HALL PASS — asset brief

Everything below is copy-paste ready. Generate in the Higgsfield UI, save with the filename given, drop into the matching folder under assets-src/incoming/. I do the slicing, tiling, compression and wiring — you never have to think about formats.

Global art direction. Neon-noir schoolyard, 2 AM, wet asphalt, sodium-orange lamps against cold blue dark. Anime/manga sensibility, hand-inked, high contrast. The characters stay cel-shaded and flat; the environment can carry real texture detail — that contrast (flat figures on a detailed ground) is what makes Persona and Genshin read as premium rather than muddy. So: detailed ground, painterly sky, graphic UI.

Two rules learned the hard way (2026-08-24 smoke tests)

1. Never ask for a "transparent background" — it fakes it. Asked for transparency, the model paints a grey checkerboard (the visual convention for transparency) into opaque pixels. Instead always ask for flat chroma magenta, which keys out perfectly:

...on a completely flat solid uniform bright magenta background, hex FF00FF, pure chroma-key magenta filling every part of the image that is not a subject. No checkerboard pattern, no grey, no gradient, no shadows — the background must be one single flat colour.

2. Say the subject must be an irregular isolated shape. Left to itself the model gives each cut-out its own little rectangular concrete tile, which keys out as a visible square. Add: each one an irregular isolated shape with no rectangular tile, panel or backing behind it.

Never bake text into a generation. No titles, no labels, no UI words, no watermarks — all type is added in-engine. If a prompt would tempt the model to render letters, add no text, no lettering, no watermark to the end.

TIER 1 — do these first (biggest visible jump per minute spent)

1. Technique icons ×28 · `incoming/icons/`

The level-up cards are the most-looked-at surface in the game and they're currently pure text. Icons fix that instantly. Generate as 4×4 sheets — one generation gives 16 icons, I slice them apart automatically. Order matters; keep the reading order left→right, top→bottom.

Sheet A — ✅ delivered and shipped 2026-08-24, first try, all 16 correct. Save as icons-a.png

A 4x4 grid of 16 video game skill icons, evenly spaced, each icon centred in its own cell
on a near-black background. Anime occult-sorcery theme, glowing neon linework, thick ink
outlines, bold graphic silhouettes readable at small size, subtle inner glow, no frames or
borders around the cells. Reading order left to right, top to bottom, the sixteen icons are:
1 a clenched fist wrapped in red cursed energy;
2 a blurred pair of hands with cyan speed streaks;
3 a running shoe trailing a motion streak;
4 a glowing green heart with a bandage across it;
5 three arrows fanning outward from one point;
6 a needle piercing through three stacked discs;
7 a long arrow with a distance bracket beneath it;
8 a horseshoe magnet pulling glowing motes;
9 a spiral of green regenerating energy over an open palm;
10 a red rope binding a glowing orb, sacrificial and tight;
11 a paper talisman charm orbiting a small circle;
12 a lightning bolt forking between two nodes;
13 a domed cage of light with a figure inside;
14 a black lightning bolt cracking with red at the edges;
15 a translucent afterimage of a running figure;
16 an hourglass with a lightning bolt inside it.
Consistent style across all sixteen, no text, no lettering, no watermark.

Sheet B — ✅ delivered and shipped 2026-08-24. Save as icons-b.png (12 icons, 4×3 grid)

A 4x3 grid of 12 video game skill icons, evenly spaced, each centred in its own cell on a
near-black background. Anime occult-sorcery theme, glowing neon linework, thick ink outlines,
bold graphic silhouettes, subtle inner glow, no cell borders. The first six are legendary
tier and rendered in gold with a brighter rim-glow; the last six are plain steel-blue.
Reading order left to right, top to bottom:
1 a black lightning bolt detonating in a shockwave ring, gold;
2 three paper charms orbiting a core, connected by arcs of lightning, gold;
3 a cracked heart re-igniting with a second smaller heart inside, gold;
4 two identical overlapping musical repeat marks made of energy, gold;
5 a running figure leaving three burning footprints, gold;
6 a sunburst halo behind a silhouetted figure, gold;
7 a shield made of layered cursed energy, steel-blue;
8 a sharpened blade edge with a glint, steel-blue;
9 a pair of long legs mid-stride, steel-blue;
10 an open satchel with glowing shards falling in, steel-blue;
11 an owl perched on a crescent moon, steel-blue;
12 a boot with a lightning bolt on the heel, steel-blue.
Consistent style across all twelve, no text, no lettering, no watermark.

2. Student portraits ×4 · `incoming/portraits/` — ✅ all four delivered and shipped 2026-08-24

For the roster screen, which is currently a wall of text. One generation each, best quality you can get. Save as ren.png, yui.png, kaito.png, sora.png.

