Steam Store Palette Lock Worksheet - Three Swatches Before October Next Fest (2026)

Your capsule is teal. Screenshot one is rust orange. The HUD accent in shot three is lime. Players read that as three different products—not one fest demo.

May 2026 is when micro-studios still have afternoons to fix store art before October 2026 Next Fest capture week. This Art & Design worksheet locks three dominant swatches first, then routes every public still through them—complementing composition safe zones, pixel UI contrast, and fest-first visual discipline.

What you will have after ninety minutes

• palette-lock-2026.md with three hex swatches + usage rules
• Capsule overlay proof (dominant colors sampled inside 8% tolerance)
• One gallery PNG passing swatch gate before you shoot the rest
• Evidence folder path for partners and Block 4

Who this is for

• Solo artists who also own the Steam page
• Teams that already ran the truth audit but screenshots still feel “off”
• Studios using trim sheets upstream of marketing captures

Time: ~90 minutes first lock; 15 minutes per new screenshot batch thereafter.

Why this matters now (May 2026)

1. Discovery treats visuals as one fingerprint — Capsule + first screenshot + trailer frame are scored as coherence, not separate art contests.
2. Fest screenshot arms race — More indies ship five polished stills; palette drift is the fastest way to look unshipped.
3. Post-rationalized mood boards — Pinterest-brain galleries fail when swatches were never locked to the demo branch.

If you only do one art pass this month and composition is already decent, lock palette before another capture session.

Direct answer (TL;DR)

Export proofs to release-evidence/marketing-and-demo/palette-lock-2026-<date>/.

The three-swatch worksheet (copy into repo)

# Palette lock — 2026-05-16

## Build
- Demo branch: playtest-nextfest-2026-10
- Build hash: ______

## Swatches (from in-demo capture, not Pinterest)
| ID | Hex | Source frame | Use |
|----|-----|--------------|-----|
| A | #_______ | capsule-ref.png sample | Hero read |
| B | #_______ | gameplay-neutral.png | Ground/UI base |
| C | #_______ | accent-only.png | Pings, rarity, CTA |

## Tolerance
- ΔE2000 < 8 vs reference for A on capsule
- B must appear in ≥3 of 5 gallery shots
- C max 12% pixel area per screenshot

## Out of stack
- mood-board-fog.psd (press kit only)

Store beside screenshot composition evidence.

Ninety-minute palette lock sprint

Minutes 0–15 — Sample from demo, not references

1. Launch fest demo build on target branch.
2. Pause on representative outdoor/interior frame.
3. Export gameplay-neutral.png (no UI hidden cheats).
4. Eyedrop three clusters—not averages of entire frame.

If you lack an in-demo frame, stop and fix branch parity before color work.

Minutes 15–35 — Name swatches and ban list

Write one sentence per swatch: “A is cold dawn sky; B is desaturated slate ground; C is molten interact orange.”

Ban list (write explicitly):

• Neon not present in demo
• Second accent competing with C
• Grayscale capsule when gameplay is saturated

Minutes 35–55 — Capsule pass

1. Open capsule PSD/Krita file.
2. Map largest shapes to A and B only.
3. Reserve C for single focal glyph or character eye catch.
4. Export capsule-vNext.png + capsule-swatch-proof.png (side-by-side bars).

Pair with capsule iteration calendar if you A/B test—variants must share the same three hex rows.

Minutes 55–75 — One gallery screenshot gate

Capture only screenshot slot 1 after palette pass. Run checklist:

• [ ] A visible in sky/light
• [ ] B carries midtones
• [ ] C appears once, readable at 360px width
• [ ] No fourth dominant hue introduced

Fail → adjust lighting in-engine, not in Photoshop overlay.

Minutes 75–90 — Evidence + operating review line

- Palette lock: A #2A4B3C B #4A4E54 C #E87A2B build 518 — gallery 1/5 approved

Drop folder zip path into release-evidence taxonomy.

