Tilesets

Tilesets are collections of small images used to create larger 2D scenes in video games. Each image, or tile, represents a uniform square or rectangular region of the game's world. Tilesets are typically arranged in a single image known as a tile atlas or in a grid within a sprite sheet. A tilemap uses these tiles by referencing their positions in the tileset to assemble a level layout. Common tile sizes are 8x8, 16x16, and 32x32 pixels. Tilesets may include margins and spacing to separate tiles and prevent sampling artifacts.

Tilesets can carry metadata such as collision shapes, terrain types, or animation data. Some tiles are animated by cycling through multiple frames; other tiles are static. Many games use terrain rules or autotiling to decide which tile to place based on adjacent tiles, creating coherent borders and transitions.

Tilesets are supported by level editors and game engines. They often come with formats for the image and for the tile data, such as JSON or XML describing tile size, spacing, and per-tile properties. Popular tools include Tiled, and engines such as Unity's Tilemap system, Godot's TileMap, and various RPG makers. Tile assets are commonly stored as PNG images.

Workflow notes: import the tileset image, configure tile size and spacing, and define any margins; create a tilemap by painting tiles in the desired layout; assign collision, room transitions, or other properties to individual tiles as needed. Rendering performance is aided by using a single texture atlas and batching draw calls; large or multiple tilesets may require careful memory management.

Tilesets have been central to 2D game development since the 1990s, enabling efficient reuse of artwork and flexible level design. They remain a core concept across modern tools, supporting both classic grid-based games and more complex tile-based systems.