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

Before you add a single asset

Teams set up a catalog and start adding items on day one. Two weeks later the names disagree with each other, half the items sit outside any category, and a dozen variants hang off the wrong parent. Define the structure first and none of that happens.

This guide takes a PolyDrobe project from empty to a catalog your whole team can work in.

Step 1: Create your project

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

• Project name: the game title or the internal codename, such as "Vanguard Skins" or "Project Orion Cosmetics".
• Project icon: a small image that makes the project recognizable on the dashboard. The game logo does the job.

PolyDrobe derives a URL slug from the project name. Every asset and variant lives under that slug, so choose a name you can live with. The display name is editable later, and the slug stays put for bookmarks and API calls.

Step 2: Configure your taxonomy

Open Project Settings and build the classification system your team will use. Everything downstream reads from it.

Categories

Categories group assets in a hierarchy. Model them on how your team talks about assets rather than on how the engine lays out files:

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

Categories nest, so "Headwear > Helmets > Tactical" works. Start at two levels and add depth later, without touching the assets already filed.

Rarities

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

Rarities are project-scoped, so two projects can run two different systems.

Statuses

Statuses say where an asset or variant sits in the production pipeline. A minimal set:

• Concept: an idea or reference exists, no production work yet
• In Progress: being modeled, textured or rigged right now
• Review: waiting on QA or the art director
• 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". A tag can carry a value, such as Season with the 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 in.

Step 3: Add your first assets

With the taxonomy in place, add assets. An asset is a distinct item: the hoodie itself, before you get to colorways or quality tiers.

For each asset, provide:

• Name: "Tactical Helmet", "Urban Hoodie", "Neon Katana"
• Category: from the taxonomy you defined
• Rarity: the base rarity, which variants can override
• Description: what the asset is, plus any design notes
• Thumbnail: the image for the asset card
• Mesh file (optional): upload a .glb or .gltf and PolyDrobe renders it in the built-in 3D viewer

One modeling decision matters more than the rest: one asset per distinct item, one variant per version. A hoodie with five colorways is one asset carrying five variants.

Step 4: Create variants for each version

A variant is a specific version of an asset: a colorway, a quality tier, a seasonal edition.

For each variant, provide:

• Name: "Tactical Helmet, Desert Camo" or "Tactical Helmet, Arctic White"
• Thumbnail: the variant's own image
• Texture file (optional): the texture map applied to the parent mesh
• Price: in one of your defined currencies
• Status: where this variant sits in the pipeline
• Rarity: free to differ from the parent, so a gold edition can be Legendary while the base is Rare
• Metadata: a freeform JSON field for whatever else your pipeline carries

Variants are the operational unit in PolyDrobe. Your team reviews them, prices them, approves them and ships them. The asset holds them together; the variant holds the work.

Step 5: Invite your team

Go to Project Settings > Team and invite people by email, then assign roles by responsibility:

• Owner: manages settings, billing and team access, and can delete the project. Usually the project lead or producer.
• Editor: creates and updates assets, variants and everything operational. Your artists, technical artists and content managers.
• Viewer: reads the catalog for QA, stakeholders or external partners who should look without editing. Viewer seats are free on every plan.

What you end up with

Five steps in, your team has:

• A searchable catalog of every cosmetic item, named and classified the same way throughout
• Variant-level tracking for each colorway, edition and quality tier
• Role-based access, so the people who edit and the people who review are the right ones
• Activity history covering every change, its author and its timestamp
• A 3D preview for any asset carrying a mesh file

All of it runs in the browser at polydrobe.app, with nothing to install and no server to keep alive.

Key takeaways

• Define categories, rarities and statuses before you add assets, and you avoid restructuring the catalog later.
• Model one asset per distinct item, with a variant for each version: colorway, tier or edition.
• Start with two levels of category depth and add more when a project needs it.
• Assign roles by responsibility: Owners for settings, Editors for content, Viewers for review.
• The free plan covers 1 project, unlimited assets, 100 variants and 3 members, which is enough to build a complete catalog for a small game.