RAVEN.GG — the new major player in the world of esports apparel

The client’s existing e-commerce website was using WordPress, and all the databases with past orders and users were tied to it. Seeing that migrating the data to a non-WordPress site would have taken a long time, we have agreed to continue development with WordPress technology while re-creating everything else.

With Raven being such an impressive, ambitious, and, in many ways, unique project, we had a number of exciting and challenging tasks set before us.

Outside of the website redesign, one of the bigger ideas was to introduce the t-shirt 3D models that the users could customize heavily. This would allow small Esport teams to design their merch right on the spot. Alternatively, as a separate service, Raven’s in-house designers could also lend a hand with that.

At first, the client considered purchasing a premade solution from Sketchfab, but with the number of potential customers per month, this path was deemed uneconomical, and together we decided to write the Builder from scratch.

Once all that was figured out, it was time to create 3D models for each of the items to be sold. We have agreed to come up with five options: jerseys, hoodies, jackets, joggers, and sleeves, and those articles had to be modeled in separate 3D software.

Creating those 3D models was one of the more complicated tasks, and we had to involve 3D specialists to complete it. The resulting models had to be fully three-dimensional, and for each of them, we also had to apply appropriate fabric textures.

The challenge was to create a highly realistic model that would capture the human body’s contours, and the client was highly engaged in the process, continuously providing valuable feedback. It was a very involved process, and we had to go through many iterations to achieve the best result, perfecting and refining even the tiniest of details.

Once the models are created, they are saved in a special .glb format. It is well-optimized for the web, as browsers can easily interact with it and quickly render the models. Next, we created a virtual scene in the Three.js application where the models are displayed.

Adjusting the lighting correctly was another challenge to overcome. The daylight elements and point light affect how good and realistic the models would look. We had to painstakingly adjust the settings to get the best effect. Finally, we added cameras to the scene for image rendering.

The next important task was to establish communication between the WordPress admin panel and the application built in React. The data related to the models, such as model files, patterns, colors, positions, possible variations, etc., must first be filled in the admin panel. All of this must be obtained in the React Builder and then processed and displayed on the user’s screen.

For this communication between the client application and the server, we have decided to create a special manifest file in JSON format that has the same structure for all the models but different settings.

Much like many other major sporting brands, Raven provided professional Esports teams with their own stores hosted on their website. Initially, it worked by creating a URL to the product catalog, pre-filtered by teams. While we were developing their platform, the client came up with a great idea — to create a Marketplace — a unique feature that would significantly improve the platform and increase the brand’s market reach.

As a result, we have introduced the following logic for creating custom stores on Raven’s platform: an Esport team’s representative needs to first register a user account on the website, and then they would be able to add and put their custom designs on sale. What’s notable about Raven is that users can both create their own apparel designs in the sophisticated Builder or have one of Raven’s many world-class designers do it for them. It is worth mentioning that only the products created in the 3D Builder or by Raven’s own staff can be added to a Marketplace store, so this entire idea relies heavily on the 3D Builder we’ve developed.

Raven’s platform was an impressively large and genuinely complex project, and we surely had our work cut out for us. With that being said, all those months of brainstorming, design, modeling, and, of course, rigorous development have borne fruit. It takes one short encounter with the Raven platform to feel the overall quality and attention to detail.

We are immensely proud of how we met and overcame all the challenges, helping Raven become the leader in their respective industry, not only when it comes to sales but also in aesthetics, the cool factor, and the general brand perception.