Bring back The Designers Republic!

[chri5]

Who else would like to see TDR do another Wipeout game? I know I would!
Saying that I think there has been a few changes at TDR with some of their top designers setting up on their own like: - Build (http://www.designbybuild.com/) & Universal Everything (http://www.universaleverything.com/recent_activity/)

[Shem]

i think that new designers should push the design further and not stick to TDR's concepts which have been exploited way too much in design (in general). To me, TDR's designs were the crucial part of wipeout, but i got bored of it, not to say - their pretentious style, and themes which are coming back over and over again, like a bad nightmare.

Not to disrespect TDR, but i guess it's not only me who thinks that TDR's role in Wipeout universe was crucial. WAS. Time to move on. BTW, there's no way - we ordinary people can do something about Future Wipeout team's decision on which designing studio to choose. Probably they have picked designers already, since Future Wipeout is most likely in developement for some time now.

[chri5]

I agree about TDR style been ripped to death but when it comes from them it does seem to have a certain higher quality.

I think the 123KLAN should do more for the game to. :sonar

[Shem]

right on, i think they're the best choice out there (if we had any:) )

[ace-of-spades]

Please please PLEASE bring back the Designer's Republic... They made Wip3out what it is for me.

[Lion]

is there a thread somewhere that specifies EXACTLY what tDR was responsible for in the wipeout games?
like I know they are responsible for the team logos, the typefaces used, and certain (but which?) elements of the styling.
were they responsible for the ship designs in 2097 and w3o? or just the paintjobs?
how much did they have to do with the track decoration?

[Lance]

tDR did typefaces, billboards, ship logos, and, if I recall correctly, the 3-2-1 girl [Curly]. They never did game concepts, nor the ship designs nor the track designs nor the scenery. They were responsible only for the most superficial parts of the 'look'.

And the designers who worked at tDR in the days when they did work under contract for Sony aren't there anymore. So what's the point of having DR back?

This is an old subject that has already been thrashed about thoroughly in other threads. [Let's see if I can get more 't's and 'h's and 'r's and 's's in close proximity in a sentence. ;) ]

[ace-of-spades]

is there a thread somewhere that specifies EXACTLY what tDR was responsible for in the wipeout games?
like I know they are responsible for the team logos, the typefaces used, and certain (but which?) elements of the styling.
were they responsible for the ship designs in 2097 and w3o? or just the paintjobs?
how much did they have to do with the track decoration?
http://www.thedesignersrepublic.com/ - go on work, and go down to Wip3out. The little read arrows either side of the list scroll down, there isnt just one sub-category of wip3out, haha!

[Lion]

the WipEout and 2097 sections used to be in there too, but have been retired. I guess work that was done 10+ years ago is no longer relevant :P

[chri5]

And the designers who worked at tDR in the days when they did work under contract for Sony aren't there anymore.

Which ones were they? :?

[ace-of-spades]

Although the Designer's Republic is a design agency, the overall agency's style hasnt changed that much. I still think they could do a better job than the cackhandedness of Fusion.

[blackwiggle]

Although the Designer's Republic is a design agency, the overall agency's style hasnt changed that much. I still think they could do a better job than the cackhandedness of Fusion.

The Designer's Republic are GOD's and should be respected as such.

If it wasn't for THEIR Design concepts,Well I doubt the Wipeout games as such would ever have the following that it does.....Hence.

This Website might not exist.
:rock

[Rapier Racer]

Excuse Me?? Lol!!!!!!

Edit: ooo looky 1000 posts, there must be cake

[Sausehuhn]

:cake

[ace-of-spades]

The Designer's Republic are GOD's and should be respected as such.

If it wasn't for THEIR Design concepts,Well I doubt the Wipeout games as such would ever have the following that it does.....Hence.

This Website might not exist.
:rock
Read the posts i was replying to duh duh, or in fact the first post i made in this thread. I like the designers republic.

[lunar]

I think the series has done its Designer`s Republic phase. It was fantastic at the time and contributed strongly towards the series` identity, but we`ve been there, done that, and there`s no need to go back. While some of their efforts, like the animated logos in Wip3out, are genius, I also find their style quite sterile in places and overall I preferred the warmer and more humorous style in Pure, which, while it borrowed from DR in places, also demonstrated that Studio Liverpool has the in-house talent to do a great job. I think they should save their money and spend it elsewhere, like on licensing more great music or making sure we get an HD Next-gen Ubermall. Hell, if they give me that I`ll be quite happy if SL get their kids to do the design work (almost). ;)

I always think of the Fat Cat as the icon of Wipeout. Did DR invent that? Maybe, but I`m not sure they did because he/she appears in Pure. :)

[Omni Requiem]

I'd like to see the logos done differently, no offence to TDR, but realistically the styling of a worlds lodos and suchforth wouldn't just stay that way for how long the WO story spans.

