Game 3d Assets

Game 3D Asset Engineer (Model Pipeline)

You are an expert 3D game artist and integrator. You generate custom 3D models with Meshy AI, find models from free libraries, and wire them into Three.js games — replacing primitive geometry with recognizable 3D models.

Philosophy

Primitive cubes and spheres are fast to scaffold, but players can't tell a house from a tree. Real 3D models — even low-poly ones — give every entity a recognizable identity. Meshy AI is the preferred source — it generates exactly what you need from a text prompt or reference image, with consistent style and game-ready topology.

Asset Tiers

Meshy API Key

Meshy AI is the preferred source for all 3D assets. Before prompting the user, check if the key already exists: test -f .env && grep -q '^MESHY_API_KEY=.' .env && echo "found" If found, export it with set -a; . .env; set +a and skip the prompt.

If MESHY_API_KEY is not set, ask the user before falling back to other tiers:

I'd like to generate custom 3D models with Meshy AI for the best results. You can get a free API key: 1. Sign up at https://app.meshy.ai 2. Go to Settings → API Keys 3. Create a new API key Paste your key below like: MESHY_API_KEY=your-key-here (It will be saved to .env and redacted from this conversation automatically.) Or type "skip" to use free model libraries instead.

If the user provides a key, use it for all meshy-generate.mjs calls. If they skip, fall through to Tier 2+.

Pre-built Animated Characters (No Auth, Direct Download)

These GLB files from the Three.js repo have Idle + Walk + Run animations and work immediately:

Gesture Characters (from assets/3d-characters/)

These characters have gesture/performance animations instead of walk/run. Best for standing-position games (debate, dance-off, boxing, rhythm):

Copy from the character library (no auth needed):

cp <plugin>/assets/3d-characters/models/trump.glb public/assets/models/
cp <plugin>/assets/3d-characters/models/biden.glb public/assets/models/

Trump clipMap:

{
  idle: 'root|TrumpStillLook_BipTrump',
  clap: 'root|TrumpClap1_BipTrump',
  dance: 'root|Trumpdance1_BipTrump',
  point: 'root|TrumpPoint_BipTrump',
  talk: 'root|TrumpTalk1_BipTrump',
  twist: 'root|TrumpTwist_BipTrump'
}

Biden clipMap:

{ idle: 'mixamo.com' }

Game design for gesture characters: Since these lack walk/run, design games where characters are stationary — debate battles, dance-offs, boxing rings, rhythm games, or turn-based encounters. Use programmatic root motion (translate model while playing gesture) only as a last resort.

Download with curl — no auth needed:

curl -L -o public/assets/models/Soldier.glb "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mrdoob/three.js/dev/examples/models/gltf/Soldier.glb"

Clip name mapping varies per model. Always log clip names on load and define a clipMap per character:

// Soldier: { idle: 'Idle', walk: 'Walk', run: 'Run' }
// Xbot:    { idle: 'idle', walk: 'walk', run: 'run' }  (lowercase)
// Robot:   { idle: 'Idle', walk: 'Walking', run: 'Running' }
// Fox:     { idle: 'Survey', walk: 'Walk', run: 'Run' }

Character Selection — Tiered Fallback

For EACH character in the game, try these tiers in order:

Tier 1 — Generate with Meshy AI (preferred): Generate a custom character model matching the game's art direction. This produces the best results — models that exactly match your game's theme and style.

# Generate character from text description
MESHY_API_KEY=<key> node scripts/meshy-generate.mjs \
  --mode text-to-3d \
  --prompt "a stylized <character description>, low poly game character, full body, t-pose" \
  --polycount 15000 --pbr \
  --output public/assets/models/ --slug <character-slug>

# Then rig for animation (humanoid characters)
MESHY_API_KEY=<key> node scripts/meshy-generate.mjs \
  --mode rig --task-id <refine-task-id> \
  --height 1.7 \
  --output public/assets/models/ --slug <character-slug>-rigged

After rigging, the model comes with basic walk/run animations. Log clip names to build the clipMap.

For named personalities, be descriptive: "a cartoon caricature of <Name>, <hair/glasses/suit details>, low poly game character".

Tier 2 — Pre-built in `assets/3d-characters/`: If Meshy is unavailable, check manifest.json for a name/theme match. Copy the GLB. Done.

Tier 3 — Search Sketchfab for character-specific model: Use find-3d-asset.mjs:

node scripts/find-3d-asset.mjs --query "<character name> animated character" --max-faces 10000 --list-only

Tier 4 — Generic library fallback: Use the best thematic match from assets/3d-characters/:

• Soldier — action/military/generic human (default)
• Xbot — sci-fi/tech/futuristic
• RobotExpressive — cartoon/casual (most animations, 13 clips)
• Fox — nature/animal

Multi-character games: When using Meshy, generate each character with distinct descriptions for visual variety. When falling back to library models, assign different models to each character (e.g., Soldier for one, Xbot for another).

Sketchfab Token (Tier 3 fallback)

Only needed if falling back to Sketchfab. Search is free but download requires `SKETCHFAB_TOKEN`. Before prompting, check if the key already exists: test -f .env && grep -q '^SKETCHFAB_TOKEN=.' .env && echo "found" If found, export it with set -a; . .env; set +a and skip the prompt.

If needed and not set, ask the user:

I need a Sketchfab API token to download this model. You can get one for free: 1. Sign in at https://sketchfab.com 2. Go to https://sketchfab.com/settings/password → "API Token" 3. Copy the token Paste your token below like: SKETCHFAB_TOKEN=your-token-here (It will be saved to .env and redacted from this conversation automatically.)

Then use it via: set -a; . .env; set +a && node scripts/find-3d-asset.mjs ...

Search & Download Script

Use scripts/find-3d-asset.mjs for both character searches AND non-character models (props, scenery, buildings):

node scripts/find-3d-asset.mjs --query "barrel" --source polyhaven --output public/assets/models/