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I’ve spent the days reading all sources I can find on the use of Color palettes in games, but there is a real lack of real world examples. Most Color palette tools generate 4-5 colours.

I am making a game where I have environment, houses, characters, items, etc. How does one Color coordinates that? How large should my palette be and should it contain the shades/tints of each Color?

Having a hard time understanding how to use Color in games, my game is low poly but I feel like I always end up with ugly colours.

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    \$\begingroup\$ This might not be a question with a concise "correct" answer. Different artists have different ways of approaching the problem. You might find you get more comprehensive answers by searching for tutorials or developer blogs/Polycount forum threads where game artists explain the process they use, and pick one that seems like it would work for you. \$\endgroup\$
    – DMGregory ♦
    Nov 17, 2019 at 13:27
  • \$\begingroup\$ Providing an example might help. Could you post an example image of what you have that's not working? \$\endgroup\$
    – Pikalek
    Nov 18, 2019 at 17:48
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    \$\begingroup\$ One 3D game example that comes to mind is Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Throughout the game they very often use a particular golden yellow color on many items and the UI. Another example is Just Cause 3: they use a particular shade of red on a lot of the destructive objects in the game - in this case the color palette is also functional, and there's also a shade of blue they use a lot. Unlike designing a logo or a website the color palette of a video game is much more flexible, but the tendency of using certain colors is still there. \$\endgroup\$
    – James T
    Nov 20, 2019 at 2:19

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There's no definitive answer to this. Most modern games don't really use a color palette, per se, unless you're going with an 8-bit or 16-bit vibe. Not to say that you shouldn't or couldn't use a palette.

As for coordination, learning a little bit about color theory never hurts. You can also use web tools like Paletton to help coordinate color groups.

But as with anything related to art, it's all rather subjective.

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