Indie dev Chequered Ink puts together $10 10,000 game assets pack so developers “don’t feel the need to turn to AI”

Chequered Ink, a UK company producing fonts, game assets, and indie games, has released a pack of 10,000 game assets “to give budding developers an alternative to AI.”

Containing over 9000 graphics for platformers, RPGs, puzzle games, board games, and 700+ sound effects, the company said it created the pack to “save developers time and money so they don’t feel the need to turn to AI to make their games.”

“We know that the use of AI, especially for image and audio generation, is causing a spike in energy demand, bills, and carbon emissions,” the team said, insisting all assets are 100% human-made. “The most popular AI models are often trained, without permission, on copyrighted content.

“Stories will always be better told when they’re crafted with human hands, even if teams need to turn to existing assets to fill in the gaps in their projects.”

Available for $20 – although a 50% launch sale is currently discounting this to $10 – developers may use these game assets for “ANY and ALL uses including commercial use, with or without giving credit.” The only stipulation is that you may not sell or redistribute the unaltered assets as your own.

“The wide range of genres and styles represented in the asset pack will allow developers lots of room for creativity,” the two-person team said. “The simple, clean style of the HD assets makes them easy to adapt and build upon for larger projects.

“This is just the beginning. Our ongoing mission will be to create more and more graphics and sounds for people to use in their games, by hand, so that we can continue to watch new developers flourish without the need for generative AI.”