Unified 3D model manager

Problem

The 3D pipeline lived in Google Drive. Every artist used different naming and folder habits. Past roughly a thousand models, nobody could reliably answer what was ready for the map—engineers lacked structured inputs; managers could not navigate the maze.

There was no staging or production split, no quality gates, and no clear link between uploads and the basemap.

Research

Short interviews and contextual inquiry with:

• 3D artists—manual uploads, naming friction, unclear previews
• Content managers—visibility and control over release
• Engineers and QA—valid geometry and structured data for integration

Goals

• One place to upload, review, and deploy models
• Integration with Blender, S3, internal map preview
• Clear statuses: draft, QA passed, production-ready
• Fewer duplicates; lower friction for new users

Process

Sprint 0: minimal uploader, map view, list with metadata. After internal testing: validation (textures, geometry), named slots for basemap alignment, staging vs production, status workflows, Blender hooks for direct upload. Lean MVP, ship, iterate on feedback from artists, QA, and managers.

Outcome

Models flow through a defined QA path; automated validation cut a large share of rejected uploads; staging vs production stopped broken assets reaching live maps; new artists onboarded with less friction; manager confusion from ad-hoc folders dropped to effectively zero.