Art Bible

!source "${CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR:-.}/.claude/hooks/yaml-helper.sh" 2>/dev/null && resolve_config --keys review_mode,automation,workflow,docs.density

Resolved above — use as-is; --review overrides review_mode. No block → defaults in .claude/docs/config-resolution.md.

Phase 0: Parse Arguments and Context Check

See .claude/docs/director-gates.md for the full check pattern. Individual gate definitions live in .claude/docs/director-gates/[gate-id].md — the spawned agent reads its own gate file; do not read it in the parent session.

Every AskUserQuestion call follows .claude/docs/automation-modes.md (collaborative asks always · guided major-only · autonomous logs and proceeds; automation_always_ask categories always prompt).

`docs.density` — it controls per-section depth, where workflow controls which sections exist. modes.rigor sets both together; set docs.density explicitly to vary depth alone: terse = each section a bulleted list of constraints + references; balanced = paragraphs explaining each visual choice (default); thorough = full prose including style explorations, references, and rationale per choice. Apply it to every section you author.

`workflow` (see .claude/docs/workflow-modes.md):

• full — all 9 art bible sections required.
• standard — required only if visual asset stories exist in the project; sections 1–4 are the minimum when required. workflow_overrides.art_bible_strict: true forces all 9 sections regardless of tier.
• minimal — not required. Can still be run voluntarily.

Read design/gdd/game-concept.md. If it does not exist, fail with:

"No game concept found. Run /brainstorm first — the art bible is authored after the game concept is approved."

Extract from game-concept.md:

• Game title (working title)
• Core fantasy and elevator pitch
• Game pillars (all of them)
• Visual Identity Anchor section if present (from brainstorm Phase 4 art-director output)
• Target platform (if noted)

Retrofit mode detection: Glob design/art/art-bible.md. If the file exists, build the status table without reading the document — you are about to author only the incomplete sections, so loading the complete ones is loading exactly what you will not touch:

Grep pattern="^## " path="design/art/art-bible.md" output_mode="content" -n
Grep pattern="\[To be designed\]|\[TBD\]|\[To be written\]|^_?TODO" path="design/art/art-bible.md" output_mode="content" -n

• The first grep gives the section headings and their line numbers — the gap between consecutive headings is that section's size.
• The second gives placeholder markers and where they fall.
• A section is Complete if it has substantive distance to the next heading and no placeholder marker inside it; Placeholder if a marker falls in its range; Empty if consecutive headings sit adjacent.
• Where the two greps leave a section genuinely ambiguous, read that section's line range with Read(offset, limit) — never the whole file.
• Build a section status table:

Section | Status
--------|--------
1. Visual Identity Statement | [Complete / Empty / Placeholder]
2. Color Palette | ...
3. Lighting & Atmosphere | ...
4. Character Art Direction | ...
5. Environment & Level Art | ...
6. UI Visual Language | ...
7. VFX & Particle Style | ...
8. Asset Standards | ...
9. Style Prohibitions | ...

• Present this table to the user: > "Found existing art bible at design/art/art-bible.md. [N] sections are complete, [M] need content. I'll work on the incomplete sections only — existing content will not be touched."
• Only work on sections with Status: Empty or Placeholder. Do not re-author sections that are already complete.

If the file does not exist, this is a fresh authoring session — proceed normally.

Extract performance budgets and the engine for asset standard constraints: read performance.* and engine.name from project.yaml; for any key absent or empty (including when project.yaml has no performance or engine block), fall back to .claude/docs/technical-preferences.md.

Phase 1: Framing

Present the session context and ask two questions before authoring anything:

Use AskUserQuestion with two tabs:

• Tab "Scope" — "Which sections need to be authored today?" Options: Full bible — all 9 sections / Visual identity core (sections 1–4 only) / Asset standards only (section 8) / Resume — fill in missing sections

Mark the option the resolved `workflow` tier actually requires as (Recommended), and say why — the tier already decides this and the user should not have to know the tier table to answer:

• full → Full bible — all 9 sections are required at this tier.
• standard → Visual identity core (sections 1–4 only) — that is the documented minimum when an art bible is required at all. Say: "Sections 1–4 are what standard requires; 5–9 are available if you want them."
• minimal → no art bible is required. Say so before asking, and offer sections 1–4 as the useful-if-you-want-it option rather than defaulting to 9.
• workflow_overrides.art_bible_strict: true → Full bible regardless of tier.

This is the single biggest cost lever in this skill: every authored section carries a specialist spawn, so authoring 9 sections where the tier requires 4 more than doubles the run for artifacts nothing downstream will check.

• Tab "References" — "Do you have reference games, films, or art that define the visual direction?" (Free text — let the user type specific titles. Do NOT preset options here.)

If the game-concept.md has a Visual Identity Anchor section, note it:

"Found a visual identity anchor from brainstorm: '[anchor name] — [one-line rule]'. I'll use this as the foundation for the art bible."

Phase 2: Visual Identity Foundation (Sections 1–4)

These four sections define the core visual language. All other sections flow from them. Author and write each to file before moving to the next.

Spawn policy for this phase. Section 1 is delegated on its own — it is foundational and the user chooses between anchor directions before anything else can build on it. Sections 2–4 are then delegated in one art-director call, not three: they are the same agent receiving the same inputs (Visual Identity Statement + pillars), and mood, shape and colour are interdependent — an art director defines them together, not in isolation. Three separate calls re-sent the same context three times and asked the agent to reason about colour without knowing the shape language it had just written. This is not reduced specialist involvement — every section is still authored by the specialist, which is the point .claude/docs/effects-map.md makes about art-bible delegation being mandatory. It is one call instead of three for the same three sections. Per-section user approval and write-to-file-immediately are unchanged.

Section 1: Visual Identity Statement

Goal: A one-line visual rule plus 2–3 supporting principles that resolve visual ambiguity.

If a visual anchor exists from game-concept.md: present it and ask:

• "Build directly from this anchor?"
• "Revise it before expanding?"
• "Start fresh with new options?"

Agent delegation (MANDATORY): Spawn art-director via Agent:

• Provide: game concept (elevator pitch, core fantasy), full pillar set, platform target, any reference games/art from Phase 1 framing, the visual anchor if it exists
• Ask: "Draft a Visual Identity Statement for this game. Provide: (1) a one-line visual rule that could resolve any visual decision ambiguity, (2) 2–3 supporting visual principles, each with a one-sentence design test ('when X is ambiguous, this principle says choose Y'). Anchor all principles directly in the stated pillars — each principle must serve a specific pillar."