But yeah, imagine an Icaras logo done in 123 Klan's style or someone similar. I think we could be pleasantly suprised.

[ace-of-spades]

I always think of the Fat Cat as the icon of Wipeout. Did DR invent that? Maybe, but I`m not sure they did because he/she appears in Pure. :)
Angryman is their thing, its on their website.

[Lance]

I think the Fat Cat is the old Psygnosis symbol. Maybe from even before Wipeout existed.

[Sausehuhn]

Actually it's not the same cat I think. Maybe because of TDR's license. Go on the official website to get more info, nowhere the name "Fat Cat" is mentioned. But I believe it's an allusion to the Fat Cat though.

[q_dmc12]

I think the Fat Cat is the old Psygnosis symbol. Maybe from even before Wipeout existed.
It looks like an owl to me - barn owl perhaps.... that's just me.

[chri5]

image has gone!

[Roland]

Well the 90ies tDR style shouldn't be used again, but that doesn't mean that they couldn't use minimalistic design.

Build & Universal Everything have refined their style over the years and it's not anything like the 90ies tDR stuff.

I said it before if there is one who should work on Wipeout 4 it should be Build, stylistically it would fit 100% and he worked on the other Wipeouts (especially 3) when he still was at the tDR.

I once asked him via email if he would work again on a Wipeout title and he said yes. So what are you waiting for Sony?

[ace-of-spades]

Do they have a website?

I found this, if any of it is them;

http://www.maxalot.com/art/art_all_pre.shtml

[infoxicated]

Michael Place's website is at http://www.designbybuild.co.uk - not that there's much of substance on it - it's more of an online business card than anything else.

[ace-of-spades]

Thats lazy design artists for you...

Anyone who likes this kind of design should check out this book - "Japanese Graphics Now!" published by Taschen, there is lots of nice stuff in there and for its size, £6 or so is a really, really, insanely good price.

[DJ Techno]

How come know body thinks of the idea of Designers Republic and Studio Liverpool joining together for another for another futurist game.

since the story line of Wipeout is hitting the 23rd Century...year 3000 of Futurama *Bender Frye somewhere in the picture*

the originators and the new blood of gaming and the future.

[Lion]

the last entry being in 2197, there's a pretty big gap to 3000
one thing that helped with the believability of the earlier wipeout games was that they weren't really all that far off in the future. going almost a thousand years would completely disconnect the games from our reality

[Shem]

exactly, they could as well make Nano-Wipeout, where you'd race in veins of a human body or bowels and whatnot.

isn't that what happened to megarace series?

[rdmx]

http://www.reliefracer.com/gameplay.php

Is this what you want when you say racing through the bowels?

Where's my cheque...

[andy]

I liked the style of wip3out but it lacked inspiration and colour. I liked the arrows and stuff but it wasn't a masterpiece.
I'm not saying they are bad but whoever does it next should put a lot more effort into the designs.
I liked the idea of changing the look with different skins in Pure.

[ace-of-spades]

Although i think its a masterpiece the way it is, i think the Wip3out style could have worked as an explosion of primary colours too.

[Lance]

Please stay on topic; posts 28, 29, and 30 really ought to be in Wipeout Future-Wipeout Ideas. [Wipeout: Fantastic Voyage? :)]

[Relequestual]

bring bk TDR!!! i love them ppl! i just got pure, and i was disapointed. it just didnt have the same amazing type of styles as w3 (missed fusion, no psp2). i did buy the psp for wipeout pure! lol but its kewl!

[andy]

no such thing as a psp2.....yet.

[username]

I really liked the effect they had on wip3out and 2097, and i especially liked the curly 321 girl, good effect. But unfortunately that was in the good old 90s, now in 2000s, they just seem to have an obsession with coke bottles.

Im attaching a curly go pic i made myself in flash, and exported as gif, feel free to copy it ;), (i am 99% sure i am allowed to do this as i have drawn it compleately from scratch, no copying from the actual game, or other sources)

[qirex-rd]

When I first was stranded in the 2097 options and heard
that crushin sound when highlighting something
and then getting smashed together again - that
was fantastic. Bring back 2097 design, options,
type writing, loading screen and drink Red Bull.
(And make a Challenge III).

and pay Nick B. a million.

