Kenney Asset Guide — L15: Menus: Backgrounds & Decorations

1

Main Menu Background Options

Background images for your title screen

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Kenney provides several background images you can use behind your main menu. Pick one that matches the mood of your game.

File	Location	Description
bg.png	Base pack/	Default sky — bright, cheerful
bg_castle.png	Base pack/	Castle sky — darker, dramatic
bg_grasslands.png	Mushroom expansion/Backgrounds/	Green countryside
bg_desert.png	Mushroom expansion/Backgrounds/	Sandy desert
bg_shroom.png	Mushroom expansion/Backgrounds/	Fantasy mushroom world

Two Ways to Use Backgrounds on Menus

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Option A: Camera Background
Select Main Camera in your menu scene → Inspector → change Background colour to a solid colour that matches the sky. This works if your background sprite fills the entire camera view.

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Option B: UI Panel (Recommended)
Create a UI → Panel stretched to fill the entire screen. In the Inspector, set the Source Image to your chosen background sprite. This gives you more control over layering and keeps everything inside the Canvas.

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Import Reminder: Make sure your background sprites are imported with Texture Type: Sprite (2D and UI) in the Inspector, otherwise they won't appear in the Source Image dropdown.

2

Main Menu Decorations

Sprites to make your title screen look polished

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Layer these decorative sprites on top of your background to build a visually engaging main menu.

File	Location	Description
hill_large.png	Base pack/Tiles/	Landscape silhouette
hill_small.png	Base pack/Tiles/	Smaller hill
cloud1.png / cloud2.png / cloud3.png	Base pack/Items/	Floating clouds
star.png	Base pack/Items/	Decorative stars
flagGreen.png	Base pack/Items/	“Start” visual cue
p1_front.png	Base pack/Player/	Character showcase
p2_front.png	Base pack/Player/	Character showcase
p3_front.png	Base pack/Player/	Character showcase
grassMid.png (multiple)	Base pack/Tiles/	Ground strip at bottom

Suggested Main Menu Layout

┌────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ bg.png (background) │ │ │ │ cloud1 MY AWESOME GAME cloud2 │ │ "A platformer adventure" │ │ │ │ [ PLAY ] │ │ [ QUIT ] │ │ │ │ p1_front p2_front p3_front │ │ ══════════════════════════════════════════ │ │ hill_large grassMid tiles hill_small │ └────────────────────────────────────────────┘

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Layering Tip: In the Canvas, objects lower in the Hierarchy are drawn on top. Place your background panel first, then hills, then characters, then buttons. This way the buttons always appear in front.

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Pro Move: Add a simple script to slowly move the clouds left/right using transform.Translate() in Update() for a subtle animated effect on your menu screen.

3

Game Over Screen Assets

Sprites and colours for the defeat screen

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The game over screen should feel different from the main menu — darker, moodier, and clearly communicate that the player has lost.

File	Location	Description
p1_hurt.png	Base pack/Player/	Defeated character (use your chosen player)
bg_castle.png	Base pack/ or Mushroom/Backgrounds/	Dark moody background

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Colour Tip: Use a dark or red background for game over — it communicates “you lost” visually. Set the camera background to dark red (#3a0a0a) for maximum impact.

Suggested Game Over Layout

┌────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ (dark red/castle background) │ │ │ │ GAME OVER │ │ │ │ [hurt player sprite] │ │ │ │ Score: 42 │ │ Best: 128 │ │ │ │ [ PLAY AGAIN ] │ │ [ MAIN MENU ] │ └────────────────────────────────────────────┘

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Scene Loading: Your “Play Again” button will need SceneManager.LoadScene() to reload the game scene. Your “Main Menu” button loads the menu scene. Make sure both scenes are added in Build Settings.

4

Pause Menu

Overlay panel that freezes gameplay

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No Kenney assets are specifically needed for the pause menu — it is a semi-transparent UI Panel overlay that sits on top of gameplay. However, you can add a few decorative touches:

File	Location	Description
star.png	Base pack/Items/	Decorative element on pause screen
hud_p1.png	Base pack/HUD/	Player portrait for pause screen

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How the Pause Panel Works: The pause panel uses a dark semi-transparent Image component with colour RGBA(0, 0, 0, 200) stretched across the entire Canvas. Buttons for Resume and Main Menu sit on top of this overlay.

Building the Pause Menu

In your game scene, create UI → Panel as a child of the Canvas.
Set the Panel’s Image colour to RGBA(0, 0, 0, 200) — this gives a dark, see-through overlay.
Stretch the Panel to fill the entire screen using the Anchor Presets (hold Alt and click the bottom-right stretch option).
Add UI → Text child with “PAUSED” as the text, centred near the top.
Add two UI → Button children: one for Resume, one for Main Menu.
In your pause script, toggle the panel with pausePanel.SetActive(true/false) and set Time.timeScale = 0 to freeze gameplay.

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Don’t Forget: When resuming, set Time.timeScale = 1 to unfreeze gameplay. If you forget this, everything stays frozen even after closing the pause menu!

5

Win Screen Assets (Extension)

Celebrate the player's victory

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The win screen should feel rewarding and celebratory — the opposite mood to the game over screen.

File	Location	Description
flagGreen.png / flagRed.png	Base pack/Items/	Victory flag
star.png	Base pack/Items/	Celebration
gemRed.png	Base pack/Items/	Achievement display

🎉

Win Screen Suggestions: Use a bright background (like bg.png or bg_grasslands.png), add confetti particles using Unity’s Particle System, and display a large “YOU WIN!” text with a gold or green colour.

Extension Ideas

Display the player’s final score and time taken prominently.
Show collected gemRed.png icons next to an achievement count (e.g. “Gems: 12/15”).
Add a star rating system — display 1, 2, or 3 star.png images based on performance.
Include a “Next Level” button if your game has multiple levels.
Use flagGreen.png as a large centrepiece decoration behind the victory text.

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Particle Confetti: Create an empty GameObject, add a Particle System, set the shape to “Box” across the top of the screen, and use small coloured squares as the particle material. Set gravity to pull them downwards for a confetti effect.

MENUS: BACKGROUNDS & DECORATIONS

Two Ways to Use Backgrounds on Menus

Suggested Main Menu Layout

Suggested Game Over Layout

Building the Pause Menu

Extension Ideas