Sampling discipline (how not to cheat the worksheet)

Eyedrop tools lie when you average entire frames. Use this sampling order:

1. Hero cluster — largest contiguous region that answers “what genre is this?”
2. Gameplay neutral — ground plane, wall fill, or UI panel background
3. Accent ping — smallest readable highlight that still sells interaction

Export three 128×128 reference chips beside the worksheet. Future you will thank present you when Discord asks “why did orange disappear?”

Lighting traps that break locks

Document LUT / volume profile version next to build hash.

Capsule-to-gallery beat map (palette edition)

If slot 4 introduces purple fog not in rows A–C, it is out of stack for fest.

Working with contractors and illustrators

Send contractors:

• Worksheet markdown (hex + ban list)
• In-demo PNG references (not Pinterest)
• ΔE tolerance note (8 is strict; 12 is emergency max)

Reject deliveries that introduce a fourth dominant hue unless labeled CONCEPT — NOT IN DEMO.

Accessibility and readability overlay

Palette lock is not an excuse for low contrast. After swatches pass, run pixel UI contrast on screenshot 1 at phone width. If contrast fails, adjust value within B family—do not add a new hue.

Engine export checklist (copy/paste)

Godot

palette-lock-export:
  - res://ui/theme/store_capture_theme.tres
  - environment resource path
  - disable_auto_exposure: true
  - build_hash: ______

Unity

palette-lock-export:
  - URP Volume Profile name
  - UI Style Sheet / color preset
  - post_processing_locked: true
  - build_hash: ______

Attach to release-evidence/marketing-and-demo/palette-lock-2026-<date>/engine-notes.txt.

Operating review integration

Add to Friday Block 4:

- Store palette: A/B/C locked build ___, gallery __/5 in tolerance, capsule v__

Four Friday adoption teams report this line reduces “which art is live?” debates.

Fest freeze calendar (palette slice)

Align with Next Fest prep calendars if you use them.

Co-op, horror, and cozy genre addenda

Co-op: Two player highlights must share B; avoid separate accent colors per player in one shot.
Horror: Do not let blood red become accidental C unless interactable.
Cozy: Resist pastel capsule if demo is muted gameplay—honesty beats dissonance.

Evidence package layout

release-evidence/marketing-and-demo/palette-lock-2026-05-16/
  palette-lock-2026.md
  chips-A-B-C.png
  capsule-swatch-proof.png
  gallery-01-pass.png
  engine-notes.txt
  README.md   # bullets for partners

README template:

# Palette lock evidence

- Build: 518 branch playtest-nextfest-2026-10
- Swatches: A #___ B #___ C #___
- Gallery approved: 1/5 (date)
- Contact: [email protected]

When marketing wants “more vibrant”

Vibrancy without discipline is how teal capsules meet orange deserts. Allowed responses:

1. Raise C saturation within same hue angle
2. Adjust A value, not hue family
3. Schedule vibrancy for post-fest roadmap art labeled honestly

Point stakeholders to Opinion on fest-first stacks when mood boards reappear.

Swatch gate vs composition gate (do not merge)

Run palette before composition when starting from scratch; run palette after truth audit when copy is already honest.

Godot 4.x notes

• Export theme/default_theme.tres accent colors to worksheet hex.
• Disable auto exposure surprises before capture; lock Environment tonemap.
• For UI, set font_color and font_hover_color to B/C pair only.

See color script primer for in-game pipeline upstream.

Unity 6.x / URP notes

• Snapshot Volume Profile color adjustments into worksheet comments.
• Lock UI canvas palette ScriptableObject; forbid per-prefab one-offs.
• Verify Deck capture after tonemap—handheld shifts blues.

Stylized 3D and pixel art variants

Stylized 3D: Pull A/B from albedo trim sheet; C from emissive mask only.
Pixel art: Limit palette file to 32 colors max; map 3 marketing swatches to chip indices.
Hand-painted: Sample from flattened gameplay frame, not PSD layers with hidden glow.

Trailer and short description alignment

• Trailer frame 0:00 and 0:15 must sample A within tolerance.
• Short description: do not name colors you cannot see in demo.
• If using animated capsule, freeze on frame with A dominant for store upload.

