Dystopian street scene from Fallen Metal

Case Study

Polyworks Games

Photorealistic dystopian RPG produced 10 to 100 × faster with 3D AI Studio, the only tool capable of generating realistic human faces.

Indie Game Development

Quick Facts

Studio

Polyworks Games

Flagship Title

Fallen Metal (Dystopian RPG)

Core Challenge

Photorealistic assets at scale

Primary Feature

Text to Image to 3D pipeline

AI First Tech Stack:

3D AI StudioClaude AIUnityBlenderElevenLabsGeminiSunoSora

The Challenge

Fallen Metal is a sprawling dystopian RPG set in a dark future where technology and humanity collide. Inspired by Deus Ex, Blade Runner, and noir detective fiction, the vision demanded photorealism, not stylization, not cartoons, but lifelike assets that feel tangible and real.

The team needed hundreds of unique assets: characters with realistic faces, weapons, furniture, vehicles, cybernetic implants, complete interiors. Traditional 3D modeling would require a full art team and years of production. The bottleneck wasn't just speed, it was achieving photorealistic quality at indie scale.

The Dealbreaker: Human Faces

The team tested multiple AI 3D generation services. Every single one failed at human characters, producing distorted faces, melted geometry, holes in meshes, or cartoonish results that couldn't support photorealism. No amount of post processing could fix fundamentally broken geometry.

"We spent weeks testing other AI 3D services, and every single one failed at human characters. Faces came out distorted, melted, or with holes in the mesh."

Solution: The Only Tool That Worked

3D AI Studio became the only viable solution for Fallen Metal. Not just a helper, but the foundation that made the entire project possible.

Photorealistic Human Faces (Finally)

  • Realistic facial features with proper proportions and bone structure
  • Clean facial geometry without melting or distortion
  • Believable skin textures with pore detail and subsurface scattering ready materials
  • Lifelike expressions compatible with facial rigging

Clean, Production Ready Geometry

  • Watertight meshes with no holes or gaps
  • Solid topology without melted or bloblike deformations
  • Higher polygon density supporting photorealistic detail
  • Clean UV unwrapping for texture application

Professional Grade PBR Materials

  • High-resolution albedo maps with realistic color variation
  • Detailed normal maps for surface micro detail
  • Accurate roughness/metallic maps for realistic light response
  • Believable wear and weathering built into textures

Step by Step Workflow: Photorealistic Assets in Minutes

Step 1: Generate Asset Descriptions with Claude AI

The team describes their vision with emphasis on photorealistic details:

"A photorealistic bartender NPC, male, age 40s, visible cybernetic implants on temple and neck, wearing a worn leather vest, realistic skin texture with pores and slight stubble..."

Step 2: Text to Image in 3D AI Studio

Refined prompts generate photorealistic reference images with proper lighting, materials, and proportions. Multiple variations ensure the best photorealistic result.

Step 3: Image to 3D Model in 3D AI Studio

The reference image converts to a photorealistic 3D model with clean geometry, realistic facial features (for characters), high quality PBR textures, and proper topology for rigging.

Step 4A: Simple Props → Direct to Unity

For furniture, props, weapons: Download FBX → Import to Unity → Apply PBR materials → Configure lighting. Takes minutes from prompt to playable asset.

Step 4B: Complex Characters → Blender for Rigging

For photorealistic characters: Download FBX → Import to Blender → AutoRig Pro "Smart" rigging → Facial rig setup → Export to Unity. Hours instead of weeks for photorealistic, animatable characters.

Step 5: Photorealistic Materials in Unity

Connect 3D AI Studio's PBR textures to Unity's Standard Shader: Albedo, Normal Maps, Metallic/Smoothness, Emission, Reflection Probes. Assets respond to lighting like real materials.

Atmospheric scene from Fallen Metal
Asset collage from Fallen Metal

Early development scenes from Fallen Metal. Photorealistic assets generated with 3D AI Studio.

Results: Project Made Possible

10 to 100× faster asset production
while maintaining photorealistic quality

Months to Days

development speed

Only tool

with usable human faces

Clean geometry

no holes or melting

Growing Asset Library

Multiple photorealistic playable characters with lifelike skin
Photorealistic NPCs with believable faces (bartenders, agents, hackers)
Realistic furniture and props with tangible materials
Photorealistic weapons with accurate proportions
Believable interior environments (hotels, bars, offices)
Fully voiced dialogue with realistic NPCs using ElevenLabs
"We tried multiple AI 3D generation services before finding 3D AI Studio, and the quality difference was night and day. Other tools produced terrible human faces: distorted, cartoonish, or with melted geometry and holes. 3D AI Studio completely transformed our workflow. It lets us focus on worldbuilding and storytelling while delivering the photorealistic quality our vision demands."

Polyworks Games, Indie Game Studio

"3D AI Studio was essential. Without it, Fallen Metal simply couldn't exist. Every other service we tested failed at photorealistic humans and produced broken geometry. Finding 3D AI Studio felt like discovering the only tool capable of delivering what we needed."

Polyworks Games

Build photorealistic 3D at indie scale

Join studios like Polyworks Games and generate production ready photorealistic assets in minutes, from characters with lifelike faces to complete environments.

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