RetroKiln

RetroKiln is a tool for making low-resolution, retro-style textures for video games. I originally built it for my own games.

You can turn a photo into a retro texture, or build one from scratch procedurally using simple operations.

Make a texture from nothing

Build a texture from scratch, procedurally. No photos needed. Combine simple operations to get the result you want, or use prebuilt components to move faster

Make a texture from a photo

If you'd rather start from an image, RetroKiln can turn a photo into a matching retro texture too. Same palette and detail controls apply

What you can do

Build a texture from scratch. The Forge lets you build a texture step by step using a tree-based workflow, read from top to bottom. It starts with simple operations such as noise, fill, blend and warp, which you can combine into more complex materials

Make another version. You can also make new variations without starting over. Change a few parameters, roll another seed and get a different take on the same material

Keep a consistent palette. RetroKiln also aims to help keep a consistent art direction across a whole game. Palettes, resolution and reusable settings can be shared across textures. This already exists in The Studio, and similar tools will come to The Forge as well. 

A few things I've made with RetroKiln

Why I made it

I wanted to create retro textures for my video game, but I found working from photos limiting, while existing procedural texture tools felt too heavy and weren’t really designed around low-resolution retro textures.

So i started making RetroKiln

A little note. I really love working on RetroKiln. It's one of those projects I don't want to rush to a finished version and leave behind. I'd like to keep improving it over the years and use it alongside the games I make.

Why an alpha?

I’m releasing RetroKiln in alpha because I want feedback while it’s still evolving. I want to see how other people use it, what gets in the way, what’s missing, and whether it can become useful for other game developers too.

Free now, a paid version will come later

Ready now

• The Forge — build a texture from scratch, procedurally: stack layers (noise, shapes, blend, erosion), drop in one of 28 reusable components (wood, rust, grime, metal, moss…) or start from one of 7 example recipes
• Variations — roll the seed and get a new take on the same material
• Palettes — short palettes with dither and grain; in photo mode, console looks (Game Boy, NES, PICO-8, C64, CGA, EGA) and your own palettes
• The Studio — photo to retro texture: straighten, flatten the lighting, make it seamless, downscale, palette; families and presets to keep a whole set on the same look

What's next

• Variation update — texture variants, repetition preview, border-preserving variations, batch export
  
• Material update — height, normal, roughness and metallic maps, material export for game engines
• Towards 1.0 — workflow polish, larger export sizes, better seamless tiling, more components and examples, documentation, engine integration

Come say hi on Discord: latest builds, bug reports, feature ideas, and what's coming next. Join the RetroKiln Discord

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Good to know

• Platform — Windows (10 / 11)
• Type — standalone desktop app, no engine or plugin required
• Export — PNG, at small retro sizes 
  Windows will warn on first launch because the installer isn't signed yet. Click More info, then Run anyway.

About AI — everything RetroKiln produces is procedural; there's no generative AI in the textures. I used AI coding assistance while writing the source, disclosed under itch.io's policy (code only).