Arkanoid/Breakout game art suggestions and help

Arkanoid/Breakout game art suggestions and help

mroshaw's picture

Hi! To help me learn gamedev/Unity, I've been creating an Arknoid/Breakout clone. It's actually a sort of remake of an old ZX Spectrum game called Batty. 

I have zero artistic talent and so used generative AI for the game sprites, but it really doesn't look great at all. Screenshot and a gameplay video are here: https://daftapplegames.itch.io/retro-racket. 

I would dearly love to replace all the 2D art with something more authentic, consistent and appealing.

I did try to apply some logic to the art style, with the player sprite as a spaceship, facing down an enemy invasion. The alien enemy putting up defenses that the player must destroy. Rather than "you're a bat, you hit a ball, you destroy bricks". I also tried to think "retro with a modern spin", so deliberately avoided pixel/voxel style. I had a few Unity assets to hand, which is where the explosions come from. But yeah, it all looks pretty awful! 

General advice on 2D art and style would be great, and some specific advice I was hoping for is around improving:

  • The player sprite - it doesn't feel like a spaceship, weapons and add ons don't really work. It's very static, lacking dynamism. 
  • The "bricks" - they are so boring, what would bring these to life? 
  • Enemies - soo generic! 
  • The backgrounds - I coded the game to make level design quick and easy, using tiles. But they are dull and flat, lacking colour coordination, dynamism and interest.
  • The branding - the title screen, menus, logo, all look crap! 

Sorry for the ramble, and I hope this comes across as seeking feedback to improve my game and understanding of what makes "good" 2D art. I'm certainly not trying to hawk or show off my game (it's free and, let's face it, pretty awful! ). Thanks for your thoughts and feedback!