Art Direction for
AR Marketing Games
3D art and animation that looks good and runs smooth.
Near the end of my time at Marxent, both Toys ‘R’ Us and Culver’s were looking for novel and fun ways to bring attention to their products and create memorable experiences. Augmented Reality (AR) was a great way to use new technology to create a memorable experience for customers, but the 3D art needed to have a low impact on performance on top of looking great.
Challenge
Because these apps needed to run across a wide range of devices, we had to ensure smooth performance even on lower-end hardware. At the same time, we were working with major brands (Toys ‘R’ Us and, through them, iconic IPs like Star Wars, Nintendo, and Barbie) so the visuals had to do justice to those properties
Solution
We focused on striking the right balance between visual fidelity and lag-free performance. To hit our framerate goals, we stripped away unnecessary details and special effects while still maintaining the strongest possible visual quality.
Process
The Toys ‘R’ Us project was a major learning experience. Early on, our team prioritized creating highly detailed, accurate 3D models of the toys.
During testing, however, we found the app’s framerate dropped significantly (a critical problem for AR).
After backend optimizations weren’t enough, I spearheaded a shift in approach: removing most real-time lighting and advanced textures, and instead baking lighting and shadow details directly into base diffuse textures. This dramatically improved performance while preserving quality.
When I stepped into the Art Director role for the Culver’s AR game, I carried over these lessons. We applied the streamlined approach from day one, which allowed us to produce quickly and avoid most performance issues entirely.
Result
Both clients were extremely pleased. Toys ‘R’ Us shipped their annual toy catalog with instructions for accessing the AR game, and Culver’s launched theirs as an interactive experience printed on drink cups. Both rollouts went smoothly, with no reported technical issues.