Partner and diligence angle

Publishers opening diligence zips in Q3 2026 should see palette lock beside demo hash. One README bullet:

palette-lock-2026.md — three hex swatches tied to build 518.

Matches diligence packet expectations without inventing metrics.

Common failures (and fixes)

Mood board drove hex choices
Re-sample from demo; label old board press-only.

Too many accents
Demote extras to B family; keep one C.

Capsule illustrator ignored worksheet
Brief with hex rows + in-demo capture—no freehand palette.

Gallery shot 5 is “epilogue” mood
Label ROADMAP — NOT IN DEMO or remove from fest stack.

When palette lock is not enough

If swatches align but wishlists stall, run wishlist plateau diagnostics—positioning may be the bottleneck, not hue.

Measurement without invented metrics

You do not need a viral case study. Track discipline signals:

• Fewer “wrong game?” comments on fest Discord
• Faster partner art approval (subjective but real)
• Less time re-capturing because hue drifted
• Visit-to-wishlist volatility down week-over-week after lock

If none improve after four weeks with honest demo, revisit positioning—not swatch count.

Case patterns (synthesized, no invented studio metrics)

These are pattern sketches common in micro-studio DMs—not named companies or fabricated wishlist percentages.

Pattern A — Capsule illustrator drift
Capsule finished before vertical slice palette settled. Fix: freeze illustrator brief after worksheet; re-export capsule only.
Pattern B — Screenshot tourism
Marketing captured five biomes before fest scope cut. Fix: delete slots; reorder beats; update truth audit.
Pattern C — Trailer LUT surprise
Colorist pass on trailer only. Fix: share LUT name with game capture profile or remove grade.
Pattern D — UI skin sale colors
Limited-time orange UI for event not in demo. Fix: label or remove from fest stack.

Document which pattern you hit in worksheet footer—helps future you.

ΔE tolerance without a color scientist

You do not need a spectrophotometer. Practical workflow:

1. Pick reference chip PNG.
2. Sample candidate capture region.
3. If hues look “related” at squint and hex first two digits stable, ship.
4. If players say “different game,” you failed—tighten tolerance.

When in doubt, side-by-side capsule and screenshot 1 at 50% zoom in GIMP.

Batch capture day script (team of two)

Artist: owns worksheet, chips, capsule proof.
Engineer: locks volumes, disables auto exposure, records build hash.

Schedule:

• 09:00 — branch verify + worksheet sign-off
• 09:30 — in-engine neutral frame export
• 10:00 — capsule pass
• 11:00 — gallery 1 gate
• 13:00 — gallery 2–3 if gate passed
• 15:00 — evidence README + Block 4 line

No batch day without signed worksheet—otherwise you will re-shoot.

Localization and cultural color reads

Global stores still read hue before copy. Avoid:

• Red/green pairings that mean different things per region for non-interactive backgrounds
• Sacred palette combos on capsule that do not match gameplay tone

This is not legal advice—sanity check with a second pair of eyes outside your core locale.

AI-assisted art guardrails

If generative tools propose palettes:

• Do not accept hex rows unless sampled from in-demo frames you control
• Log model + prompt version in evidence folder per AI disclosure
• Re-run swatch gate after any AI upscale

Post-lock change control

After worksheet sign-off, changes require:

Log in palette-lock-changelog.md with date + build hash.

Playtest feedback loop

Ask playtesters one question: “Does the store page look like the demo you played?”
Binary answers only. If “no,” ask where (capsule, shot 1, trailer). Map answer to A/B/C row.

Use playtest branch installs so testers see the same build you sampled.

Tooling shortcuts (legal)

• GIMP / Krita color picker → hex rows
• Coolors export → compare ΔE manually
• 14 free capture tools for overlay guides
• Steam library mock HTML grid for 360px squint

No tool replaces in-demo sampling.

Extended FAQ

Do we need a full color script first?

Helpful but not mandatory; three swatches are the marketing minimum.

