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Maya Game Asset Validator
August 2023 - February 2024

Code available on GitHub

The Maya Game Asset Validator is a python tool for validating assets ready for export into game engines. It validates common pipelines for props, characters, and animation assets.

I worked as the primary developer for the tool.

Qt Designer was utilized for UI design.
Maya metadata node module courtesy of Micah Zahm

Highlights:

• Programmed with Python, Qt Designer
• Tag and validate assets for prop, character, animation pipelines
• Modify validation parameters inside Maya or with JSON file

Character Validation Checks

• Mesh using valid list of materials
  
• Mesh Hierarchy consists of only mesh shape objects
  
• Mesh rigged with skin binding influence only coming from tagged rig joints
  
• Rig Hierarchy consists of only joint objects
  
• Rig Hierarchy consists of no keyed frames in specified timeframe
  

Animation Validation Checks

• Rig Hierarchy consists of only joint objects
• Rig keyed for specified transform attributes, no floating point keys, in specified timeframe
  

Prop Validation Checks

• Mesh only using valid list of materials
• Mesh Hierarchy only consists of mesh shape objects
• Mesh Node connections to prop has no rig influence
• Mesh has no keyed attributes in specified timeframe
• Collision Meshes are present, searching with user defined prefix
  

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Asset Tagging

To persistently mark assets for validation, the system instantiates metadata nodes in Maya that form node connections to Maya objects. A user then selects and tags for the Prop, Character or Animation asset groups.

The metadata nodes work as a singleton system that allows unique Python instances to reference the same group of assets.

User selects assets and adds to asset group

prop_group node is managed by Python with node connections to prop objects in maya

Validation Settings & Output

Validation settings can be set directly in Maya or with a JSON file following the validator parameter structure. This would allow a lead to have a uniform validator criteria across several artists/Maya files on a project.

Parameter editing in Maya & JSON

When a validation error is caught by the system, it outputs the error to an output log that allows a user to immediately select the asset creating the error. The error notes what hierarchy or other attribute errors the object has, reducing time in debugging import errors when assets hit a game engine.