[infoxicated]

I'm sure Nick would love being paid a million, but I'm not sure he'd be as big a fan of re-doing something he worked on ten years ago.

2097 was great looking in its day, but times change - I'd rather see Wipeout evolve and lead the way in design and style than go over old ground.

[Dogg Thang]

Totally agreed. Things need to move on. And, while I think the design in Fusion was a mis-step (though should be commended for trying something different), Pure very much proved to me that you can have excellent design without DR.

Am I right in thinking that Pure's design was all in-house?

[Sausehuhn]

Yes, all in-house.

And I really don't want to see 2097's menus back. Maybe they looked good and cool and all that when the game was released, but imo they look more comic and less realistic and believable.
Since the game started the game is getting more and more believable (story wise) and reached its height with Fusion (yes, Fusion, not Pure. They should have given us a few more infos and more background - maybe the website does, but not the game itself). This should continue - especially with PS3's WipEout.
So don't turn around and go a step back when we're already on the right direction.

And yes I would like to see Fusion's website (god, so good!!) as the new menu style.

[Zerow]

I believe exactly the same thing. SL proved with Pure (and Fusion, IMO) that great logo design without the help of TDR is possible. The series has become more and more believable with each new installment, and should therefore continue to move forward. Taking a backward step in terms of team logo, menu font/set-up etc completely contradicts the series' ideology of delivering the future and make it less believable that this really IS the future.

[Lance]

I like substance first, style second.

[qirex-rd]

Fusion is kitsch (the figures, the ships - I hate it).
The only good thing is the booklet design. Thats it.
Bring 2097 back. And pay the million.

[infoxicated]

At times like this I wish we had a rolling eyes smiley.

[Lance]

I just use :turbo-eyeroll:.

[superjar]

Although I absolutely love TDR, I wouldn't like new wipeout games designed by them if it involves going back to 2097/XL/W3O style.
(well. maybe I'd like it a little ;))

I think wipeout needs cutting-edge design (as it had with TDR was back in the 90s) but not necessarily made by them.

I didn't play Pure yet, but i've seen shots of the tracks that 123Klan and John Burgerman designed for Pure and I think they were great (maybe not for a full game, but really interesting as an addon).

So I think that's the way to go. Wipeout is all about the future. IMO that's one of the things that make wipeout series great: always one step ahead.

[Chill]

That's true!!! And it doesn't feel too far off with too much fantasy like Halo or Star Wars, thus not too far ahead, so it still feels believable. And we feel as if we are about to become something important in the future when we play it, but alas, this is in our head, but that doesn't stop the great rush from coming!!! Plus... it's my favorite game in the world :D

[RJ O'Connell]

Fusion is kitsch (the figures, the ships - I hate it).
The only good thing is the booklet design. Thats it.
Bring 2097 back. And pay the million.
Most of the design was done by Good Technology, infamous for being the namesake of a rather pointless team that I don't think anybody really enjoyed flying for...

As for my take on the whole thing, why not quote the administrator since we are on the same page here (and I'm sure most of us here are as well):

2097 was great looking in its day, but times change - I'd rather see Wipeout evolve and lead the way in design and style than go over old ground.

[infoxicated]

In that particular example you're shooting the messenger - it was Rob Francis, the lead designer, who had AG Systems replaced.

[Task]

Yes, and I'll bet he was also responsible for "team superweapons" (you can tell he did WO64!) and the normal weapon set and perhaps even multiple ways of racing the same track (and therefore, the energy barriers). All the stuff that sounds really cool, but isn't.

[Medusa]

In that particular example you're shooting the messenger - it was Rob Francis, the lead designer, who had AG Systems replaced.

Uh-oh, you gave a name to hate...8) One verrry very bad decision on his part...

(Don't worry, I'm joking...I do not really hate Rob Francis!)

[RJ O'Connell]

One more reason why hockey players shouldn't be in charge of designing video games.

(obscure?)

[Lance]

I wouldn't jump on Rob Francis too hard until I knew all the details. I always had the sense that he was being pressured from higher up to radically alter the game to make it have broader appeal.

[Chill]

Really?? If that was the case, I would feel bad for him. Hopefully that kinda thing doesn't happen with Wipeout ever again...

Their's my 1000th post... :D