Guided, section-by-section Art Bible authoring. Creates the visual identity specification that gates all asset production. Run after /brainstorm is approved and before /map-systems or any GDD authoring begins.

Phase 0: Parse Arguments and Context Check Resolve the review mode (once, store for all gate spawns this run): 1. If review [full lean solo] was passed → use that 2. Else read production/review mode.txt → use that value 3. Else → default to lean See .claude/docs/director gates.md for the full check pattern. Read design/gdd/game concept.md . If it does not exist, fail with: "No game concept found. Run /brainstorm first — the art bible is authored after the game concept is approved." Extract from game concept.md: Game title (working title) Core fantasy and elevator pitch Game pillars (all of them) Visual Identity Anchor section if present (from brainstorm Phase 4 art director output) Target platform (if noted) Retrofit mode detection : Glob design/art/art bible.md . If the file exists: Read it in full For each of the 9 sections, check whether the body contains real content (more than a [To be designed] placeholder or similar) vs. is empty/placeholder Build a section status table: Present this table to the user: "Found existing art bible at design/art/art bible.md . [N] sections are complete, [M] need content. I'll work on the incomplete sections only — existing content will not be touched." Only work on sections with Status: Empty or Placeholder. Do not re author sections that are already complete. If the file does not exist, this is a fresh authoring session — proceed normally. Read .claude/docs/technical preferences.md if it exists — extract performance budgets and engine for asset standard constraints. Phase 1: Framing Present the session context and ask two questions before authoring anything: Use AskUserQuestion with two tabs: Tab "Scope" — "Which sections need to be authored today?" Options: Full bible — all 9 sections / Visual identity core (sections 1–4 only) / Asset standards only (section 8) / Resume — fill in missing sections Tab "References" — "Do you have reference games, films, or art that define the visual direction?" (Free text — let the user type specific titles. Do NOT preset options here.) If the game concept.md has a Visual Identity Anchor section, note it: "Found a visual identity anchor from brainstorm: '[anchor name] — [one line rule]'. I'll use this as the foundation for the art bible." Phase 2: Visual Identity Foundation (Sections 1–4) These four sections define the core visual language. All other sections flow from them. Author and write each to file before moving to the next. Section 1: Visual Identity Statement Goal : A one line visual rule plus 2–3 supporting principles that resolve visual ambiguity. If a visual anchor exists from game concept.md: present it and ask: "Build directly from this anchor?" "Revise it before expanding?" "Start fresh with new options?" Agent delegation (MANDATORY) : Spawn art director via Task: Provide: game concept (elevator pitch, core fantasy), full pillar set, platform target, any reference games/art from Phase 1 framing, the visual anchor if it exists Ask: "Draft a Visual Identity Statement for this game. Provide: (1) a one line visual rule that could resolve any visual decision ambiguity, (2) 2–3 supporting visual principles, each with a one sentence design test ('when X is ambiguous, this principle says choose Y'). Anchor all principles directly in the stated pillars — each principle must serve a specific pillar." Present the art director's draft to the user. Use AskUserQuestion : Options: [A] Lock this in / [B] Revise the one liner / [C] Revise a supporting principle / [D] Describe my own direction Write the approved section to file immediately. Section 2: Mood & Atmosphere Goal : Emotional targets by game state — specific enough for a lighting artist to work from. For each major game state (e.g., exploration, combat, victory, defeat, menus — adapt to this game's states), define: Primary emotion/mood target Lighting character (time of day, color temperature, contrast level) Atmospheric descriptors (3–5 adjectives) Energy level (frenetic / measured / contemplative / etc.) Agent delegation : Spawn art director via Task with the Visual Identity Statement and pillar set. Ask: "Define mood and atmosphere targets for each major game state in this game. Be specific — 'dark and foreboding' is not enough. Name the exact emotional target, the lighting character (warm/cool, high/low contrast, time of day direction), and at least one visual element that carries the mood. Each game state must feel visually distinct from the others." Write the approved section to file immediately. Section 3: Shape Language Goal : The geometric vocabulary that makes this game's world visually coherent and distinguishable. Cover: Character silhouette philosophy (how readable at thumbnail size? Distinguishing trait per archetype?) Environment geometry (angular/curved/organic/geometric — which dominates and why?) UI shape grammar (does UI echo the world aesthetic, or is it a distinct HUD language?) Hero shapes vs. supporting shapes (what draws the eye, what recedes?) Agent delegation : Spawn art director via Task with Visual Identity Statement and mood targets. Ask: "Define the shape language for this game. Connect each shape principle back to the visual identity statement and a specific game pillar. Explain what these shape choices communicate to the player emotionally." Write the approved section to file immediately. Section 4: Color System Goal : A complete, producible palette system that serves both aesthetic and communication needs. Cover: Primary palette (5–7 colors with roles — not just hex codes, but what each color means in this world) Semantic color usage (what does red communicate? Gold? Blue? White? Establish the color vocabulary) Per biome or per area color temperature rules (if the