Free Asset Sourcing | Skills Pool
Free Asset Sourcing How to find, evaluate, download, and track CC0/CC-BY game assets from Kenney.nl, OpenGameArt.org, and Freesound.org. Use when sourcing sprites, tilesets, audio, or fonts for this project.
Occupation Categories Game Development Before applying these rules, call skill_ping with skill_id: "free-asset-sourcing" and scope: "project".
Approved Sources
1. Kenney.nl (Sprites, Tilesets, UI, Fonts)
Quick Install
Free Asset Sourcing npx skillvault add merceralex397-collab/merceralex397-collab-womanvshorsevb-opencode-skills-free-asset-sourcing-skill-md
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Updated Apr 9, 2026
Occupation
RPG characters: search "rpg" or "character"
Format: PNG sprite sheets or individual PNGs
No attribution required (CC0), but credit is encouraged
2. OpenGameArt.org (Sprites, Tilesets, Characters)
URL: https://opengameart.org
Search: https://opengameart.org/art-search-advanced?keys=SEARCH_TERM
Filter by license: Select CC0 or CC-BY 3.0/4.0 in advanced search
Relevant searches:
"top down character" — player sprites
"horse sprite" — enemy sprites
"arena tileset" or "dungeon tileset" — arena floor/walls
"top down rpg" — general sprite sheets
Format: varies (PNG, SVG; prefer PNG)
ALWAYS verify the license on the asset page before downloading
3. Freesound.org (Sound Effects)
URL: https://freesound.org
Search: https://freesound.org/search/?q=SEARCH_TERM
Filter: Use "License" filter → select "Creative Commons 0"
Relevant searches:
"sword swing" or "slash" — attack SFX
"hit impact" — damage SFX
"horse neigh" or "horse gallop" — enemy SFX
"victory fanfare" — wave clear SFX
"game over" — death SFX
"button click" — UI SFX
Format: prefer .wav for SFX (Godot imports as AudioStreamSample)
Account required for download
ALWAYS check individual sound license (not all results are CC0)
4. Google Fonts (UI Fonts)
URL: https://fonts.google.com
License: OFL (SIL Open Font License) — free for all uses
Recommended for game UI:
Press Start 2P (pixel font)
Pixelify Sans
VT323
Silkscreen
Download TTF/OTF, place in assets/fonts/
License Verification Steps For EVERY asset before adding to the project:
Check the source page license badge/text
CC0: Public domain. No restrictions. No attribution required.
CC-BY 3.0/4.0: Free to use. Attribution REQUIRED in credits.
CC-BY-SA: Free to use. Attribution required. Share-alike clause. Acceptable but prefer CC0/CC-BY.
CC-BY-NC: NOT ALLOWED (non-commercial restriction).
GPL/LGPL for art: Evaluate case-by-case. Generally avoid for game assets.
Verify the stated license matches the download
Some OpenGameArt uploads include LICENSE.txt — read it
Some Freesound uploads have different per-file licenses
Record the license type, author, and source URL immediately
Do NOT download first and track later
Download and Organize Workflow
Download the asset pack/file
Extract to the appropriate subdirectory:
Sprites → assets/sprites/<pack-name>/
Audio → assets/audio/<category>/ (sfx/, music/)
Fonts → assets/fonts/
Tilesets → assets/sprites/tilesets/
Remove any files not needed for the project (keep download lean)
Update assets/PROVENANCE.md IMMEDIATELY (see below)
If CC-BY: also add to the credits data for UI-003 (credits scene)
PROVENANCE.md Update Procedure The provenance file is at assets/PROVENANCE.md with this table format:
| asset_path | source_url | license | author | date_acquired |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| sprites/kenney-topdown/player.png | https://kenney.nl/assets/top-down-shooter | CC0 | Kenney | 2025-07-14 |
asset_path: Relative path from assets/ (e.g., sprites/kenney-topdown/player.png)
source_url: Direct URL to the source page (not the download link)
license: Exact license identifier (CC0, CC-BY-3.0, CC-BY-4.0, OFL)
author: Creator name as shown on the source page
date_acquired: ISO date (YYYY-MM-DD) when downloaded
One row per file or per pack (if all files in a pack share the same source)
If a pack contains many files, one row for the pack is acceptable: sprites/kenney-topdown/*
Never leave an asset without a provenance entry
Update provenance BEFORE committing the asset files
Credits Scene Data For CC-BY assets, maintain a credits list that UI-003 will render:
Asset: [descriptive name]
Author: [creator name]
License: CC-BY [version]
Source: [URL]
Store this in assets/PROVENANCE.md — the credits scene reads from provenance entries where license is CC-BY.
Asset Evaluation Criteria When choosing between multiple asset options:
License preference : CC0 > CC-BY-4.0 > CC-BY-3.0 > CC-BY-SA (avoid NC/ND)
Visual consistency : Assets should match in style (pixel art size, color palette)
Completeness : Prefer packs with multiple poses/animations over single sprites
Format : Prefer PNG with transparency. Avoid JPEG for sprites.
Resolution : Match the project's target pixel density. For top-down 2D: 16x16, 32x32, or 64x64 tiles.
Animation frames : For characters, prefer packs with walk/attack/idle/hurt frames
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1. Kenney.nl (Sprites, Tilesets, UI, Fonts)
Game Development
Ideation Generate project ideas through creative constraints. Use when the user says 'I want to build something', 'give me a project idea', 'I'm bored', 'what should I make', 'inspire me', or any variant of 'I have tools but no direction'. Works for code, art, hardware, writing, tools, and anything that can be made.