Anima

A point-and-click adventure game engine and toolchain.

What's Here

• StoryScript - A DSL for writing adventure games. Direct interpreter, no AST. Token-efficient for LLM generation, human-readable for writers.
• Phaser Engine - Classic LucasArts/Sierra-style game engine with hotspots, inventory, dialogue, TTS.
• Sprite Tools - AI-driven asset pipeline: image generation → video generation → sprite sheets.

Quick Start

# Install dependencies
pnpm install

# Playtest the current game (Shadow over Innsmouth)
tsx packages/storyscript/src/interpreter.ts adventures/shadow-over-innsmouth/story/act1.story

Project Structure

anima/
├── packages/
│   ├── engine/           # Phaser game engine
│   ├── storyscript/      # StoryScript interpreter
│   └── sprite-tools/     # Asset creation scripts
├── adventures/
│   ├── _template/        # New game starter
│   └── shadow-over-innsmouth/  # Current game
├── api/                  # Backend (TTS, AI, persistence)
└── docs/                 # Specs and guides

StoryScript

Write adventure games in a clean, readable format:

SCENE bus_station
  location: "Arkham Bus Depot"

  DESCRIPTION
    A small-town bus depot. Diesel and stale coffee.
    The clerk looks like he's been here for thirty years.
  END

  ON_ENTER
    hermes (thinks): "Innsmouth. The town nobody talks about."
  END

  HOTSPOT ticket_window
    name: "Ticket Window"
    LOOK
      "Scratched plexiglass. A faded schedule."
    END
    TALK
      -> ticket_clerk_dialogue
    END
  END
END

DIALOGUE ticket_clerk_dialogue
  clerk: "Help you?"

  CHOICE
    > "One ticket to Innsmouth."
      clerk: "Innsmouth? You sure?"
      GIVE bus_ticket
      -> END
    > "Never mind."
      -> END
  END
END

Full spec: See docs/STORYSCRIPT.md

Current Game: Shadow over Innsmouth

A Lovecraftian horror adventure in 4 acts:

• Act 1: Arrival - Bus station, journey to Innsmouth
• Act 2: Investigation - Town exploration, the old drunk, the library
• Act 3: The Chase - Church confrontation, escape through alleys
• Act 4: The Sea - One year later, the beach, the ending

Story files: adventures/shadow-over-innsmouth/story/

Asset Pipeline

Create game-ready sprites from AI-generated content:

Image Generation → Video Generation → Sprite Sheet
   (Gemini/GPT)      (Hedra/Sora/Veo)    (video2sprite.sh)

Available video models via Hedra:

• hedra-character-3 - Lip-sync talking (requires audio)
• kling-2.5-i2v - Motion/idle (10 cr/s, good for testing)
• sora-2-pro-i2v - Motion/idle (70 cr/s, best quality)

# Generate talking video
python packages/sprite-tools/scripts/hedra-video.py \
  --image character.png --audio dialogue.mp3 --output talking.mp4

# Convert to sprite sheet
./packages/sprite-tools/scripts/video2sprite.sh talking.mp4 character-talk

Tech Stack

Component	Technology
Game Engine	Phaser 3
Story Format	StoryScript
UI	React 19 + Tailwind v4
Backend	Hono
Database	Turso (libsql)
AI/LLM	Vercel AI SDK
Asset Processing	ImageMagick, FFmpeg

Commands

pnpm dev          # Run game + api
pnpm build        # Build all packages
pnpm lint         # Lint check
pnpm typecheck    # Type check

Art Style

Ashley's paintings define the visual identity:

• 1930s Fleischer "Rubber Hose" + Tibetan Thangka fusion
• Clean black ink outlines, consistent weight
• Opaque vibrant fills (acrylic/gouache look)

If AI output looks generic: reject it.

License

MIT