Game Art Style Guide - IP-2025/waves-of-the-fallen GitHub Wiki

Game Art Style Guide

Table of Contents

Overview

This game is a fantasy-themed, top-down survival action game where the player must withstand endless waves of enemies using a growing arsenal of magical and medieval weapons. Inspired by titles like Vampire Survivors, the game focuses on fast-paced combat, character progression, and simple, readable visuals.

Art Style Summary

  • Perspective: The game uses a top-down perspective with a slight 45-degree tilt, giving characters a pseudo-3D feel while remaining within 2D plane logic. This allows for clear visibility of character designs and animations during intense combat and wave survival gameplay.

  • Shape Language: Characters and weapons are built from geometric, low-detail shapes with an emphasis on simple and easily readable silhouettes. For example, the mage’s tall hat, the archer’s quiver, and the ninja’s mask create quick visual identification even when scaled down during gameplay.

  • Detail Level: The design is low-poly and textureless, focusing on solid blocks of color instead of gradients, materials, or surface detail. This supports performance and visual clarity, especially when many enemies and effects are on screen. Characters should look clean and iconic at a glance.

  • Shading: Flat shading only is used — there are no gradients, lighting effects, or shadows on characters or weapons. This minimalist rendering makes it easier to animate, enhances contrast, and supports the fantasy yet arcade-like style reminiscent of Vampire Survivors and similar games.

Animation Guidelines

Characters

  • idle: Provide at least one frame for the character's standing/neutral pose. This will be used when the player is not moving.

  • walk: Only a single direction (right-facing) needs to be animated. Animations will be mirrored in-engine (Godot) for other directions. Keep movement loops smooth and readable with 4–6 frames preferred.

  • hit: A quick reaction frame that shows the character taking damage.

  • death: Grave of the Character

Weapons

  • attack: Each weapon should have a simple and clear animation or frames for when it's used — whether it's a crossbow firing, a sword swinging, or a spell being cast.

File Format & Naming Conventions

  • Format
    Use .png files for sprites and animations.

    • For simple weapon animations or effects, sprite sheets are acceptable.
    • For characters, it’s best to use Godot’s AnimationPlayer with separate PNG frames for more flexible control.

  • Size
    Maintain a consistent scale across all characters and weapons to ensure proportional visuals in-game.

  • Naming Convention
    Use clear, structured filenames to keep assets organized.