How to Set Up a Game Asset Catalog from Scratch in PolyDrobe

Before you add a single asset

The most common mistake teams make when setting up an asset catalog is jumping straight to adding items. Two weeks later, the catalog is a mess of inconsistent naming, missing categories, and variants filed under the wrong parent. The fix is always the same: define your structure before your content.

This guide walks through setting up a PolyDrobe project from zero to a working catalog that your whole team can use.

Step 1: Create your project

Log in to PolyDrobe and create a new project. You need two things:

• Project name: Use the game title or internal codename (e.g., "Vanguard Skins" or "Project Orion Cosmetics").
• Project icon: Upload a small image to make the project recognizable in the dashboard. The game logo works well.

PolyDrobe generates a URL slug automatically from the project name. All assets and variants in this project will live under this slug, so pick a name you are happy with long-term. You can change the display name later, but the slug stays stable for bookmarking and API access.

Step 2: Configure your taxonomy

Open Project Settings and set up the classification system your team will use. This is the most important step — everything downstream depends on it.

Categories

Categories provide hierarchical grouping. Define them based on how your team thinks about assets, not how the game engine organizes files. For example:

• Headwear (Helmets, Hats, Masks)
• Outerwear (Jackets, Vests, Armor)
• Accessories (Backpacks, Gloves, Belts)
• Weapons (Primary, Secondary, Melee)

PolyDrobe supports nested categories, so "Headwear > Helmets > Tactical" is valid. Start with two levels — you can add depth later without restructuring existing assets.

Rarities

Define the rarity tiers your game uses. Each rarity has a name, a color, and a priority number for sorting:

These values are project-scoped — different projects can have different rarity systems.

Statuses

Statuses track where an asset or variant is in the production pipeline. A minimal set:

• Concept — idea or reference exists, no production work started
• In Progress — actively being modeled, textured, or rigged
• Review — awaiting QA or art director approval
• Approved — cleared for release
• Released — live in the game

Tags, currencies, and releases

• Tags are freeform labels for cross-cutting concerns: "Season 3", "Battle Pass", "Limited Edition", "Collab: ArtistName". Tags can carry optional values (e.g., tag "Season" with value "3").
• Currencies define pricing units: USD, EUR, in-game coins, premium tokens.
• Releases use semantic versioning (1.0.0, 1.1.0, 2.0.0) to group assets by the game update they ship with.

Step 3: Add your first assets

With taxonomy in place, start adding assets. An asset represents a distinct item — not a color variant or quality tier, but the item itself.

For each asset, provide:

• Name: "Tactical Helmet", "Urban Hoodie", "Neon Katana"
• Category: Select from the taxonomy you defined
• Rarity: The base rarity (variants can have their own)
• Description: What this asset is and any design notes
• Thumbnail: A representative image for the asset card
• Mesh file (optional): Upload a .glb or .gltf file and PolyDrobe will render it in the built-in 3D viewer

The key modeling decision: one asset per distinct item, variants for each version. A hoodie with five colorways is one asset with five variants — not five assets.

Step 4: Create variants for each version

Each variant represents a specific version of an asset: a colorway, a quality tier, a seasonal edition.

For each variant, provide:

• Name: "Tactical Helmet — Desert Camo", "Tactical Helmet — Arctic White"
• Thumbnail: The variant-specific image
• Texture file (optional): The texture map applied to the parent mesh
• Price: Set in one of your defined currencies
• Status: Where this variant is in the pipeline
• Rarity: Can differ from the parent asset (e.g., a gold edition might be Legendary while the base is Rare)
• Metadata: A freeform JSON field for any additional properties your pipeline needs

Variants are the operational unit in PolyDrobe. They are what your team reviews, prices, approves, and ships. The asset is the organizational container; the variant is where the work happens.

Step 5: Invite your team

Go to Project Settings > Team and invite collaborators by email. Assign roles based on responsibility:

• Owner: Full control — manages settings, billing, team access, and can delete the project. Typically the project lead or producer.
• Editor: Creates and updates assets, variants, and all operational data. Your artists, technical artists, and content managers.
• Viewer: Read-only access for QA, stakeholders, or external partners who need to see the catalog but should not modify it. Viewer seats are free on all plans.

What you end up with

After these five steps, your team has:

• A searchable catalog of every cosmetic item with consistent naming and classification
• Variant-level tracking for each colorway, edition, or quality tier
• Role-based access so the right people can edit and the right people can review
• Activity history showing every change, by whom, and when
• 3D model preview for any asset with an uploaded mesh file

All of this runs in the browser at polydrobe.app — no software to install, no server to maintain.

Key takeaways

• Define taxonomy (categories, rarities, statuses) before adding any assets — this prevents structural rework later.
• Model one asset per distinct item, with variants for each version (colorway, tier, edition).
• Start with two levels of category depth; add more only when needed.
• Assign team roles based on responsibility: Owners for settings, Editors for content, Viewers for review.
• The free tier supports 1 project, 100 assets, and 3 team members — enough to build a complete catalog for a small game.