Game VFX workflow
Start from the effect's gameplay meaning, the actual game camera and an existing capture. Inspect the relevant animation, event and visibility code before promising a trigger. A diagram can propose appearance; only the engine can prove event timing, cleanup and rendering cost.
Establish a reviewable direction
Separate a reference board, proposed motion and implemented effects. Preserve the user's selected direction and revisions. For a vendor preview, record its source and what should be borrowed; viewing it does not supply an asset licence. Use the project's approved provider when new concept art is requested. Do not generate another batch just to turn a chosen direction into a handoff.
Describe the effect in layers: purpose, shape, colour, attachment, timing and intensity. Distinguish a continuous state from a one-shot event. A small contact burst, a spreading death stain and an ongoing damage fire need separate lifecycles. Make attachment space explicit: a hand glow follows a socket, while a released trail stays briefly in world space. Changing an emitter must not teleport old particles.
For an interactive study, expose only useful comparisons: layer isolation, normal/slow playback, scale, ground contrast and the relevant interruption. Label its timings as illustrative when they are not verified animation markers. Keep old versions reachable and use stable option names.
Write the engine contract
Read the lifecycle and review checklist when preparing integration. Record real release/contact markers from the accepted animation or gameplay clock. A projectile owns its travel; confirmed contact owns its impact. A cancelled windup must not schedule a later hit effect.
Specify where an effect is spawned, who owns it, how it fades and what removes it. Include death, cancellation, despawn, scene unload and any game-specific visibility/storage transitions. Reset trail history on teleport or reuse. For surface effects, use reviewed anchors or validated surface sampling. A bounding box alone does not establish a valid wall, roof or ground contact.
Use shared materials and bounded pools where appropriate. Restore only this effect's material contribution; preserve team tint, hit flashes and other active states. Measure transparent overlap and crowd cost on the actual target. Do not add gameplay damage, buffs or balance changes as incidental VFX work.
Deliver and review
Deliver the selected appearance, motion contract, local source references, editable assets and implementation status. Record concept approval, native verification and visual acceptance separately. Capture a real OFF/ON comparison at normal gameplay zoom using the same action and camera; ensure underlying gameplay is unchanged. Add an implemented effect to the project library with its trigger, usage and native preview, not a generated illustration.
Example request: "Design a small shield impact that remains readable on pale ground, then prepare its integration handoff." Success means a selected direction, confirmed-hit trigger, cleanup contract and native review plan. It does not imply that a concept preview has already been integrated. Dependencies: the project's references and engine access for implementation; generation tools are optional.
