Buff Expiring: A buff running out: the buff ring and aura on a character blink faster and faster as a warning, then the ring shatters into shards that tumble to the floor.

Buff Expiring

A buff running out: the buff ring and aura on a character blink faster and faster as a warning, then the ring shatters into shards that tumble to the floor. Plays once per loop.

Buff Expiring is an HD effect that loops seamlessly every 2.4 seconds, drawn on a 320 by 320 canvas. It is built from 7 particle emitters. Most layers blend additively, so it glows on dark backgrounds.

Colour

Recolours the preview and the free downloads.

Free download with a transparent background, cropped to the effect, 72 frames at 30 fps. Use it in commercial games, no credit needed.

Licence: use it in any project, including paid commercial games such as a game sold on Steam. There is no per-project licence to buy and no credit needed. Terms.

Roblox: the download is a flipbook for a ParticleEmitter. Set FlipbookLayout to Grid8x8, FlipbookMode to OneShot and Lifetime to 2.4, then emit one particle per cycle. Roblox setup.

REMIX WITH AI

Try:

Left empty, it just opens in the agent, free. Each change is one AI build, and you start with free builds.

Engine data for Unity, Godot, GameMaker and Aseprite comes with a plan: open it in the studio.

OPEN IN THE STUDIO

Change the colours, timing or size, or export for Unity, Godot 4, GameMaker, Phaser, PixiJS and Aseprite.

Try variations: new colours, motion and shapes of this effect, free in the studio.

FRAME BY FRAME

8 evenly spaced moments across the 2.4 s loop.

Buff Expiring at 8 moments, from 0 s to 2.1 s

HOW IT'S MADE

Buff Expiring stacks 7 particle emitters, each with its own job. Techniques worth a look: collisions, keyframed parameters and post filters (bloom and vignette).

It loops seamlessly every 2.4 s, and 3 of its layers fire in bursts, so it pulses instead of flowing evenly. To change its colour, select "Ring Glow" in the studio and edit Colour A and Colour B. Size on the same layer sets how big its particles are. The colour swatches by the downloads recolour every layer at once.

Layers, in draw order

  1. Buff Auraparticles / additiveA stream of flames around a box outline, its rate keyframed over the loop. Colours range between gold and pale gold.
  2. Floor Glow, Ring Glowparticles / additiveA single long-lived particle that stays for the whole loop.
  3. Buff Ringparticles / additiveOne burst of 30 shards at 1.75 s. They are flung outward, fall under gravity and bounce when they hit something. Colour: gold.
  4. Blink Sparksparticles / additiveA stream of image sprites from a ring, its rate keyframed over the loop. They swell and then shrink away. Colours range between white and pale gold.
  5. Break Flashparticles / additiveA single particle at 1.75 s. It grows as it ages. Colour: pale gold.
  6. Guttering Motesparticles / additiveOne burst of 26 soft glows across a box at 1.75 s. They fall under gravity. Colour runs from white to gold over each life.

DETAILS

Length
2.4 seconds, seamless loop
Canvas
320 x 320, HD
Layers
7 emitters
Blend
Mostly additive (glows)
Colours
pale goldorangegoldwhite
Sprites
ParticleFX Realism by ParticleFX Studio (CC0), Kenney Particle Pack by Kenney (CC0)
Tags
buff expiring, buff ending, timer, warning, blink, shatter, status

USING IT IN YOUR GAME

Phaser, PixiJS
The PNG sheet is a plain grid of frames that both can slice. A TexturePacker JSON atlas comes with a plan, from the studio.
Unity
Import the PNG sheet as a Sprite with Mode set to Multiple and slice it, or open the effect in the studio for a ready-made grid.
Godot 4, GameMaker, Aseprite
Open it in the studio and pick your engine in Export: with a plan, it writes the files that engine imports.
Web and chat
The GIF plays anywhere; the APNG keeps soft edges on any background.
Blend mode
This effect is made of light. For the same glow in your game, draw the sprite with additive blending, or export it on black from the studio for additive shaders.

Step by step: Unity, Godot 4, Roblox, GameMaker, Phaser and PixiJS, Aseprite, Web games (live runtime). Drawn with additive blending: see glow effects without a black box.

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