Chapter 2: Readable Power Sources & Cooldown Cues

Created by Sarah Choi (prompt writer using ChatGPT)

Readable Power Sources & Cooldown Cues for Character Concept Artists

Why players must “see” the system, not just the skin

Great characters advertise their internal economy—where power comes from, how it’s spent, and when it returns. Readable power sources and cooldown cues let players predict timing, collaborate, and counterplay without staring at tiny HUD widgets. For concept‑side artists, this means embedding energy logic into silhouette, props, and materials from the very first thumbnail. For production‑facing artists, it means delivering emissive IDs, rig/VFX hooks, shader states, and timing briefs so animation, audio, and UI can choreograph a consistent, latency‑tolerant language across cameras and LODs.

First principles: location, capacity, and cadence

A power source must answer three questions at a glance: Where is it? (location), How much is left? (capacity), and How fast does it cycle? (cadence). Location anchors the read: heart, gauntlet, backpack reactor, staff focus, tail node, wing capacitor. Capacity expresses as area, fill, or intensity—a tank’s edge trims brighten under guard; a healer’s halo grows and softens; a striker’s blade line saturates. Cadence appears as pulsing, breathing, ticking, or ratcheting motifs tied to frame count, not just seconds, so reads survive variable frame rates. Production should standardize three cadence families (slow/medium/fast) and reserve them by role to avoid cross‑talk.

Diegetic reservoirs versus transient conduits

Design both a reservoir (stores energy) and conduits (route energy to action). Reservoirs are stable—core crystals, biotech sacs, batteries, runic spines. Conduits are expressive—cables, veins, feather shafts, fin rays. In thumbnails, draw the reservoir first; connect conduits to action points (hands, muzzle, tail tip). For production, assign separate materials: reservoir emissive with low flicker to avoid shimmer at distance; conduit emissive with directional flow textures for anticipation. Provide mask IDs so VFX can modulate each independently.

Anticipation → Action → Recovery: the cooldown triad

Every ability should have a three‑beat visual arc. Anticipation: a pre‑fill or directional glow that hints at vector and magnitude (e.g., striker blade edge charging from hilt to tip). Action: peak emission and motion blur aligned to hit frames, with distinct color/shape language per role. Recovery: a visible depletion with a cooldown timer expressed diegetically—coolant steam, fading halos, number of runes dimming, wing membranes relaxing. Production handoff includes a timing chart (frame counts at 60 fps) and notes for lower refresh rates.

Role‑specific power and cooldown language

Hero (generalist/flagship): Centralized, iconic reservoir (chest sigil, back core) with clean, brandable shapes. Cooldown reads are subtle but present—crest lines dim to 30%, cape symbol desaturates, hand glyphs count down in segments. Keep variations across skins but lock the geometry/location so onboarding stays consistent.

Tank: Edge‑biased language that radiates outward along armor boundaries and shields. Guard builds pressure at the perimeter (glowing seams, hum in pauldrons), discharges on block/taunt. Cooldown shows as shrinking perimeter and heavier step/idle offsets. Offer a clear “guard broken” state: trims go dark, stance lowers. Production: high‑priority emissive masks on shield face and chest bar; VFX collision must not obscure read at melee range.

Striker: Directional, weapon‑centric reads. Energy travels down a spine, arm, or scabbard into a narrow leading edge. Cooldown is obvious on the weapon—edge goes to matte, vents close, ribbon trails stop. Idle micro‑pulses should remain directional to imply “always ready.” Provide motion‑blur‑friendly silhouettes that keep the edge legible in TPP and isometric.

Healer: Radiating cores with soft gradients centered on hands and heart line. Anticipation blossoms outward; action blooms briefly with distinct shapes (rings, petals); recovery settles into a steady dimmer level that still signals availability to allies. Cooldowns must not mimic enemy damage colors—reserve unique hues or pattern rhythms. Production: emissive channels on palms/forearms and chest; shader swaps for “channel” versus “burst” heals.

Support/Controller: Device‑ or field‑based reads. Reservoirs sit in rigs, drones, or pylons; conduits are tethers and projected grids. Cooldowns are off‑body: drone lights cycle; pylons dim and retract; UI echoes on the ground plane. Ensure the character silhouette still owns a small personal indicator (belt gauge, sleeve LEDs) so readability persists when deployables are offscreen. Production: decal masks and ground‑projector materials for zone cooldowns with color‑blind‑safe patterns.

NPC tiers: Civilians and merchants show minimal, non‑combat power language—steady utility glows (lanterns, badge LEDs) with no aggressive pulses. Quest givers get a low‑frequency aura or banner icon readable in busy scenes. Guards adopt simplified tank/controller languages with narrow palettes. Production: tiered noise budgets and emissive intensity caps to prevent NPCs from competing with player reads.

Color, value, and pattern for system clarity

Limit the number of energy hues per faction to avoid cognitive overload. Assign role‑hue priors (e.g., tanks = edge‑cyan, strikers = edge‑amber, healers = core‑gold, controllers = field‑violet) and let skins shift value and pattern, not hue family. For color‑blind accessibility, pair hue with pattern cadence: tanks use steady perimeters, strikers use traveling dashes, healers use radial ripples, controllers use lattice flickers. Keep value discipline—emissives should lift mid‑values, not blow out whites at LOD0; at LOD2+, compress to icon‑like patches.

