244 pixel-art effects, each one just code — and a skill to make more

What it does pixelfx is a library of 244 pixel-art effects — fire, explosions, weather, UI flourishes, critters, whole attack moves — where every effect is a small JavaScript file, not an image. You draw them into a canvas game directly, or export sprite sheets (PNG plus Aseprite-style JSON) for Godot, Unity, GameMaker and friends. Every random number is seeded, so frame 40 is frame 40 every time.

The interesting bit Effects with a character are acted: a 3D-skeleton dummy winds up, freezes on contact, and recovers, with the target taking the hit — the timing is plain data you can read to sync your own animations. The whole approach follows Hugo Duprez’s method of “code is clay, trust your eyes,” and a bundled Claude Code skill teaches the agent to draft, render, look, and refine new effects the same way.

Key highlights

• Two effect types: pure draw(p, t, o) functions that tile seamlessly, and simulated ones stepping particles at 120 Hz so sparks bounce identically at any frame rate.
• Two buffers — opaque color plus additive light — so hot things actually look hot.
• Any effect takes a palette ramp, so fire burns blue without touching the code.
• The skeleton is exposed: skeleton(pose) gives every joint in 3D to hang your own things on.
• MIT licensed, code and effects, commercial use included.

Caveats

• Effects drawn on the body paint the stock dummy, so you’d need to regenerate those if you ship them with your own character.
• The Patch Pixel font in gallery/fonts is not covered by the MIT license.

Verdict Great fit for anyone making a 2D game who wants VFX without an artist on retainer — or wants an agent to make them. If you’re not building something with pixels, move along.