Hi guys, I’m I got a question to ask about character creation that has stumped me. My goal is to be able to make a character and to be able to use it in game play but i don’t know how to approach an appropriate way for character creation.
Would i use multiple meshes like for helmet, body armor and limbs or one big mesh? I’m confused and any help would be greatly appreciated. 
Single mesh is easier to control and animate for your game.
Multiple meshes are easier to control during creation/ modeling.
I keep for modeling purposes the meshes(gear, wear and body) separated,
but when I am done or want to test how it looks ingame I merge them together into a separate single mesh.
That way, when I don’t like the armor I can go back, and create a new mesh from parts I want.
But what about for in game creation? would i have the complete meshes premade for gameplay?
Short answer:
Yes, you need to create it before starting your game.
Long answer:
What are you going to achieve?
If you want to create your chareacter in game, you have a few options, all depending on your game design.
1. Multiple meshes : it takes more space but allows for larger variety.
For instance, you can add robotic limbs, different hair, etc. You model them on the side and skin them to the same armature or not and use repalcemesh to place them.
2. Same mesh : For this one you’ve got 2 choices as well:
<b>Skinned modification </b>: Use bones to control the changes to you character (good for facial modif).
<b>Shape keys </b>: Animate your character parts from min to max then use animation to change the mesh.
Good luck, hope have helped.