Generate true pixel art sprites, tilesets, and animations with the Retro Diffusion API — the best dedicated pixel art model. Use when the user says "generate pixel art", "make a sprite with AI", "use Retro Diffusion", "rdpk", or wants high-quality pixel art faster than hand-coded sprite arrays. Requ

Retro Diffusion — True Pixel Art Generation Generate authentic pixel art sprites, tilesets, and animations from text prompts or reference images using the [Retro Diffusion](https://www.retrodiffusion.ai) API. Output is true pixel art (clean integer pixel grids, limited palettes), not blurry diffusion model output downscaled into pixels — making it the best AI option for shippable 2D game art and fast prototyping. Paid service. Retro Diffusion requires an account at https://www.retrodiffusion.ai and an API key with credits. Always tell the user this requires a paid Retro Diffusion account before generating anything , and confirm they understand each call deducts from their balance. Reference Files File Description [api reference.md](./api reference.md) Full API endpoints, models, prompt style values, response shape, pricing, and error codes When to Use Quick prototypes — generate dozens of unique sprites in a minute instead of hand coding 16×16 arrays Polish pass on a working game — replace placeholder shapes with cohesive pixel art that already matches a chosen style Tilesets — wang style ground/wall sets without manually drawing every transition tile Sprite animations — walk cycles, idle bobs, attacks delivered as transparent GIFs or spritesheets Choose this over add assets (code only pixel art) when: the user wants AI generated art, has a Retro Diffusion key, or the game needs more visual variety than hand coded matrices can deliver in a reasonable time. The two skills compose well — Retro Diffusion for hero sprites/tilesets, code only matrices as a free fallback for quick filler. Do NOT use this for: 3D models (use meshyai ), 3D worlds (use worldlabs ), audio (use game audio ), or when the user explicitly wants the all code procedural pixel art approach (use add assets ). Authentication Before prompting the user, check if the key already exists: If found, export it with set a; . .env; set +a and skip the prompt. If the key is not set, ask the user immediately and explain the cost model : I'll generate true pixel art with Retro Diffusion — the best dedicated pixel art model for shippable game sprites. Heads up: this is a paid service. You'll need a Retro Diffusion account with credits. Each image typically costs between $0.015 (RD FAST) and $0.18 (RD PRO). Get a key in 60 seconds: 1. Sign up at https://www.retrodiffusion.ai 2. Buy credits (smallest pack is fine for prototyping) 3. Account → API → Generate API key Paste your key like: RETRODIFFUSION API KEY=rdpk ... (It will be saved to .env and redacted from this conversation.) Or type "skip" to fall back to free hand coded pixel art via /add assets . If the user provides a key, save it to .env and use it via set a; . .env; set +a && node scripts/retrodiffusion generate.mjs ... . If the user skips, stop and hand off to /add assets — do not silently degrade to a different art style without telling them. CLI Script — scripts/retrodiffusion generate.mjs Zero dependency Node.js script. Handles all six modes: generate, img2img, animate, tileset, edit, and balance. Generate (text to pixel art) Image to Image (refine a reference) strength controls how much the AI deviates from the input (0 = identical, 1 = ignore input). 0.5–0.8 is the useful range. Animations (walk cycles, idles, attacks) Animation styles cost $0.07–$0.25 depending on type. See [api reference.md](./api reference.md) for the full style list. Tilesets Edit (progressive refinement) Flat $0.06 per edit. Use to tweak a generated sprite without re rolling from scratch. Balance check Model Selection Guide Model Cost Sizes Best for RD FAST $0.015–0.04 64×64 to 384×384 Bulk prototyping, simple sprites, items RD PLUS $0.025–0.08 16×16 to 192×192 Tilesets, top down, watercolor, Minecraft style RD PRO $0.18 flat 64×64 to 256×256 Hero sprites, isometric scenes, polish pass (17+ styles, supports up to 9 reference images) RD MINI varies very small Routes to PLUS/FAST for tiny pickups Default to RD FAST for prototyping. Upgrade individual