game has distinct areas) UI palette (may differ from world palette — define the divergence explicitly) Colorblind safety: which semantic colors need shape/icon/sound backup Agent delegation : Spawn art director via Task with Visual Identity Statement and mood targets. Ask: "Design the color system for this game. Every semantic color assignment must be explained — why does this color mean danger/safety/reward in this world? Identify which color pairs might fail colorblind players and specify what backup cues are needed." Write the approved section to file immediately. Phase 3: Production Guides (Sections 5–8) These sections translate the visual identity into concrete production rules. They should be specific enough that an outsourcing team can follow them without additional briefing. Section 5: Character Design Direction Agent delegation : Spawn art director via Task with sections 1–4. Ask: "Define character design direction for this game. Cover: visual archetype for the player character (if any), distinguishing feature rules per character type (how do players tell enemies/NPCs/allies apart at a glance?), expression/pose style targets (stiff/expressive/realistic/exaggerated), and LOD philosophy (how much detail is preserved at game camera distance?)." Write the approved section to file. Section 6: Environment Design Language Agent delegation : Spawn art director via Task with sections 1–4. Ask: "Define the environment design language for this game. Cover: architectural style and its relationship to the world's culture/history, texture philosophy (painted vs. PBR vs. stylized — why this choice for this game?), prop density rules (sparse/dense — what drives the choice per area type?), and environmental storytelling guidelines (what visual details should tell the story without text?)." Write the approved section to file. Section 7: UI/HUD Visual Direction Agent delegation : Spawn in parallel: art director : Visual style for UI — diegetic vs. screen space HUD, typography direction (font personality, weight, size hierarchy), iconography style (flat/outlined/illustrated/photorealistic), animation feel for UI elements ux designer : UX alignment check — does the visual direction support the interaction patterns this game requires? Flag any conflicts between art direction and readability/accessibility needs. Collect both. If they conflict (e.g., art director wants elaborate diegetic UI but ux designer flags it would reduce combat readability), surface the conflict explicitly with both positions. Do NOT silently resolve — use AskUserQuestion to let the user decide. Write the approved section to file. Section 8: Asset Standards Agent delegation : Spawn in parallel: art director : File format preferences, naming convention direction, texture resolution tiers, LOD level expectations, export settings philosophy technical artist : Engine specific hard constraints — poly count budgets per asset category, texture memory limits, material slot counts, importer constraints, anything from the performance budgets in .claude/docs/technical preferences.md If any art preference conflicts with a technical constraint (e.g., art director wants 4K textures but performance budget requires 2K for mobile), resolve the conflict explicitly — note both the ideal and the constrained standard, and explain the tradeoff. Ambiguity in asset standards is where production costs are born. Write the approved section to file. Phase 4: Reference Direction (Section 9) Goal : A curated reference set that is specific about what to take and what to avoid from each source. Agent delegation : Spawn art director via Task with the completed sections 1–8. Ask: "Compile a reference direction for this game. Provide 3–5 reference sources (games, films, art styles, or specific artists). For each: name it, specify exactly what visual element to draw from it (not 'the general aesthetic' — a specific technique, color choice, or compositional rule), and specify what to explicitly avoid or diverge from (to prevent the 'trying to copy X' reading). References should be additive — no two references should be pointing in exactly the same direction." Write the approved section to file. Phase 5: Art Director Sign Off Review mode check — apply before spawning AD ART BIBLE: solo → skip. Note: "AD ART BIBLE skipped — Solo mode." Proceed to Phase 6. lean → skip (not a PHASE GATE). Note: "AD ART BIBLE skipped — Lean mode." Proceed to Phase 6. full → spawn as normal. After all sections are complete (or the scoped set from Phase 1 is complete), spawn creative director via Task using gate AD ART BIBLE ( .claude/docs/director gates.md ). Pass: art bible file path, game pillars, visual identity anchor. Handle verdict per standard rules in director gates.md . Record the verdict in the art bible's status header: Art Director Sign Off (AD ART BIBLE) : APPROVED [date] / CONCERNS (accepted) [date] / REVISED [date] Phase 6: Close Before presenting next steps, check project state: Does design/gdd/systems index.md exist? → map systems is done, skip that option Does .claude/docs/technical preferences.md contain a configured engine (not [TO BE CONFIGURED] )? → setup engine is done, skip that option Does design/gdd/ contain any .md files? → design system has been run, skip that option Does design/gdd/gdd cross review .md exist? → review all gdds is done Do GDDs exist (check above)? → include /consistency check option Use AskUserQuestion for next steps. Only include options that are genuinely next based on the state check above: Option pool — include only if not already done: [ ] Run /map systems — decompose the concept into systems before writing GDDs (skip if systems index.md exists) [ ] Run /setup engine — configure the engine (asset standards may need revisiting after engine is set) (skip if engine configured) [ ] Run /design system — start the first GDD (skip if any GDDs exist) [ ] Run /review all gdds

art-bible