Art Style
CyberIdle's visual identity: NES-inspired pixel art meets rain-soaked neon cyberpunk.
Art Gallery
Resources
59 unique resources across all tiers. View all →
Buildings
64 buildings from street-level to cosmic scale. View all →
Core Aesthetic Philosophy
"Rainy Neon Nights with Warm Pockets of Light"
The visual identity is defined by contrast: cold, rain-soaked cyberpunk cityscapes punctuated by warm, inviting light sources. Dense vertical urbanism with Asian-inspired neon signage. The feeling of being a small human in a massive technological world, but finding moments of warmth and connection.
- Atmospheric and moody - Rain, fog, reflective wet surfaces
- Dense verticality - Towering megastructures, layered city levels
- Neon-soaked nights - Cyan and magenta dominate, with warm orange accents
- Asian-inspired - Japanese/Chinese text, lanterns, ramen shops
- Human scale amidst vastness - Lone figures, small warm spaces in huge cold cities
- Handcrafted pixel art quality - Deliberate, artful, not generic
- FUTURISTIC not retro - This is a future world, NOT 80s nostalgia
Pixel Art Style
CyberIdle uses NES-inspired pixel art as its core visual language. This means:
Chunky Pixels
Visible, deliberate pixel placement. Each pixel is intentional, creating that hand-crafted 8-bit feel.
Limited Palette
6-12 colors per asset, like classic NES games. Color choices are strategic and meaningful.
No Anti-Aliasing
Sharp, aliased edges. No smoothing or blurring. Crisp pixel boundaries throughout.
High Detail Within Constraints
Despite limited resolution, assets are rich with detail. Complexity through clever pixel placement.
Color Palette
The color story follows the contrast between cold exterior and warm interior spaces.
Background Colors
Neon Accents
Warm Accents
Visual Progression Through Ages
As players progress through the nine ages, the visual aesthetic evolves while maintaining consistent pixel art quality.
Age 1: Street Hacker
Aesthetic: Poor, improvised, DIY tech, scrappy
"Everything should look like you're poor and you're hacking it together."
Salvaged equipment, makeshift structures, exposed wiring, antenna arrays, tarps. Small pools of light in darkness.
Ages 2-3: Corporate Player
Aesthetic: Growing legitimacy
Small but legitimate office buildings. Glass and steel, professional signage. Growing from nothing to something.
Ages 4-5: Digital Magnate / Orbital Architect
Aesthetic: Mega scale
Mega corporations, giant arcologies. Space stations, expansion beyond Earth. Massive infrastructure.
Ages 6-9: Galactic Overseer / Transhuman Entity
Aesthetic: Futuristic + Alien, Transcendence
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
Ruling both the internet and the galaxy. Abstract, cosmic scale. Reality-bending visuals. Very futuristic, otherworldly, alien feel. Non-Euclidean geometry, impossible shapes.
What We Avoid
These elements are explicitly excluded from CyberIdle's visual identity:
- Cute/chibi/kawaii - Rounded friendly aesthetics "ruin the whole aesthetic"
- Playful/cartoon - This is serious cyberpunk, not a casual game
- Retro/80s aesthetic - No CRT scanlines, green phosphor, terminal looks - this is FUTURISTIC
- Overly sleek/flat - Want immersion, players should "feel in the game and world"
- Holographic clichés - "Overplayed in sci-fi and cyberpunk games"
- Too abstract for game elements - Buildings must fit visually on the hex grid