Scale Looks Wrong in a 3D Environment
Props and buildings feel too big or too small
Also known as: Wrong scale environment · Props wrong size · Scale reference game · Environment scale player · Door height game · Scale mismatch assets
Quick answer
Scale looks wrong when assets are built without a common reference, so doors, furniture and props do not match the size of the player character. Build to real-world units, with a standard such as one Unreal unit equal to one centimeter and one Unity unit equal to one meter, import a player-sized reference mannequin into every scene, and check key dimensions such as door height around 2 meters, steps around 15 to 18 centimeters and a chair seat about 45 centimeters.
How to fix it
Block out the level in a greybox with real dimensions first, test the camera and the player's movement, and keep texel density consistent so details do not look oversized or tiny. Stylized games may exaggerate proportions, but they should do it consistently. Check the scale of new assets against existing ones in the engine before finishing them, and keep a scale reference file in the project.
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See also
Human Scale and Reference Units
Real-world sizes used to keep assets consistent
Blockout
Rough mass + scale placeholder
Texel Density
Texture-to-surface ratio
Game-Ready Asset
Asset prepared to run in a real-time engine
Modular Kit
Reusable building blocks for environments
FBX Scale Problems in Unity
Models arrive 100 times too big or too small