hero sprites to RD PRO when the prototype is shipping. See [api reference.md](./api reference.md) for the complete per model prompt style list. Prompt Engineering for Pixel Art Good prompts are short, specific about silhouette and palette, and call out the perspective: Goal Prompt Why Game character "a cute green slime, big eyes, side view" Single subject, perspective named Item "a glowing red potion bottle" Specific shape + color Tile "lush grass texture, top down, seamless" Perspective + tiling intent Enemy "a skeleton warrior, hunched, side view" Silhouette cue ("hunched") Avoid: Multiple subjects in one prompt — generate separately and composite in game Abstract concepts ("the feeling of dread") — describe the visual instead Mismatched perspective ("top down knight, side view") — pick one Integration with Phaser Games Retro Diffusion outputs are normal PNGs — they slot directly into Phaser's loader. Pixel perfect rendering — when using AI pixel art, configure the Phaser game with crisp scaling so sprites stay sharp: Without pixelArt: true , the browser will smooth scale the PNGs and the pixel art look is lost. Spritesheet Slicing Animation styles return either a transparent GIF or a horizontal spritesheet (style dependent — check the output PNG dimensions). For spritesheets, infer frameWidth = imageWidth / frameCount and load with this.load.spritesheet() . The .meta.json file written next to each output records the requested width/height so frame count is recoverable. Cost Discipline Every call costs real money from the user's balance. Apply these defaults to avoid waste: 1. Use check cost first when generating at unfamiliar sizes or with RD PRO. 2. Default to RD FAST + 64×64 for prototypes. Only upgrade specific hero sprites. 3. Use seed when iterating on a prompt — same seed + same prompt = same image, so you can A/B test prompt edits without re rolling random variations. 4. Cache outputs — generated PNGs are committed to public/assets/sprites/ . Never regenerate an asset that already exists unless the user asked for a new variant. 5. Run mode balance before a big batch so the user sees their remaining credits. Output Convention Always write a .meta.json next to each PNG so the prompt and seed are recoverable for later regeneration. Troubleshooting Problem Cause Fix RETRODIFFUSION API KEY not set Key missing Ask the user for their key (https://www.retrodiffusion.ai → Account → API). Save to .env . HTTP 401 Unauthorized Wrong header or invalid key Header must be X RD Token: <key , NOT Authorization: Bearer . Verify the key on the dashboard. HTTP 400 "insufficient credits" Account balance is empty Tell the user to top up at the dashboard before retrying. Run mode balance to confirm. Sprite looks blurry in Phaser Browser is smooth scaling the PNG Set pixelArt: true and roundPixels: true in the Phaser config. Output ignores prompt details Prompt is being auto expanded into something different Try bypass prompt expansion to send the prompt verbatim. Tileset edges don't match Style isn't a wang/tile style Use style wang tile for auto tiling sets, or tile x tile y for seamless single textures. img2img output ignores reference Strength too high Lower strength to 0.4–0.6. Strength 0 keeps the input; strength 1 ignores it. Inconsistent style across batch Different seeds and slight prompt variation Pin seed and reuse the exact same prompt structure for sibling sprites (same character family). Checklist [ ] User informed this is a paid service — Retro Diffusion account + credits required [ ] RETRODIFFUSION API KEY checked in .env or env, prompted if missing [ ] Model + style chosen for the budget (RD FAST for prototyping, RD PRO for hero sprites) [ ] check cost used for the first call at any new size [ ] Prompt is specific about subject, perspective, and silhouette [ ] seed pinned when generating siblings (e.g., walk + idle of the same character) [ ] remove bg used for game sprites (transparent PNG) [ ] tile x / tile y used for textures, style wang tile for auto tiling [ ] PNG written to public/assets/sprites/ (or tiles/ ) with .meta.json alongside [ ] Phaser config has pixelArt: true and roundPixels: true [ ] Spritesheet frameWidth / frameHeight matches the requested width/height [ ] User shown remaining balance after the batch