It’s time to show off another game of Contagion, boys and girls. This week I played with a very good friend of mine, Sergiu Mocian. It was loads of fun and, as with the first game of Contagion, a valuable lesson in design, for both the players.
Unlike the previous game of Contagion, which I played with Matt Ward of Echo Enduring Blog, this time I knew my opponent very well. I’ve worked with Sergiu before, we’ve known each other for quite a few years and we live in the same town so we both had a pretty good idea what the other one is capable of in terms of developing on the given theme. The theme behind this second episode of Contagion was that old dilemma: how much is design art? Both I and Sergiu are fond of 3D typography, so that was the basis I put out in the first wave.
Let’s get started with the pics and show you how the game evolved.
01
The first wave, as always, belongs to yours truly. I wanted a solid foundation but without going into too much detail.
And here’s a full res closeup of that first wave, for all you zoom freaks.
02
Sergiu saw a cosmic theme in the first wave, so he countered with a Sun and a few color variations. Subtle, but now I had a proper theme to work with.
03
In space stuff does one of two things: it either moves quietly or it bumps into other stuff. And quietly is boring, so I went all ka-bloo-eeeey on the canvas!
04
Carrying with the destruction theme, Sergiu ninja chopped the hell out of the WEB part of the design. I especially liked the angle suggestion that the cut makes.
05
In the year 876 B.C., a great and powerful race of alien explorers came to Earth. They brought with them knowledge, peace & the Internet, for which they had great passion. They shared their passion with the local populous and so humanity received the gift of the web. We, as web designers, are the keepers and builders of their legacy.
We’re all for a bit of fun, so I lit everything up a bit better and added a small explanation of the story behind the design. Consider it as a legend, a guide towards understanding the lunacy that came over us while playing this game.
I thought it was pretty funny and quirky. Others just took it at face value. Sergiu said it’s the absolute truth and the most accurate depiction of human history. Ever.
06
Sergiu replied by creating a pyramid shape encompassing the scene and centering the focus point. Also, sand dunes.
07
The type above would’ve looked totally out of place without some sort of connection to the design, so I added a couple of UFOs and brought a bit of the grid in my last wave back.
08
In his second to last wave, Sergiu went all nuts. I have no idea what he was smoking at the time and neither does he, but for some reason he added orcas. In the desert. Swimming. I have no words.
09
Playing on the silly text at the top of the design, I went and added a few people and some light beams coming from the UFOs. I also blended and shaded the orcas a bit.
10
In the last wave, Sergiu cleared up the “art form” part for readability and focused the central text more with a bit of background blur. Also, quite a creative touch with the waterfall that also stands as an “I” and explains how orcas can swim in the desert.
Since there is a lot of detail in the design, I took it to link you guys to a larger version of the final design.
Behold and be amazed: The Big Picture
It was great fun playing with Sergiu and I think we both learned a lot from the experience. Quick fact: around wave 5 Sergiu declared: “this game is really catchy; I wasn’t expecting that”. So there you have it folks. Another sick design with some sick designers.
really awesome, it´s the first time i hear about this game, quite a nice outcome.
blesses for those aliens, and prayers for their return with a faster and more exciting internet.
may the force be with you ¿?
man, u was fast with the post !
Thanx for the time buddy, it really is something a 9 to 5 can’t offer…ever.
It was a pleasure bro!
Good stuff! Really satisfying to see how it evolves from the simple beginnings. Love the caption for #8 as well
It is really intriguing to see the major design decisions happening and how things flare compared to the beginning stages. First it’s a surgical battle with the color scheme, somewhere logic is left far behind and then … orcas. This looks like a really fun idea you’ve pioneered.
#EPIC MASTERPIECE …
Lucas to Spielberg “Let’s make a movie out of this…”
Seriously, well executed … great job, fellas!
It’s a proper sick design, indeed. Thanks, Richie! You dah mon! (no, I don’t know why I wrote that with a Jamaican accent in mind; I know you’re not Jamaican)
grandmother man
The design is great. It’s pretty funny but i want to add that the blue box that explains what the words are in the actual picture looks real clean and nice. Especially with the big I for “in the year 876″. I know its just simple typography, but you made it look real, real good.