A review contract for an AI-assisted VFX change

An AI workflow for VFX integration needs a definition of success that survives beyond the agent session. A short contract can make that definition inspectable before the implementation starts.

Suppose a game already exposes an objective-completed event. The proposed change adds a brief visual response. It must not change how rewards are awarded.

Write the contract

Use the following as a task template. The durations are design targets for this example, not measured results.

change: objective-completion-feedback
trigger: existing_confirmed_objective_completion_event
scope:
  - one_visual_effect
  - event_binding
  - lifecycle_cleanup
out_of_scope:
  - reward_amounts
  - authentication
  - backend_schema
  - native_plugins
behavior:
  max_visual_duration_ms: 700
  repeated_event: no_duplicate_reward_or_parallel_feedback
  reduced_motion: static_label_and_icon
evidence:
  - exact_revision
  - reproduction_steps
  - normal_and_repeated_event_recording
  - teardown_check
  - actual_test_environment
review:
  visual: assigned_artist
  integration: assigned_engineer
  release: assigned_release_owner

Before starting, replace role labels with the people responsible and the event label with the actual repository symbol. If the event does not exist, stop and agree on the expanded scope.

Keep state and presentation separate

For a project using SpacetimeDB, route the visual from the game’s existing confirmed state. Do not add a second reward operation to an animation callback.

For a PixiJS HUD or a Three.js scene, define where the effect lives and who owns its cleanup. In a project that uses both, decide whether both layers need feedback; two celebrations may compete for attention.

For a Capacitor build, include a real device check before claiming mobile support. Browser playback answers a narrower question.

Exercise the failure paths

The happy path is one completed objective and one visual response. The review should also cover a repeated event, a scene exit during playback, a failed asset load, and reduced-motion mode.

If the asset fails to load, preserve the underlying completion state and text feedback. If the scene closes, remove its event subscription and effect resources. If reduced motion is enabled, communicate the same outcome without requiring the animation.

Record observations for each case. A checklist is a plan until someone runs it.

Make the handoff readable

The delivery should let the reviewer locate the code, reproduce the behavior, and distinguish checked conditions from assumptions. That is the organizational problem discussed in Wagglet’s game studio workflow article.

A finished implementation is only one stage. Visual approval, technical acceptance, and release remain separate decisions, each tied to the same revision.