How do you design game art and animation to support game mechanics?

1 Define your game mechanics

Before you start creating any art or animation, you need to have a clear idea of what your game mechanics are, and how they relate to your game genre, theme, and audience. Game mechanics are the rules and systems that govern how your game works, and how players interact with it. For example, your game mechanics could include movement, combat, inventory, puzzles, dialogue, scoring, etc. You should define your game mechanics in terms of their goals, challenges, feedback, and balance, and how they fit your game's vision and scope.

2 Choose your art style

Once you have your game mechanics defined, you can choose an art style that matches them and enhances them. An art style is the overall visual appearance and mood of your game, and it can be influenced by factors such as genre, theme, platform, audience, budget, and technology. You should choose an art style that suits your game mechanics, and that creates a consistent and coherent aesthetic. For example, if your game mechanics are based on realism and immersion, you might choose a realistic or photorealistic art style. If your game mechanics are based on abstraction and creativity, you might choose a stylized or cartoonish art style.

3 Create your art assets

After you have chosen your art style, you can start creating your art assets, which are the individual pieces of art that make up your game world, such as characters, props, environments, UI, etc. You should create your art assets with your game mechanics in mind, and make sure they support them in terms of functionality, clarity, and feedback. For example, if your game mechanics involve stealth and hiding, you should create art assets that provide cover and camouflage options for the player. If your game mechanics involve exploration and discovery, you should create art assets that provide landmarks and clues for the player.

4 Animate your art assets

Once you have created your art assets, you can animate them to bring them to life and add movement and expression to your game. Animation is the process of creating the illusion of motion and change in your art assets, using techniques such as keyframes, tweens, bones, sprites, etc. You should animate your art assets with your game mechanics in mind, and make sure they support them in terms of responsiveness, fluidity, and feedback. For example, if your game mechanics involve combat and action, you should animate your art assets to show impact and reaction. If your game mechanics involve dialogue and emotion, you should animate your art assets to show facial expressions and body language.

5 Test and iterate your game art and animation

After you have animated your art assets, you can test and iterate them to see how they work with your game mechanics, and how they affect the gameplay experience. Testing and iterating are the processes of playing and evaluating your game, and making changes and improvements based on feedback and data. You should test and iterate your game art and animation with your game mechanics in mind, and make sure they support them in terms of performance, usability, and engagement. For example, if your game mechanics involve puzzles and logic, you should test and iterate your game art and animation to see if they provide enough hints and cues for the player. If your game mechanics involve story and narrative, you should test and iterate your game art and animation to see if they convey the right tone and mood for the player.

6 Examples of game art and animation that support game mechanics

To demonstrate how game art and animation can reinforce game mechanics, here are some exemplary games that showcase this concept. Limbo, for example, utilizes a minimalist and monochrome art style as well as a smooth and subtle animation style to create a dark and eerie atmosphere that fits its survival, horror, and puzzle-solving mechanics. Super Mario, on the other hand, opts for a colorful and cartoonish art style as well as a lively and expressive animation style to evoke a fun and cheerful atmosphere that matches its platforming, jumping, and collecting mechanics. Lastly, Journey employs a stylized and abstract art style along with a graceful and fluid animation style to generate a mystical and serene atmosphere that complements its exploration, discovery, and cooperation mechanics.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?