(Was UNIVERSE §18.)
Target presentation: detailed 2.5D environments with small high-resolution pixel-art characters, compatible with dynamic Unity lighting/camera movement.
Characters should remain readable at combat scale. Do not shrink them merely to prove Tower scale; architecture, repetition, clouds, waterfalls, masonry and depth communicate scale.
Environment art can be much richer than sprites. Inventory item art can be much more specific than the equipment shown on a sprite.
Avoid asset proliferation when abstraction works. Production constraints outrank concept-art spectacle.