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Game Development Projects with Large Asset Management using Git LFS

Students and instructors benefit from efficient version control of game development projects containing large assets like textures and models, using Git LFS to manage file sizes while maintaining full development workflow integration.

Idea
Plan
Prototype
Pilot
Live

Overview

Value: Students and instructors benefit from efficient version control of game development projects containing large assets like textures and models, using Git LFS to manage file sizes while maintaining full development workflow integration.

Problem: GitLab features used: Git LFS for large binaries; GitLab CI/CD for automated build and test; milestones to plan phases; issues for tracking and communication; protected branches to prevent unauthorized changes; GitLab Pages to present projects. Unreal Engine requirements: Git LFS is required due to large assets (textures, 3D models). Projects can be built and exported via GitLab CI/CD.

Solution: Implement Git LFS (Large File Storage) integration with GitLab to efficiently handle large game assets while maintaining version control benefits. Automated CI/CD builds Unreal Engine projects and generates deployable artifacts.

Who Benefits

Primary

  • Students
    • Efficient large file versioning
    • Collaborative project development
    • Automated build processes
    • Professional development workflows
  • Instructors
    • Easy project monitoring
    • Standardized development environment
    • Automated assessment capabilities
    • Portfolio management

Secondary

  • System Administrators
    • Optimized storage usage
    • Scalable infrastructure
    • Reduced bandwidth requirements

When to Use

  • Game development courses
  • Projects with large binary assets
  • Collaborative visual computing projects
  • 3D modeling and animation projects
  • Projects requiring automated builds

When Not to Use

  • Simple code-only projects
  • Small file sizes (under 100MB total)
  • Single-user projects with no collaboration
  • Projects without large media assets

Process

  1. Set up GitLab repository with Git LFS enabled
  2. Configure LFS tracking for asset file types
  3. Students clone repository and install LFS
  4. Develop game/visual computing project with large assets
  5. Commit changes with LFS handling large files automatically
  6. CI/CD pipeline builds and tests project
  7. Generated artifacts stored for download/presentation

Requirements

People

  • Students
  • Visual Computing Instructors
  • GitLab Administrator
  • Technical Support Staff

Data Inputs

  • 3D models
  • Textures and images
  • Audio files
  • Animation files
  • Game project files

Tools & Systems

  • GitLab with Git LFS support
  • Unreal Engine or similar
  • GitLab CI/CD
  • High-performance runners
  • Object storage for LFS

Policies & Compliance

  • Storage quota policies
  • Academic software licensing
  • Asset usage rights
  • Data retention policies

Risks & Mitigations

  • Large storage costs for LFS objects

    • Storage quota management
    • Asset optimization guidelines
    • Regular cleanup of old versions
    • Efficient storage backend

  • Build failures due to missing large files

    • LFS integrity checking
    • Automated dependency verification
    • Build environment validation

  • Slow clone/download times for students

    • Selective LFS downloads
    • Local LFS caching
    • Optimized network configuration

Getting Started

To implement this use case, you need GitLab with LFS support, appropriate storage backend, and build runners capable of handling large game development projects.

  1. Configure GitLab instance with Git LFS support and storage backend
  2. Set up project repository with LFS tracking for relevant file types
  3. Install and configure build environment for game engine
  4. Create CI/CD pipeline for automated building and testing
  5. Provide student training on Git LFS workflows

Resources

FAQ

How much storage is typically needed for game development projects?

Projects can range from 1-10GB depending on asset complexity. Plan for 2-3x repository size due to version history.

Can students work on projects from multiple locations?

Yes, Git LFS enables distributed development with efficient synchronization of large assets across different locations.

What happens if LFS storage quota is exceeded?

Push operations will be blocked until storage is freed or quota increased. Monitor usage and implement cleanup procedures.

Glossary

Git LFS
Git Large File Storage - extension for versioning large files efficiently in Git repositories
Binary Assets
Non-text files like images, models, and audio that cannot be efficiently diff'd or merged
Object Storage
Scalable storage system optimized for storing large amounts of unstructured data
Unreal Engine
Popular game development platform supporting 3D game creation and visual computing applications