Best Practices

Use Asset References as a stable project vocabulary, not only as a shortcut for object fields.

Name IDs by purpose

Prefer IDs that describe how an asset is used:

audio-music-battle-theme
audio-hit-impact
prefab-boss-enemy
sprite-ui-key-icon
material-slime
scene-dungeon-entry

Keep IDs lowercase, readable, and stable. Avoid temporary filenames that are likely to change.

Separate categories and tags

Use Category for broad grouping and Tags for workflow-specific filters.

Field	Example values
Category	audio, ui, prefabs, materials, scenes
Tags	combat, menu, example, streamed, boss

Tags can also become Addressables labels for Streamed entries.

Start with Direct mode

Use Direct references unless an asset needs streaming. Direct mode is the simpler, synchronous path and is suited to always-needed content.

Stream intentionally

Choose Streamed mode for large optional assets, scene-specific content, or assets that need to be loaded and released around gameplay. Select preload and release policies deliberately, then test failed loads, scene transitions, repeated requests, and cleanup.

Preserve disabled entries when useful

Disable an entry when runtime access should stop temporarily but metadata, usages, and naming history still matter. Remove it only when the ID should no longer exist.

Keep scene instances elsewhere

Use Asset References for project assets and prefabs. Use Game Creator Alias for scene object IDs.

Validate after content changes

Run validation after asset moves, bulk generation, Addressables changes, package imports, large renames, and before release builds.