punkfuncgames/polish-game

Polish Game — Visual Convergence Pipeline

Prerequisites

• A working game (implement-game completed)
• Reference screenshots from the GDD
• MCP bridge must be configured and connected — .mcp.json must exist with correct paths (set up by clone-game Step 0b)
• Unity editor must be open with the project loaded

Process

Step 0: Verify MCP Connection

Before any polish work, verify the MCP bridge is running:

1. Check .mcp.json exists with valid paths
2. Call execute_editor_method (e.g., Application.unityVersion) to confirm the Unity editor is reachable
3. Test a rendering tool — call list_materials to verify rendering tools are accessible
4. If the connection fails, STOP and tell the user:

   "MCP bridge is not connected. Please:

   1. Open the Unity project in the editor
   2. Restart Claude Code so the MCP server connects
   3. Run /polish-game again"

Do NOT proceed with any polish work if MCP is not connected. All polish steps require MCP rendering tools.

Available Tools

Materials

| Tool | Purpose | |------|---------| | create_material | Create a new material with a specified shader | | set_material_property | Set a property on a material (color, float, texture) | | assign_material | Assign a material to a renderer on a GameObject |

Lighting

| Tool | Purpose | |------|---------| | create_light | Create a light (Directional, Point, Spot, Area) | | modify_light | Change light properties (color, intensity, range, shadows) | | set_environment_lighting | Set ambient light, skybox, fog, reflections |

Particles

| Tool | Purpose | |------|---------| | create_particle_system | Create a particle system on a GameObject | | set_particle_module | Configure particle modules (emission, shape, color, size, velocity) |

Post-Processing

| Tool | Purpose | |------|---------| | create_volume | Create a global or local URP Volume | | add_volume_override | Add an override to a Volume (Bloom, Vignette, ColorAdjustments, etc.) | | set_volume_override | Modify an existing volume override property |

Evaluation

| Tool | Purpose | |------|---------| | capture_and_evaluate | Capture a screenshot and AI-evaluate it against a reference or prompt | | capture_burst_sequence | Capture multiple frames in rapid succession for motion analysis |

Process

Step 1: Capture Baseline

Note: Step numbering continues from Step 0 (Verify MCP Connection) above.

Use capture_and_evaluate to capture the current state of the game. Provide the reference screenshot as comparison. Note the gaps between current and target.

Step 2: Materials

For each visual entity in the game:

1. Identify the target look from reference screenshots
2. create_material with appropriate URP shader:
   • Universal Render Pipeline/Lit — standard PBR surfaces
   • Universal Render Pipeline/Unlit — flat/stylized looks
   • Universal Render Pipeline/Simple Lit — mobile-friendly lit
   • Shader Graphs/Custom — custom effects
3. set_material_property to configure colors, metallic, smoothness, emission
4. assign_material to the target renderer

Work in this order: ground/environment, player, enemies/obstacles, collectibles, projectiles.

Step 3: Lighting

Set up the lighting rig:

1. Directional light — main sun/key light
   • create_light type: Directional
   • modify_light — color matching reference palette, intensity, shadow settings
2. Accent lights — Point or Spot lights for highlights
   • Place near important gameplay elements
3. Environment lighting
   • set_environment_lighting — ambient color/intensity, fog color/density
   • Match the mood from reference screenshots

Step 4: Particles

Add particle effects for game feel:

| Context | Particle Type | Key Settings | |---------|--------------|-------------| | Impacts | Burst, short lifetime | High start speed, small size, impact color | | Rewards | Burst upward, sparkle | Gold/bright colors, gravity, size over lifetime | | Transitions | Screen wipe, fade | Full-screen, short duration | | Ambient | Continuous, subtle | Low emission rate, slow drift, transparent | | Trails | Following entities | Trail module, color over lifetime |

For each: create_particle_system then set_particle_module for Main, Emission, Shape, Color over Lifetime, Size over Lifetime, Velocity over Lifetime as needed.

Step 5: Post-Processing

Create a global URP Volume and add overrides:

1. create_volume — global, priority 1
2. Add overrides in this order:
   • Bloom — subtle glow on bright elements (intensity 0.5-2.0, threshold 0.9-1.2)
   • Vignette — darken edges to focus center (intensity 0.2-0.4)
   • Color Adjustments — match reference color temperature and saturation
   • Tonemapping — ACES for cinematic, Neutral for accurate
   • Film Grain — very subtle if reference has it (intensity 0.1-0.2)

Step 6: UI Theming

Apply USS (UI Toolkit StyleSheets) to match reference:

• Font sizes and families matching reference
• Color scheme from GDD's art direction palette
• Button styles, panel backgrounds, borders
• Transition animations (hover, press, focus)

Step 7: Game Feel

Add juice and feedback:

• Screen shake — on impacts, damage, explosions (small amplitude, short duration)
• Tweens — scale punch on collect, color flash on damage, slide-in for UI
• Haptics — rumble patterns for gamepad (if supported)
• Time scale — brief slowmo on big hits or game over (0.1x for 0.1-0.3s)

Step 8: Visual Convergence Loop

1. capture_and_evaluate — compare current state against reference
2. Read the AI evaluation feedback
3. If gaps remain:
   • Identify the most impactful difference
   • Adjust the relevant system (material, lighting, particles, post-processing)
   • Repeat from step 1
4. Continue until the evaluation confirms visual parity or the user approves

Use capture_burst_sequence if motion/animation quality needs evaluation.

Step 9: Commit

git add Assets/
git commit -m "art({game-name}): apply visual polish and post-processing"

Output

Before/after evaluation summaries, list of materials and effects created, and any remaining visual gaps noted.