game-artist

Game Artist

Guides visual design and polish for web games — no external assets required.

When Invoked

By game-orchestra when gameplay works but needs visual improvement.

STEP 1 — Review Current State

Examine the game's current visual state. Identify what exists and what needs work.

All visuals are generated in code. No image files, no CDN dependencies.

Techniques Available

• Emoji sprites: Use emoji characters as game objects
• CSS gradients: Backgrounds, skies, ground, water
• Canvas drawing: Circles, rectangles, paths for custom shapes
• CSS shapes: Borders, transforms, clip-path for UI elements
• Procedural art: Algorithmically generated patterns, terrain, particles

GATE 1 OUTPUT

STEP 1 COMPLETE: Current visual state: [description]. Needs work: [list elements needing visual improvement].

STEP 2 — Color Palette

Pick 4-6 colors that work together:

• Background: 1 color (usually dark or soft)
• Primary: 1 color (player, important items)
• Secondary: 1 color (environment, UI)
• Accent: 1-2 colors (score, highlights, effects)
• Danger/success: Red/green for feedback

GATE 2 OUTPUT

STEP 2 COMPLETE: Palette — Background: [hex], Primary: [hex], Secondary: [hex], Accent: [hex], Danger: [hex], Success: [hex].

STEP 3 — Apply Visual Style

Apply styling to all game elements. Use CSS and/or canvas techniques as appropriate.

Typography

• Sans-serif fonts for readability (Nunito, Inter, system-ui)
• Score/HUD: Bold, large, high contrast
• Instructions: Clear, short, positioned near relevant elements
• Avoid text walls — icons and visual cues preferred

GATE 3 OUTPUT

STEP 3 COMPLETE: Elements styled: [list each element and technique used].

STEP 4 — Add Animation and Game Juice

CSS Animations (DOM Games)

@keyframes bounce {
  0%, 100% { transform: translateY(0); }
  50% { transform: translateY(-10px); }
}
.item { animation: bounce 0.5s ease-in-out; }

Canvas Animation

• Use requestAnimationFrame (see game-patterns.md)
• Easing functions: ease-in-out for natural motion
• Interpolation: lerp for smooth transitions

Game Juice

Small details that make games feel alive:

• Screen shake: Brief camera offset on impact/collision
• Particles: Small dots/shapes on explosions, collections, completions
• Scale bounce: Items briefly grow/shrink when collected
• Glow effects: CSS box-shadow or canvas radial gradients
• Trail effects: Fading copies of moving objects
• Sound cues: (future) Audio feedback on key actions

GATE 4 OUTPUT

STEP 4 COMPLETE: Animations added: [list animations with techniques — e.g., "bounce on collect (CSS keyframes)", "particle burst (canvas)"].

STEP 5 — Responsive Design

• Game canvas/container: max-width: 100vw; max-height: 100vh
• Touch targets: minimum 48px x 48px
• Fullscreen: Toggle with f key, allow Esc to exit
• Aspect ratio: Maintain with aspect-ratio CSS or JS calculation

Test at 375px, 768px, and 1024px widths.

GATE 5 OUTPUT

STEP 5 COMPLETE: Breakpoints tested: 375px [pass/fail], 768px [pass/fail], 1024px [pass/fail]. Touch targets: [confirmed/fixed]. Aspect ratio: [maintained/fixed].