Art Style

CyberIdle's visual identity: handcrafted pixel art meets dynamic cyberpunk atmosphere.

CyberIdle Gold Standard - Rooftop Scene

The rooftop scene: rain-soaked neon nights with warm pockets of light. This is the gold standard for CyberIdle's aesthetic.

Visual 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.

Handcrafted Quality

AI-generated pixel art with the deliberate aesthetic of the best NES games—Mega Man, Castlevania, Final Fantasy. Each sprite has personality and character, not generic asset-pack feel.

Dynamic & Alive

Static pixel art enhanced with dynamic lighting, smooth animations, and particle effects. Neon signs pulse, resource flows animate, buildings flicker with life.

Futuristic, Not Retro

Modern pixel art aesthetic (Celeste, Hyper Light Drifter quality), not crude 8-bit nostalgia. This is a future world, forward-looking and alive.

Contrast & Mood

Cold teal exteriors vs warm orange interiors. Massive impersonal structures vs cozy inhabited spaces. Rain and neon vs lanterns and life.

Color Palette

A carefully curated palette that balances cold atmosphere with warm accents.

Background

Deep navy, dark teal, atmospheric haze

Neon Accents

Hot magenta, electric cyan, purple glow

Warm Accents

Lantern orange, golden glow, warm white

COLD EXTERIOR → → → WARM INTERIOR

Teal atmosphere and rain | Orange glow and life

Visual Progression

As you ascend from street hacker to transhuman entity, the visuals evolve—cleaner, brighter, bigger, more impossibly powerful.

Age 1: Street Hacker

Age 1 Street Hacker

Digital slums, makeshift labs. Scrappy, poor, hacking it together. Salvaged tech, flickering lights.

Age 3: Corporate Player

Age 3 Corporate Player

Legitimate office buildings. Glass and steel, professional signage. Growing from nothing to something.

Age 5: Orbital Architect

Age 5 Orbital Architect

Space stations, expansion beyond Earth. Mega scale infrastructure, awe-inspiring structures.

Age 7: Transhuman Entity

Age 7 Transhuman Entity

Beyond physical limits. Temple aesthetics, divine power. "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

Building Art

Dense, detailed, isometric pixel art. Multi-level vertical stacking with visible tech components.

Dense stacked building

Dense Stacked

Multi-level vertical stacking with lots of elements and details. Sophisticated, not simplistic.

Neon architectural building

Neon Architectural

Modern neon architectural style with bold magenta/cyan accents. Futuristic and eye-catching.

Character Portraits

AI personalities represented as transhuman characters—half android, sci-fi, stylish. Strong shadow/highlight from neon lighting.

Cyber Hacker

Cyber Hacker

Android Hybrid

Android Hybrid

Masked Operative

Masked Operative

Portrait Requirements

  • Crisp pixel art style (no blur, no focus effects)
  • Transhuman/cybernetic elements (implants, half-android features)
  • Strong shadow/highlight from neon lighting
  • Dark backgrounds—characters pop against darkness
  • Interesting/unique character design (not generic)

UI Design

"Hacker Scrappy" aesthetic—repurposed electronics with exposed wiring, stickers, and neon glow leaking from seams.

Hacker Scrappy UI

Hacker Scrappy Style

Like equipment from a rooftop hacker den—salvaged, repaired with tape and stickers, but functional.

What We Avoid

Clear boundaries to maintain the aesthetic integrity.

No Cute/Chibi

Rounded friendly aesthetics "ruin the whole aesthetic." This is serious cyberpunk, not casual fun.

No 80s Retro

No CRT scanlines, green phosphor, or terminal looks. This is FUTURISTIC, not nostalgic.

No Holographic Clichés

"Overplayed in sci-fi and cyberpunk games." We want immersion, not tropes.

No Overly Sleek

Want detail and complexity, not minimal flat icons. Players should "feel in the game and world."

Inspiration

Reference: Cyberpunk City Night by jokuorkki

Reference: "Cyberpunk City Night" by jokuorkki. Warm shop interiors against cool city exteriors, perfect pixel quality, atmospheric depth. This captures the dual mood we're aiming for.

The Feel

  • 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

See Also