Common tail for all four — append to each prompt:

Anime key-visual illustration, chest-up portrait, three-quarter view, dramatic low-angle night lighting from below, cool blue ambient with a hard neon rim light, painted background of a dark schoolyard thrown out of focus, bold ink linework, cel shading with hard shadow edges, high contrast, confident expression. Vertical 3:4 composition. No text, no lettering, no watermark.

ren.png — "A 17-year-old Japanese male high-school student, dark spiked hair, red-and-black school blazer worn open, athletic build, both hands wrapped in fighting tape, a red aura of cursed energy curling off his knuckles, jaw set, looking slightly down at the viewer." + tail
yui.png — "A 16-year-old Japanese female high-school student, straight black chin-length bob with a blunt fringe, cyan-trimmed school blazer buttoned neatly, calm focused eyes, holding a single glowing cyan needle of light between two fingers near her face, faint threads of light trailing from it." + tail
kaito.png — "An 18-year-old Japanese male high-school student, messy violet-black hair, tall and lean, purple-trimmed school blazer with the collar up and hands in pockets, bored half-lidded expression, a crackling violet sphere of static electricity hovering over one shoulder." + tail
sora.png — "A 17-year-old Japanese female high-school student, pale blonde hair in two high twin-tails tied with yellow ribbon, yellow-trimmed school blazer worn loose, mischievous grin, fanning a spread of glowing yellow paper talismans like playing cards in one hand, charms scattering into the air around her." + tail

3. Ground materials ×5 · `incoming/ground/`

This is the map. The floor is currently painted by code; real materials are the single biggest step toward "a real stage". Every one must be seamlessly tileable and shot perfectly top-down, flat, no perspective, no visible lighting or shadows — the game does its own lighting, so baked-in shadows would fight it.

Common tail — append to each:

Seamless tileable texture, perfectly flat top-down orthographic view, evenly lit with no directional shadows and no highlights, no perspective distortion, photographic detail with a slight painterly stylisation, square. No text, no lettering, no watermark.

asphalt.png — ✅ delivered and shipped 2026-08-24. "Worn dark blue-grey asphalt schoolyard surface at night, fine aggregate grain, subtle patches where it has been resurfaced, a few hairline cracks, faint damp sheen." + tail
concrete.png — ✅ delivered 2026-08-24. "Pale grey poured-concrete slab with fine expansion seams and light staining, slightly rough troweled finish." + tail
track.png — "Rust-red rubberised running-track surface, fine pebbled texture, slightly worn." + tail
grass.png — "Dry patchy dark-green schoolyard grass with bare dirt showing through in places, short cut, night-desaturated." + tail
paint.png — "A sheet of weathered white and yellow court-line paint markings on transparent background: straight lines of varying width, a large circle arc, a corner right-angle, and a set of parallel lane stripes, all with chipped worn edges and flaking. Isolated on transparent background." + tail

4. Ground decals · `incoming/decals/`

Isolated marks I stamp onto the yard to break up repetition. One 4×3 sheet on flat magenta (see rule 1 above) — save as decals.png.

A 4x3 grid of 12 isolated ground decals on a completely flat solid uniform bright magenta
background, hex FF00FF, pure chroma-key magenta filling every part of the image that is not
a decal. No checkerboard, no grey, no gradient, no shadows. Each decal is an irregular
isolated shape with no rectangular tile, panel or backing behind it. Viewed perfectly
top-down and flat, evenly spaced, each in its own cell with generous magenta margin:
1 a dark oil stain; 2 a spider-web crack in asphalt; 3 a pale chalk hopscotch grid;
4 a colourful spray-paint graffiti tag, abstract shapes only; 5 a round cast-iron manhole
cover; 6 a rectangular storm drain grate; 7 a scatter of dry fallen leaves; 8 a puddle of
still dark water; 9 a patch of crumbling broken tarmac; 10 tyre skid marks; 11 a scatter of
small litter and paper scraps; 12 a faded painted arrow. No text, no lettering, no watermark.

TIER 2 — worth doing once Tier 1 lands

5. Night sky · `incoming/sky/`

Save as sky.png. This replaces my box-buildings horizon with a painted backdrop.

An ultra-wide panoramic night sky over a distant Japanese city skyline, seen from a
schoolyard. Deep indigo to black gradient overhead, a faint warm orange light-pollution glow
along the horizon, scattered stars, thin drifting clouds catching city light, distant tower
blocks as dark silhouettes with tiny scattered lit windows. Painterly anime background art,
no foreground objects, no ground, horizon line low and level, seamless left-to-right wrap.
Extremely wide aspect ratio. No text, no lettering, no watermark.

Also useful: sky-dawn.png — same prompt, but "the first minutes of sunrise, horizon burning peach and gold into violet overhead, stars fading." (The game already shifts to a dawn palette at First Bell; a real dawn sky would make the win land much harder.)

