10. Game Art

10. Game Art

Define the overall visual direction, art style, and asset planning to provide a unified visual baseline for long-term updates.

10.1 Art Direction Overview

• Style Tags: Realistic, Cartoon, Low Poly, Pixel Art, etc.
• References & Benchmarks: Comparison with industry leaders (e.g., Genshin Impact, Tencent titles, Voodoo casual games).
• Target Atmosphere: Relaxing, Oppressive, Epic, Cute, etc.

10.2 Concept Art

• World Concept: Visualizing the setting and lore.
• Key Locations: Concepts for major cities, landmarks, and biomes.
• Character & Enemy Design: Primary cast and antagonist visualization.

10.3 Style Guides

• Rules: Unified standards for line work, silhouette, proportion, color palette, and lighting.
• Consistency: Ensuring 2D UI and 3D assets share a cohesive language.
• Negative List: Explicitly forbidden styles or elements to avoid.

10.4 Characters

• Hierarchy: Protagonists, Key NPCs, Enemies, Villagers.
• Detail Standards: Bone counts, polygon budgets, and texture resolution per tier.
• Skins & Costumes: Rules for the cosmetic system (critical for LiveOps and monetization).

10.5 Environments

• Types: Cities, Wilderness, Dungeons, Special Instances.
• Tone: Color grading and lighting mood for each area.
• Modular Construction: Strategy for Tiles, Modules, and Prefabs.

10.6 Equipment & Props

• Rarity Visuals: Distinguishing Common, Rare, and Legendary gear.
• Functional vs. Cosmetic: Visual differentiation between gameplay items and decorative props.

10.7 Cutscenes

• Format: Real-time 3D, 2D Animation, Motion Comic, Static Illustrations.
• Specifications: Storyboarding standards, subtitle sizing, and branding placement.

10.8 UI / UX Art

• Style: Flat, Skeuomorphic, Cartoon, Sci-Fi/Holographic.
• Iconography: System for main icons, sizing, and shape language.
• Motion: Button feedback, screen transitions, and loading indicators.

10.9 Technical Art Considerations

• Shader Strategy: Uber Shaders, VFX Shaders, Character Shading models.
• VFX Budget: Particle counts, overdraw limits, and post-processing costs.
• Asset Standards: Naming conventions, directory structure, and reference rules.

10.10 Asset Pipeline & Naming

• General Naming Format: Prefix_Subject_Descriptor/Channel_Variant (Avoid spaces/special chars, keep under 50 chars).
• Prefix Examples:
  • Textures: T_ (e.g., T_hero_body_D, T_hero_body_N, T_hero_body_RMA)
  • Static Meshes: SM_ (e.g., SM_rifle_01)
  • Skeletal Meshes: SK_ (e.g., SK_hero)
  • Materials / Instances: M_ / MI_ (e.g., M_hero_skin, MI_hero_skin_01)
  • Animations: ANM_ (e.g., ANM_hero_run_01)
  • Audio: MX_ (Music), SX_ (SFX) (e.g., MX_theme_loop, SX_footstep_gravel_01)
  • Particles / VFX: PS_ (e.g., PS_explosion)
  • UI Elements: UI_ (e.g., UI_button_normal)
  • Lights: Light_ (e.g., Light_lamp_P_01)
• Texture Channels: _D (Diffuse), _N (Normal), _R (Roughness), _AO (Ambient Occlusion), _M (Metallic), or _RMA packed.
• Versioning: _01, _A, LOD0, v001 (Maintain two-digit versioning).
• Folder Structure:
  • Art/Characters/Hero/{Meshes, Textures, Materials, _wip}
  • Art/Weapons/Rifle/{Models, Textures}
  • Art/Environments/{Rocks, Trees}
  • Art/UI/{Sprites, Fonts}
  • Art/FX/Particles/
  • Audio/{SFX, Music, VO}
  • _Publish/ (Final exports only, no source files)
• Metadata Tags: JSON/XML for LOD, Platform, Usage, Author, Version, Dependencies (for search, packaging, and auditing).
• Terminology Mapping:
  • Character (Actor), Background (Set), Prop (Object), Light (Source), VFX (Visual Effects), Sound (Score/SFX), Screen (Subtitle/HUD).
• Implementation: Document upon project kickoff; batch rename scripts; CI/CD validation for naming and metadata.

Asset Formats

• 3D Model (3d_model): SM/SK geometry and bone data.

• Image (image): Single-frame textures, maps, or UI images.

• Image Sequence (image_sequence): Frame-based image series (PNG/JPG/TGA) for animation/VFX; distinct from video containers.

• Sprite Sheet (sprite_sheet): Combined texture atlas with index data, for UI/2D animation.

• Video (video): Containerized media (MP4/H.264/H.265/WEBM) for cutscenes or showcases.

• Audio (audio): BGM, SFX, VO.

• Other: Shader, Material, Font, Prefab, Level, Particle System, UI Element.

• Guide: image_sequence_guide.md

Format Selection & Naming Points

• Video: Unified high-quality playback. Example: VID_Cutscene_Chapter1_v001.mp4.
• Image Sequence: Controllable animation/VFX. Example: SEQ_GachaReveal_0001.png (4-digit padding).
• Sprite Sheet: UI/2D Animation. Example: SPR_UI_ButtonPress_atlas_v001.png (with index file).
• Image: Textures. Example: T_hero_body_RMA.tga (Suffix rules apply).
• Particles / VFX: Example: PS_fire_small_loop, PS_explosion_heavy.
• Audio: Example: MX_theme_loop.ogg, SX_footstep_gravel_01.wav, VO_hero_intro_en.mp3.

Selection Advice

• Interactive & Controllable Camera: Prioritize 3d_model + image + fx_particle (Real-time).
• Unified Presentation, Weak Interaction: Use video with multi-platform adaptation.
• High Volume 2D/UI Animation: Prioritize sprite_sheet; use image_sequence for complex shots or heavy VFX.