Devlog 32 - Building a Visual Language

Summary

This update was mostly about turning individual drawings into a visual system I can actually use across gameplay and UI.

What changed?

• Started redesigning existing Jack attack art specifically for UI instead of just dropping gameplay sprites onto cards.
• The direction I like most is mostly black-and-white character art with the elemental effect kept in color. It preserves the hand-drawn look while separating card art from gameplay art.
• Built the first proper enemy table with base enemies, variants, roles, rough stats, and behavior notes.
• Formalized the working palette for Godot and Krita. It is currently around twenty-something colors, and I am trying to keep the final working set under roughly 32 colors.
• Drew the gem currency for both the UI and the arena. The hard part was making a purple gem feel translucent while still casting a purple-tinted shadow.
• Reached a usable version of the cartoon shader experiment, but I am still not convinced it belongs in the final game.

What I'm unsure about?

The palette limit is useful as a constraint, but I do not want to turn "32 colors" into a rule that makes the art worse. The shader has the same problem: it is technically working, but that does not automatically mean it belongs.

Next steps

• Finish the standalone functional UI mockup.
• Keep filling the trailer storyboard blanks.
• Continue testing the card-art treatment with real attacks and elemental effects.