6. Curse concept sheet · `incoming/concept/`

Not used directly — it's my reference for rebuilding the monsters as better 3D silhouettes. Save as curses.png.

A character design sheet of six original horror creature designs on a flat neutral grey
background, arranged in a row, each shown in full-body side profile, consistent scale
relationship from smallest to largest. Anime dark-fantasy "cursed spirit" style: simple bold
readable silhouettes, matte dark bodies, a single glowing eye colour per creature, no gore.
Left to right: 1 a small scuttling grub the size of a dog, hunched, one red eye; 2 a slow
shambling humanoid husk with overlong arms, orange eyes; 3 a floating diamond-shaped wisp
with a trailing tail, pale cyan single eye; 4 a squat toad-like creature with a wide mouth
built for spitting, magenta eyes; 5 a massive hulking brute with huge fists and a tiny head,
amber eyes; 6 a towering crowned boss creature with spikes radiating from its shoulders,
three red eyes. Clean design sheet, no background scenery. No text, no lettering, no watermark.

TIER 3 — SeeDance 2.5 (video)

Two clips only. Video can't become 3D geometry, so its real job is the frame around the game — and these two moments are where a cinematic beat pays.

Both: 20 s max, no text baked in (I comp all type), and a locked-off or slow camera reads best against the game's own motion.

intro.mp4 — plays once behind the title on first load.

Slow push-in along a deserted Japanese schoolyard at night. Sodium-orange lamp pools on wet asphalt, chain-link fence in the foreground, dark school building with a few lit windows behind. Cherry petals drift through the light. Nothing else moves. Cold blue shadows, warm orange highlights, anime film aesthetic, shallow depth of field, subtle film grain. No people, no text, no lettering.
dawn.mp4 — plays behind the win screen when you survive to First Bell.

A locked-off shot of an empty Japanese schoolyard as the sun rises. The sky burns from deep violet to peach and gold, long shadows stretch across the asphalt, the lamps click off one by one. Dust and petals drift in the first warm light. Anime film aesthetic, peaceful, slow, no camera movement. No people, no text, no lettering.

What to look for on Envato

Two categories are worth your time; the rest I can fake better in code.

Sound (this is the highest-value Envato ask left). incoming/audio/ Search Sound Effects for: anime impact sfx, whoosh swish pack, magic spell impacts, ui click pack game, bell school, low brass hit, riser impact. I need roughly: 6 impacts, 4 whooshes, 3 big explosions, 1 deep boom (Domain), 1 school bell, 6 UI ticks, 2 risers. For music, search Music for dark synthwave loop, phonk instrumental, tense electronic loop — one calm loop and one intense/boss loop, ideally stems or at least clean loops.

3D props — but only with the right filters. incoming/props/ My earlier rejection was too broad. On the 3D tab set File Type = GLB or GLTF and drag the Polycount slider down under ~50K, then search: chain link fence game ready, basketball hoop low poly, bleachers low poly, street lamp game ready, school desk low poly, trash can low poly, park bench low poly, vending machine game ready. Anything under 50K polys in GLB I can drop straight in; I've since added a decimate-and-toon-shade bake step, so even a chunky model can be salvaged — just avoid the 300K+ "3D illustration" listings.

Where things go

assets-src/incoming/
  icons/       icons-a.png, icons-b.png
  portraits/   ren.png yui.png kaito.png sora.png
  ground/      asphalt.png concrete.png track.png grass.png paint.png
  decals/      decals.png
  sky/         sky.png sky-dawn.png
  concept/     curses.png
  props/       *.glb
  video/       intro.mp4 dawn.mp4
  audio/       whatever you grab, original filenames are fine

Drop files in, tell me, and I'll bake and wire them. Nothing needs renaming beyond what's listed, nothing needs resizing, and partial deliveries are fine — I'll wire whatever's there and leave the code paths that fall back to the current procedural art.

Batch 3 — five stages + sprites (2026-08-24, 24 credits, all shipped)

Floors: gravel roof, gym maple (no court lines — we paint those), hallway lino checker, pool deck mosaic, pool water surface. Faces (fill the frame edge to edge, tiled in-engine): 8-locker strip, vending machine (front, abstract labels), blank scoreboard. Magenta sheets: 12 interior decals, 8 essence wisps (XP/fragment/heal pickups), 12 projectile sprites (palm crescents / needles / bolt orbs / paper charms — generated, not yet wired). Night city skyline panorama (letterboxed — bake crops it). Lesson: structured patterns (planks, tile grids) never tile from generation; fix with MirroredRepeatWrapping in-engine, don't burn retries asking for "seamless".

HALL PASS by Very Bad Games · Solo Developer Chris Sands · All documentation