Resources for Game Developers

I just wanted to bookmark some of the awesome free resources I’ve found available to game developers.

Icons

Metro Studio – 600 free metro style icons from the cool folks at SyncFusion.

The Noun Project – Hundreds (if not thousands) of icons for just about anything you can think of, all free. These icons will download in Scalable Vector format (SVG) and will need to be converted to PNG at the size of 48 x 48 pixels. Either InkScape or Expression Design can be used to do the conversion.

BRKR Design Icon Pack – This pack costs $20 but it includes 350 of the most commonly used icons already sized and ready to go. This single package includes all 350 icons for Windows Phone, iPhone and Android.

Images

Every Stock Photo – Search thousands of images, many of which can be used in apps and games.  Click on advanced search, then click the Licenses dropdown and check ONLY the boxes for Public Domain and Custom Free.  When you find the image you’re looking for, be sure to follow the search result back to the original site and read the license to make sure it can be used in your application.

Sound Effects

Soundjay – Hundreds of sound effects that are licensed for use in apps and games. Most (if not all) of these sound effects should play as-is on Windows Phone. You can use a tool like Audacity to convert any sounds that don’t play into ones that do.

Freesound – Thousands of free sound effects. Carefully check the license for each sound effect because not all sound effects can be used in commercial applications. Some sound effects may also require you to give attribution (credit) to the author in your application. Not all sound effects on this site can be played on Windows Phone. You can use a tool like Audacity to convert sounds that don’t play into ones that do.

Audio Micro has a free music and sounds tab on their home page.

Music

Incompetech – Hundreds of high quality songs available for use in apps and games. They’re even organized by genre, “feel” and keyword. Many of these songs require attribution (listing in credits) or can be purchased for royalty-free use.

FreePD – Another great resource for finding free music in the public domain. Their FAQ states that all of the songs listed are available for use without attribution. Double-check that the page shows “CC Zero” at the bottom.

Sprites

Open Clipart (.org) – Hundreds if  not thousands of free images, most don’t even require attribution!

HasGraphics Sprites – 10 sprite sets free for commercial use. Some require attribution, some do not.

Video Game Sprites – Actual sprites from original games, not able to use in commercial games

Lost Garden – Game graphics, asks for acknowledgement.

Open Game Art – Graphics, sprites, icons and sounds. Asks for donations.

Textures

CGTextures – Amazing, pretty exhaustive collection of tillable textures that can be used for free in commercial games. Attribution is appreciated but not required.

HasGraphics Textures – Two large tile sets free for commercial use.