Sound and haptic pairing (visual‑first design)

Even though audio and haptics finalize the feel, concept sheets should suggest sonic character so VFX can co‑design. Tanks hum and clang at edges; strikers hiss and crack along lines; healers breathe and chime; controllers ping and thrum in grids. Provide a one‑line audio note per cue and ensure visuals survive without sound for accessibility and noisy play spaces.

Camera modes and survivable reads

FPP: Prioritize hand, weapon, shoulder zones. Reservoirs should peek at frame edges; conduits travel along forearms or weapon barrels. Use width‑preserving blooms that don’t block targets. TPP: Full silhouette cues matter—coat hems, pauldron trims, backpack cores. Isometric/RTS: Convert reads to dorsal graphics and ground projections; keep cadence slower to avoid shimmer. VR: Avoid rapid strobes; use spatialized, low‑frequency pulses and billboarding that keeps indicators facing the player. Production should deliver distance‑read captures and specify which emissive layers cull at each LOD.

Cooldown grammar: absolute, charges, and overheat

Not all cooldowns are clocks. Absolute cooldowns: one action, then lockout—show a visible “seal” closing over the reservoir. Charge systems: 2–3 pips refill independently—draw physical canisters, runes, or feather quills that repopulate one by one. Overheat/overdraw: power grows while held, then vents—design heat sinks, gills, or wing pores that open and steam; the recovery is the vents closing. Production must map these to materials, morph targets, and particle triggers with exact thresholds.

Interaction with equipment and costume

Route conduits through seams, trims, and harnesses. Tanks get light pipes in shield rims; strikers thread ribbon‑wraps that glow along the strike; healers lace emissive embroidery along cuffs; controllers embed lenses on drones. Avoid the classic failure: glowing everywhere. Choose 2–3 owned regions per character and protect them across skins. Production: emissive ID sheet with prioritized regions and mask names (e.g., Reservoir_Core, Conduit_Primary, Conduit_Secondary, Exhaust_Vents).

Animation and VFX handshake

Provide a short timing brief per signature ability: when reservoir starts, when conduit peaks, how long the recovery decays. Include do/don’t notes (e.g., “never occlude the hero crest,” “don’t bloom healer hands beyond face value”). VFX should own trails and ground decals; animation owns posture and leading edges; tech art owns shader states and dynamic masks. Work from one shared reference clip per role to keep rhythm consistent across the roster.

Accessibility: redundancy and restraint

Every cue should have at least two modalities: color + motion pattern, brightness + icon shape, position + text ping (for UI). Avoid fast strobes (>3 Hz) and high‑contrast flickers that can trigger photosensitivity. Offer a low‑stim pack: reduced bloom, slower pulses, stronger shape icons. Document which textures swap in low‑stim mode so skins remain on‑brand.

Testing loops: paper → anim blockout → in‑engine poke

Sketch the reservoir and conduits; annotate cadence arrows. Build a quick anim blockout (anticipation → action → recovery) and test in a graybox arena with VFX placeholders. Evaluate at four distances and two lighting extremes. Iterate hue, value, and pattern until the cue survives camera shake and particle clutter. Production should record presets for “crowded fight,” “dark dungeon,” and “noisy daylight” conditions.

Common failure modes and fixes

Glow soup: emissives everywhere → restrict to owned regions; increase dark surrounds for contrast.

Unreadable cooldown: effect fades too similarly to background → add shape change (closing shutters, rune count).

Role confusion: healer edge streaks like striker → swap to radial gradients and soft ripples.

Camera occlusion: core cue hidden by cape/weapon → move a secondary indicator to hands or headgear.

LOD pop: emissive disappears abruptly → script a dissolve to icon patches rather than full off.

Production handoff in prose

Deliver: (1) an energy logic paragraph (reservoir + conduits + purpose), (2) a location diagram with mask IDs, (3) a cadence/timing brief with frame counts, (4) color/value guidelines and accessibility alternates, (5) emissive/alpha/shader states for anticipation/action/recovery, (6) role‑specific VFX notes and ground decal patterns, (7) camera/LOD survivability captures, and (8) do/don’t micro‑plates for skin designers. The prose explains why each choice exists so downstream teams preserve intent.

Case prompts you can run today

Design one character for each role using a different power archetype: Tank (kinetic edge battery in shield rim), Striker (capacitor blade that ramps and vents), Healer (heart‑line well with palm conduits), Controller (pylon lattice with drone pip charges), Hero (central crest with adaptive cadence), plus an NPC merchant with non‑combat utility glow. Stage one signature ability per character with anticipation → action → recovery plates, then block it in engine to verify the read without HUD.

Closing

Readable power and cooldown language is a contract between character, player, and team. When reservoirs and conduits are placed with intent, cadence is disciplined, and cues survive camera, distance, and effects, players act confidently. Concept and production meet here: you author a visual economy; they make it durable in play. Do both, and your classes will feel fair, synergistic, and unforgettable.