Years ago, while working on a project with a friend, I wrote a small document about Name Convention and Folder Structure, so both him and I would be on the same boat. For me, this is a subject that should always be discussed, no matter if you are working by yourself or in a big company (of coarse, big companies already have their Name Convention and Folder Structure setup).
But after all, what is it? Name Convention and Folder Structure are just ways to make sure you, and maybe your team, are naming and placing everything correctly. It can be used for music, photos, scripts, anything really.
Name Convention
Both in Unity and UE4 (Unreal Engine 4), assets can be just placed in to folder (copying and pasting or by just dragging it). If the names used are the same, files will be replaced, and the software will update automatically or by re-importing options. Personally, I found that Unity has a little bit more problem dealing with this than UE4, but that's subject for another conversation).
The name convention can be anything, such as spr.jet.png, which in this case would be a sprite of a Jet, in the PNG format. The format is usually hidden, but its important to keep the same throughout the project, because spr.jet.png is different than spr.jet.jpeg.
Names can be more complex than just 3 letter, such as fireextinguisherold or fireExtinguinsherOld (can you see the difference between the two?). In the end, the naming you are using can be anything, but a good rule of thumb is to be descriptive to avoid waste of time , specially if you are doing a small project or by yourself. Abbreviations can be used to and help reduce the name of your asset.
Some common use for abbreviation:
Spr for Sprite
Bkg for Background
Btn for Button
Se for Sound effect
The biggest advantage in using abbreviation in the beginning of the name, such as spr, is to keep similar asset together.
Different companies will use different naming format, according with their own pipeline.
Folder Structure
Another important thing to keep in mind when dealing with multiples files with different purpose is the folder structure. Keeping a project folder well organized helps when searching and using assets, scripts and everything else.
Some common folder I like to use:
Assets
_Scenes
Materials
Scripts
Meshes
Both in Unity and UE4 any folder created inside the software will be added to the folder structure on your computer. In my projects, I like to create the Assets folder to be sort of my "Master folder", so any changes that I make won't mess with the software organization. Everything that will be created and added to the project will be inside this folder.
Important folder, such as _Scenes usually have the "_" (underscore) to keep at the top of the hierarchic and is where every scene created would be stored, such as levels, victory screen, death screen etc.
Those are just some examples of folders in a structures, their names and location can vary from company to company and more folders can be added as needed, such as a Grass folder inside Materials, or Player inside Scripts.
Keeping Track
Another point to keep in mind is how to keep track of your assets and naming convention. In reality, any writing software can be used to keep track of your assets, even a traditional pen-and-paper can be used. Of course, a well organized spreadsheet will help more than some scribbles on a paper.
Conclusion
A good Name Convention and good Folder Structure go hand-to-hand to make a pipeline easier. Files with the correct name and in the correct folder can save you hours of headache down the line.
Software used
Any writing software