, USD, or other formats. Personally, having used FBX for years, switching to a new format should only be considered if absolutely necessary. Most issues and workarounds with FBX are already well-documented. I would go by the motto “Don’t fix it if it’s not broken”. It may not be prefect, but it works. That’s what matters for now.

Golden Avenue from the game Goldanniyatech

Gameplay Programming

Blueprints from the Cerulean Car in Goldanniyatech

Blueprint Scripting

As a C++ programmer and someone who’s very visually oriented 😅, I genuinely enjoy working with Unreal’s Blueprint visual scripting system! It’s an incredibly effective way for me to prototype and iterate quickly multiple game mechanics. I usually keep everything in Blueprints during early testing phases.

Beyond core gameplay, I also use Blueprints extensively for multiple systems, things like randomized animations, ambient interactions, and lightweight logic that brings environments to life 😁.

The only thing I’ve always wished Unreal had was a true middle ground between Blueprints (high-level and visual) and C++ (low-level and powerful). That’s why I’m genuinely excited about Verse, the upcoming scripting language for Unreal Engine 6 👀.

The Making of My Game Goldanniyatech