Presentation specification

Latest direction: See Uniform sprites and modular equipment for the current two-scale sprite direction and production targets. Earlier images remain exploratory.

Sprites

Prototype 64 × 64 frame cells with a roughly 40–52 pixel-tall human silhouette and a consistent foot anchor. These are targets to test in a real scene, not dimensions certified by the generated illustrations. Characters are around three heads tall: expressive enough for Ragnarok-like appeal, grounded enough for military silhouettes. Compare one 48-pixel cell variant if the first sprite feels too detailed at camera distance.

Begin with four authored diagonal views for the isometric camera. Logical battlefield facing stays north/east/south/west; map it deliberately to screen-facing art. Never indiscriminately mirror a character's sword hand, insignia, scars, or asymmetrical cape. Eight directional views and camera rotation are later art-budget decisions.

Use a shared palette family rather than enforcing one tiny palette across all effects: 24–32 colors per character as a starting target, limited shadow ramps, warm skin highlights, and meaningful silhouette accents. Teal/ivory identifies the hero's company, crimson/brass the crown, while distinct shapes and UI markers communicate allegiance for colorblind players.

Current pilot: one 16-frame walking clip in each of eight map directions per unit, reused for idle-in-place and traversal. Separate side-view ready, attack and hit clips serve the cinematic. The first attack/hit exports were too static and were replaced with stronger clips. Future production frame budgets must count both sprite scales, equipment variants and per-action cleanup; there is no approved full-roster frame count yet.

Use nearest filtering for sprite textures and conservative alpha handling. Separate ground/contact shadows from painted sprite shadows; otherwise lighting gets baked twice. Test outlines against snow, mud, foliage, fire, and dark interiors. The generated concept images do not establish true low-resolution pixel consistency and must not be cut apart and called finished animation atlases.

Environments

One logical cell equals a fixed world-space footprint, initially one engine unit. Quantize surface heights into steps for gameplay while allowing decorative geometry between them. Use modular terrain, walls, stair segments, doors, roofs, and bridges. Store tactical surfaces explicitly so the art mesh does not determine the rules.

The first environment kit is a river settlement: stone bridge, mill, granary, road, water, timber homes, carts, market shelters, and an interior war table. Reuse it in prosperous, besieged, damaged, and repaired states. Introduce one second biome only after this kit proves legible and fast to author.

The camera is orthographic, fixed at a tested isometric-like angle. Smooth panning can produce pixel shimmer; evaluate snapping and sprite projection at actual target resolutions. Select a stable game render scale after comparing 640 × 360 and 960 × 540 scenes, with high-resolution UI composited separately. Integer upscale is desirable where it fits the display; letterbox or use a documented fractional-scale fallback rather than promise perfect pixel geometry at every window size.

Lighting should guide attention with warm windows, cool shadows, readable silhouettes, and restrained atmospheric depth. Depth of field must not obscure tactical cells. Bloom, fog, and screen effects can be reduced. No rendering trick should make the attack forecast hard to read.

Portraits and interface

Painted anime portraits use a more detailed scale than sprites. Establish face, hair, key colors, and costume landmarks in a character reference sheet, then check portrait and sprite against it. Expression library begins with neutral, concerned, angry, amused, and vulnerable. Reuse portrait crops deliberately rather than asking a generator to redesign the face for every emotion.

Use navy panels, ivory information areas, and thin brass borders. Heading serifs can supply period flavor, but body text uses a clean readable face. Build all final text, icons, focus states, and diagrams as real engine UI. The generated mockups contain decorative filler and illustrative job connections; their exact wording and tree edges are not the rule specification.

Sound target: small ensemble strings, woodwinds, restrained percussion, regional motifs, and quiet environmental sound. Reserve a shared three-note family motif for the brothers, reharmonized as their relationship changes. Begin with licensed temporary tracks and original interface sound cues; score against real gameplay pacing later. Full voice acting is outside initial scope.