Too much attention goes to the second word in “Layer Tennis”. It’s gotten to the point where the league commissioner has issued an edict banning players from the use of tennis-related imagery in their volleys this season. (Those of us who don the mustard yellow blazer and sit in the vaunted Commentators Booth are no less guilty of the occasional strained tennis metaphor, though I personally see the game as more analogous to chess).
No, the more important word, the one that captures the essence of the game, is the first one. Layer. At the heart of any good game or sport is a simple premise. Put the ball in the hoop. Capture the opposing player's king. Cross the finish line first. And in our case: Add an interesting new layer.
There are the literal layers — the multi-layered graphic documents the players exchange with each volley. But there are also layered meanings. This then, is the question each player must answer with every volley other than the serve: How can you best add something new to what has come before? Some of the best plays are those which add the least graphically but the most semantically — and some of the worst are those which are visually impressive but bear no connection to the previous volleys.
This week's match is a doozy. On one side, Jeffrey Kalmikoff, a graphic designer's graphic designer, with a keen sense of branding. On the other, Brendan Dawes, "interactive" designer, which is just a fancy way of saying that he's just as likely to create a volley by writing code as he is by drawing. (Kalmikoff's potential secret weapon: the horde of crowdsourced designers behind Threadless.)
Play by play commentary for this match is provided, as it happens, by John Gruber.
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Hello, friends, please note we've compiled the 2010 preseason into one easy-to-watch video along the lines of our Season Two video. When will Season Three start? What surprises await? Season Ticket Holders will find out first, and tickets don't cost a dime!
Oliver Reichenstein of Information Architects in Tokyo submits the final volley (Oops I just accidentally typed "vinyl folly!") Our humble document has clocked over 21,000 miles today, and almost that many layers. Thanks for joining us for this and all our preseason matches. Sign up for free Season Tickets to be the first to find out about our regular season!
Here's a list of the players for today's Around the World in Ten Layers match. There is no coin-flip for today but that doesn't mean The Ref isn't busy.
Don't forget to sign up for Free Layer Tennis Season Tickets to get the scoop on the regular season, which starts later this year. Plus who knows? Maybe you'll get a chance to show your stuff in a Qualifying Match.
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