Quadtastic

If you're a game developer, especially a 2d retro pixelated game developer, working with sprites and quads is somewhat of a usual thing for you. Still, the need to organize the growing number of assets arises at all times. This is why Quadtastic is the perfect fit or any individual trying to bring a little more organization to any retro video game project. This application works as a sort of quad registration tool, yet for one to use it there's definitely a lot of research to do beforehand.

Before even thinking about getting a hold of this app, one needs to understand what it does. In order for this to happen, we must look at the assets it works with, in this case, the quad. Now, quads and sprites might look and sound similar, but they are actually not. The first is more of a de3corative asset, used in creating backgrounds or any other inanimate object. Sprites are more detailed, animated elements from a project, particularly a game. This means that Quadtastic is aimed at organizing those elements you might use in your game as environment enhancers.

Simply load up your quad-filled file and begin selecting various elements. These will automatically be registered on the right-hand side of the application. Group them, name them, order them and finally export your registered elements as JSON or XML files, of course for integration with whatever project you are developing. Register more elements as one quad by using the selection tool, or simply use the magic wand to differentiate one element from another. It's all up to you. You can do the same for a color palette for example. Use the turbo-workflow option if you want your results exported every time you make a change to your files.

Quadtastic is an application that will most definitely not appeal to most. It's simple only or those who know how to handle it and the functionality it offers is useful yet again only to these few individuals. If you think this is some simple image editor or sprite sheet organizer, you're mistaking. If you do plan on using it, know that it does its job as advertised, working without any glitches or issues.