Tools
I did not use all these tools here but some of them ..and the rest might feel cool to you too. I saved them over the years so I want to share them with you
Here is my selection:
Small Game Engines
- Bitsy ~ a little engine for little games, worlds, and stories ~
- Bitsy 3D - bitsy but in 3D :O
- Bipsi - a bitsy like
- Decker interactive multimedia
Best Quality of Life Tools
- Materialize open source for making PBR materials out of a single texture
- BackPakcer A channel packing application for 3D material image files
- MagickUtils A ImageMagick a graphic way (GUI) of editing multiple images (also convert .heic format to .jpg so your pc can work with the images from an iphone.
- ShoeBox Texture Ripper
- PureRef easy all you want referance software
- cutsy clip and covert videos
Dithering
- dither me this
- ordered dither maker
- didder An extensive, fast, and accurate command-line image dithering tool.
- Ultra Effects | Part 9 - Obra Dithering An article about shaders
- Ditherpunk a article about monochrome image dithering
- Ditherpunk a dev-log article about real-time 3D dithering
- Hypnospace productivity lesson #1 Make your graphics look like crusty old web graphics by Jay Tholen (can also be done in aseprite now under Sprite-Color Mode-More Options-and then there is dithering selection like this
- How to paint with dithering in aseprite
- Ditherpunk a dev-log article about real-time 3D dithering
- Dither in 3D another approach and good explanation of Lukes Method about real-time 3D dithering
Hypertext langues and interactive fiction
- Yarn Spinner for books make choose your own adventure books with it
- Adventureon Classroom Create TEXT ADVENTURE games in your browser.
- Inform 7
- Calibo
- ink
- binksi bipsi + ink
- BITSY + TWINE a article about combining bitsy and twine
- PowerQuest a unity adventure framework with great dev posts
- TweeVee a HTML Bandersnatch Video choice
Pixel Art Tools
- Pixel Unwrapper UV unwrapping for pixel art. Add-on for Blender
- Pribambase Blender works with Aseprite now. Add-on for Blender
- cleanEdge a pixel art upscaling algorithm for clean rotations
- Sprite Stack or
- Stacked Sprite Viewer for Aseprite
- Aseprite Extensions by ThKasparr
- Pixel Art Tutorials by Saint 11 will got you covered even though its not a tool
3D Tools / Blender Addons
- ReSprytile Blender add-on for building tile based worlds 3D Pixel Art or Crocotile3D
- Magica Voxel - best Voxel art programm
- Pixel Unwrapper - UV unwrapping for pixel art. Add-on for Blender
- DreamUV Blender add-on reusable textures like tiling textures, trimsheets, hotspot and texture atlases
- fSpy for matching perspective
- complify compostion and lighting made with Ian Hubert
- MinionsArt 3D stylized Tutorials espieccally the lazy unwrappings one
Pico 8 Tools
- Wobblepaint
- PicoCAD
- picoSynth
- PicoShop Pro
- SCUMM 8
- Music Theory for making music in pico 8 with the build in tools
- Picotron cant wait what this fantatsy workstation will do
Webmistress
- Sheet Sites by Chia Amisola on how to use google sheets as an easiy collaborative database
- Use Google Sheets for phone friendly webapps (using a third party service) but its just a hobby
- CSS for CSS Baby 1-5 by eev.ee
- How to Build a Low-Tech Website
- XOXO Festival Talk by Molly white Web3 is a dumpster fire
- HTML is for people (I like Markdown more ;))
- A guide for Eleventy as a static site generator so the blog posts can be written in markdown
- CSS Flexbox Froggy learn CSS
- Leaflet for javascript map editing on Open Street Map
Live Coding
I got no idea but think this is cool. Can also be done in pico 8
- Tix.Land as a simple entry
- Cables
- Livecodelab
- Hydra Objack
- Awesome Livecoding Collection
- Awesome (Live) creative coding Collection
- A sample of what stuff you can do with VFX in Unity
Terrain & Heightmaps
You will never get 1pixel = 1 meter but there are quality diffrences between usablity and resolution. These are the best / easiest tools I could find. There are a lot of tools out there for ARMA or Cities Skylines. Gaming is your friend here.
- Earthexplorer easiest high quality goverment aided heightmap tool
- UNREAL PNG Heightmap is super easy to use
- ImageJ with Libarys is Fiji and very helpful for giant PNGs
- ImageJ with Libarys is Fiji and very helpful for giant PNGs
- ARMA Community Qgis how to handle special heightmap files that are no PNGs
- TerraForge3D for when it can be procedural and not from the real world
Inspiration
- Same. energy As a more effortless search for similar stuff like Pintrest
- are.na Artsy Organization Community
Maps
- Electric Zine Maker
- Hammer++ updated Source Level Editor
- TrenchBroom Level Editor
- Quad64 a open source Super Mario 64 level editor
- Spout for realtime usage of video in for example godot
- Shade for IOS Visual Shader black magic app just like unity, unreal or godot
- sumatra pdf reader a reader that does not sell you anything and its lightweigt
- Kopia Open Source File Backup with UI an active open source file incremental and full file backup client. Here is a Bonus Tip
- GB Studio
- Derivative as a Art Light Installtion Software