15 · Art & Audio

Status: Skeleton · Owner: TBD · Updated: 2026-09-23

Purpose

Define the look and sound, and the production rules that keep them consistent across six dynasties and several ages.

To define

• Art style: stylised-realistic, painterly, low-poly, 2.5D isometric?
• Camera and perspective for city and map
• Per-dynasty visual language: silhouette, palette, material, motif
• Age progression visuals — how a city transforms per age
• Unit readability rules at mobile zoom
• UI art direction and how it stays neutral across factions
• Colour and accessibility (colour-blind-safe faction colours)
• Music direction: per-dynasty instrumentation, adaptive layers
• SFX and VO — is there VO, and in which languages?
• Asset pipeline, naming conventions, LOD and memory budgets
• Reference boards → assets/refs/

Think about

• Silhouette is the whole job. At phone zoom on a crowded map, players read shapes, not textures. Each dynasty needs a distinct roofline and a distinct unit silhouette recognisable at 40 pixels. Test this early with a blur test — squint at the screenshot; if you cannot tell the factions apart, redesign.
• Cultural specificity is the art budget's best investment. Candi bentar split gates, Khmer sandstone and baray water, Aksumite stelae — these are visually spectacular and almost absent from the genre. Hire consultants and artists from these cultures rather than working from photo reference alone; the difference between "researched" and "authentic" is visible to the audience that cares most.
• Age progression multiplies the art budget by the number of ages. Four ages × six dynasties × every building is the single largest line item in the project. Plan modular kits — shared structure, swapped roofs, materials and ornament — or the scope will eat the schedule.
• Faction colours must survive colour-blindness, because in this genre they carry critical information (whose army is that?). Pair every colour with a shape or banner motif.
• Audio is the cheapest way to make the setting feel real. Gamelan, khim, sáo flute, kora — regionally grounded instrumentation gives each dynasty a presence that art alone will not. Adaptive layers keyed to age advancement make progression audible as well as visible.
• UI must stay faction-neutral. If the frame is Khmer sandstone, five of six dynasties are playing in someone else's house. Keep chrome neutral and let content carry identity.
• Set memory and draw-call budgets before the first asset. The device floor from Overview decides how many units can be on screen, which decides what Battle can be.

Open questions

#	Question	Blocks	Owner
1	2.5D isometric or full 3D?	Tech, budget, camera
2	How many visual tiers per building?	Art budget, schedule
3	Is there voice acting, and in which languages?	Budget, localisation