Can swatches change after fest?

Yes—with versioned worksheet rows and Block 5b maintenance.

How does this relate to regional pricing art?

Regional pricing changes money, not palette—keep swatches global.

What about AI upscaled screenshots?

Upscale after swatch gate; re-verify hex sample post-upscale.

Deck Verified screenshots?

Same three swatches; re-capture at 1280×800 with composition gate 3.

We only have grayscale demo?

Lock value swatches (light/mid/dark) and forbid chroma in marketing until color ships—label honestly on store.

Can we use brand guidelines from publisher?

Merge publisher brand into C only if it exists in demo UI; otherwise press kit.

Palette lock for itch + Steam dual SKU?

Same worksheet; note SKU-specific captures in evidence README per itch SKU opinion.

Seven-day palette reinforcement (optional)

Pairs with 7-day truth audit if copy still drifts.

Glossary

Before/after audit table (self-score)

Score honestly; the worksheet is not decoration.

Handoff to programming and QA

Programming owns build hash truth. QA owns capture settings checklist. Art owns hex rows. When those three disagree, players see lies.

Add palette row to crash repro folders optional field: visual_profile: palette-lock-2026-05-16 so crashes caught during capture week stay attributable.

Final discipline statement

Palette lock is boring on purpose. Boring store pages look like one shippable game. Fest traffic is not the week to discover your capsule was a different genre than your demo—lock three swatches, capture once, and spend October on players instead of hue arguments.

Quick reference card (print or pin)

PALETTE LOCK — FEST 2026
A = hero (capsule + shot 1 light)
B = gameplay neutral (ground/UI)
C = single accent (one ping per shot)
Sample from DEMO build only
ΔE discipline: squint test + side-by-side
Evidence: release-evidence/marketing-and-demo/palette-lock-*/
Block 4: palette locked build ___ gallery _/5

Pin above the capture monitor. When someone suggests “just try neon for CTR,” point at C row and ask whether neon exists in the fest branch—if not, the suggestion waits for a labeled roadmap image, not this week’s gallery.

Deep dive — why three swatches, not twelve

Twelve-color mood boards feel thorough; Steam visitors are not color scientists. Three swatches force hierarchy:

• A answers genre and temperature at a glance.
• B carries information density without shouting.
• C sells interaction when used sparingly.

Additional hues belong in in-game palettes and private references—not in the five-image fest stack. If your game truly needs more marketing colors, you are either showing too many modes in gallery order or hiding scope—return to truth audit before adding swatch D.

Seasonal and biome temptation

Roguelites love biome palettes. Fest discipline says: one biome in public stack unless multiple biomes are playable in demo. Secondary biomes get press/roadmap/ labels, not screenshot slot two—slot two should deepen B in the same biome players download.

Screenshot compression and store CDN

Steam recompresses uploads. After export:

1. Open delivered PNG from a cold browser session.
2. Re-sample A/B/C chips.
3. If compression shifted hue >12 ΔE, lighten export master—not marketing hue.

Pair with capture tools that preserve PNG discipline.

One-line studio policy (optional)

No public Steam image ships without a signed three-swatch worksheet row tied to the demo build hash.

Paste into your CONTRIBUTING.md or Notion ops hub. It sounds strict because October fest weeks are when strict ops beat heroic re-capture nights.

Related reading

• Capture tools listicle
• Crash-log challenge — stable demo before sampling
• Playtest branch
• Pinterest board opinion

Key takeaways

• Lock three swatches from the fest demo—not from mood boards.
• Capsule and screenshot 1 must share A within tolerance.
• One accent C per shot; ban rogue dominant hues.
• Palette lock runs before batch capture and composition gates.
• Export worksheet + proof PNGs to release-evidence/.
• Trailer and short description inherit the same hex discipline.
• Ninety minutes now beats October panic re-capture.

Close: October 2026 Next Fest traffic will not forgive three games in one store page. Lock three swatches this week, capture next week, and let composition gates handle layout—not emergency hue surgery in Photoshop.