studio

FolioTier 2

@sprite-pop

Scale a sprite up then back to base by slug - emphasis pop or reaction.

Use @sprite-pop to grow a shown sprite briefly and return it to its starting scale. The pop draws attention to a reaction, a realization, or an emphatic line without moving the character to another place.

factor sets the size multiplier at the peak, and duration sets the total time to grow and return. Start near the default factor of 1.1 for a small emphasis, then increase it for a more exaggerated response.

The story waits for the pop by default. Set wait=false when the next event should run during the animation. target names the sprite to animate, so show it before asking for a visible reaction. A second pop started before the first finishes begins from the sprite's current scale; space separate pops by their duration when they should not stack.

Parameters

ParameterKindRequiredDefaultNotes
targetstringyes""Sprite tag to target.
factornumberno1.10.5-2 × multiplier. Default 1.1.
durationnumberno0.30.05-2 seconds. Default 0.3.
waitbooleannotrueBlock for the effect's duration when true; false fires and continues so effects can overlap.

Canonical example

sprite show ada
say "Ada": "Are you serious?!"
@sprite-pop(0.3, target=ada, factor=1.12)

@sprite-pop scales a sprite up to (base × factor) over the first half of duration, then returns it to base scale over the second half. The sprite ends at the scale it started at - the pop is a transient emphasis effect, not a permanent resize.

When to use

Reach for @sprite-pop on reactions - a character's first sight of something surprising, a punchline, the moment a stat unlocks. factor=1.1 is the everyday "nudge"; factor=1.25-1.35 is dramatic. Going beyond 1.5 reads as cartoon - useful occasionally, overdone when stacked.

Mid-flight pre-emption

If a second @sprite-pop fires while one is in flight on the same sprite, the new pop's base captures the current (mid-pop) scale, multiplies by factor, and runs from there. The result reads as a chained or stacked pop. To avoid this, space pops by at least their duration.

Notes

@sprite-pop runs on the Pixi stage.

See also