Genarrative/.hermes/plugins/game-studio/references/sprite-pipeline.md

Sprite Pipeline

This is the default 2D animation workflow for the plugin.

Principles

• Start from one approved in-game frame.
• Generate the animation as one strip, not isolated frames.
• Normalize the whole strip with one shared scale.
• Use one shared anchor, typically bottom-center.
• Preview before approving the asset.

Why this works

• The approved seed frame preserves identity.
• Strip-first generation reduces frame-to-frame drift.
• Shared-scale normalization prevents one tall pose from making the character feel smaller.
• Locking frame 01 back to the shipped sprite preserves continuity for idle-to-action transitions.

Prompt template

Intended use: candidate production spritesheet for a 2D browser game animation review.
Edit the provided transparent reference canvas into a single horizontal <N>-frame spritesheet.

The existing sprite in the leftmost slot is the anchor frame and must remain the same character:
- same facing direction
- same silhouette family
- same palette family
- same proportions
- same readable face or key features
- same outfit details

Composition:
- transparent canvas
- exactly one row of <N> equal frame slots
- no extra characters
- no labels
- no scenery
- no poster layout

Action:
- describe the specific animation beat from frame 1 through frame N

Style:
- authentic pixel-art production asset
- crisp pixel clusters
- restrained palette
- not concept art

Normalization notes

• Use the union of detected sprite bounds per slot.
• Compute one scale from the largest detected frame and anchor.
• Bottom-align frames into the target canvas.
• Reuse the exact shipped frame for frame 01 when --lock-frame1 is appropriate.