You know why the PlayStation took off in the mid-90s? Because it was cool. And nothing on the PlayStation was cooler than WipeOut.
The futuristic racing series, created by Psygnosis, was fast and fun, but what really made the game stand out was its unique approach to visual design. Rather than going cartoony or realistic, Psygnosis instead enlisted the help of British design firm The Designer’s Republic, who helped give the 1995 game a look and style so iconic and futuristic that even the WipeOut games of today still use it. And still look like they come from the future.
In the gallery above, you’ll find a collection of the Japanese pop culture-infused imagery The Designer’s Republic conjured for the game, its teams and corporations. Sadly, the studio is no more.
Cats
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 11:44 PMIs neat, but where are the images of the actual game?
mchaza
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 12:06 AMI was thinking the same thing, I dont think I ever played wipeout on the PS1
Charles
Thursday, December 29, 2011 at 10:25 PMYOU FOOL! (I am jokin heh) It’s a classic maan! But yeah, the art is cool in the game but I guess the point is that the ol’ PS1 graphics might get in the way of the pure graphic design that was going on – super cool I reckon. I mean, I think it looks a little late 90s, but still quite cool.
Kid
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 12:24 AMOk, so… some funky logos?
To me this still looks like the future of the past. I mean looking at these they just scream 90′s.
oshtree
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 12:51 AMIs this a joke..?
Glenn
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 6:26 AMNo, just a shitty Kotaku US article… Good thing our Aussie guys won an award and not them.
Daniel
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 1:12 AMWipeout 2097 (XL) and Wipeout 3 SE are the best two Wipeout games in my opinion, they should release a Wipeout HD collection for PS3.
DeeDub76
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 7:39 AM+1 THIS. Especially if they dropped those games into the ps3 Wipeout engine. 1080p 60fps bliss.
oggob
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 8:45 AMYep, don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with the original, but both WO2097 and WO3 are all time classics.
Fusion was great for bringing Zone Mode, the rest of the game wasn’t all that great, the PSP Pure/Pulse were more like the PSone games and HD was awesome also, especially for Detonator Mode!
Chazz
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 2:30 AMMost of those look like they’re taken straight from a 70′s sci-fi series like Buck Rogers. Not exactly what I would consider “futuristic”.
Ahtaps
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 5:35 PMIt’s retro-futuristic!
Meteors
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 8:09 AMGod I love wipeout. All those hectic uni days, coming back from clubbing all night and riding out that comedown playing wipeout 2097 for hours on end. Great days.
bazuden
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 8:40 AMCHEMICAL BEATS
McGarnical
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 8:29 AMGeez you guys.
IMHO: Great article, fantastic logos.
Lighten up wouldya? It’s Christmas time, after all.
Effluvium Boy
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 11:41 AMAmen brother.
What a whiney bunch of turds.
Alex Rogan
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 9:11 AMPsygnosis has always had awesome design. Shadow of the beast HD remake please.
Roh
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 9:12 AMAwesome design studio, you probably don’t realise it but a lot of the visual trends of the mid-late 90′s stem from TDR’s work. They nailed it in this case and set a new standard for utilising proper graphic design in games, not only for in game graphics but also menu and packaging design as well.
I think it’s interesting some people say it looks old-school or vintage, everything goes in circles, look at the iphone design, it’s exterior and it’s interior ui, so simple and retro inspired it could have come out of the Jetsons. If anything the design of the ‘future’ while likely be an homage to what we thought the future would look like back in the day, like life imitating art in a way.
Matt
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 9:51 AMAs a graphic designer myself I have always appreciated the look of wipeout.
effektd
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:02 AMJust looks like a bunch of fonts the old God’s Kitchen and associated releases used.
Future? hardly.
Hyperthx
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:40 AMhahaha, your a joke
markd
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 12:50 PMwhat about his a joke?
Meteors
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 1:07 PMIt’s a me, jokio!
Lazlow
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 1:17 PMGodskitchen is a pale imitation.
tDR did a lot of work for Gatecrasher and Warp, their particular style caught on in the EDM scene and it is still copied to this day.
Chazz
Saturday, December 24, 2011 at 1:52 AMmanufactured pop music is still copied to this day…what’s your point?
DeeDub76
Thursday, December 29, 2011 at 6:35 PMWhich were heavily influenced by theses designs, if not done by TDR themselves.
Hyperthx
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:43 AMWipeout 2097 is the reason I bought an PlayStation! Psygnosis and The Designers’ Republic are Legendary.
Lazlow
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 1:21 PMThe old school or vintage feel might stem from Ian Anderson being heavily inspired by Russian Constructivism.
I’m a massive fan of tDR, and it all started with the Wipeout games. They were a big inspiration for me getting into design. I have two of their books, some of my most prized posessions.
It broke my heart when they closed their doors, but thankfully they (probably Ian himself) is still doing the odd job for Warp.