As KOGs continue to evolve and we transition from 2nd to 3rd Edition, we felt that this was the right time to streamline a few things, visually. This glow-up is meant to polish what's already there and enhance KOGs' appeal, moving forward. So, let's get down to it.

The previous border designs used an Abstract Futuristic motif, which worked well enough for some genres and art styles but wasn't such an excellent match for others. The treatment of the border designs was also flat graphics - except for the Slammers, which then had consistency issues because of their different treatment. A flat graphics treatment for the border designs could be improved by making the KOGs look and feel more tangible. As many of you know, the main inspiration of KOGs is a real-world game with real-world playing discs. It would then be to KOGs' advantage if it was presented as such, even if only as a simulation of reality.



With all of that in mind, 3rd Edition Art Director Chester Ocampo chose an appropriate visual motif for the new KOGs borders - a motif that would be able to accommodate as many different genres and art styles as possible. This motif is known internally as Subtle Gears; the forms and treatment of this motif are inspired by real-world, modern-day gears and cogs. The designs are subtle representations of gears and cogs.

"This abstraction makes the border designs more versatile to host a wider range of content while still in line with the product's core value of Utility. The treatment is 3D-ish, realistic, and tangible, to reinforce the idea that while these KOGs may be items that exist only in the digital world, they are very much real things that have very real uses," adds Chester.

Regarding the border colors, don't fret, dear Koggers. We're working to keep as much of the 1st and 2nd edition border colors as possible - some slight color tweaks here and there, some colors might be replaced, and new ones will be added. To make sure the borders accommodate as wide a variety of genres and art styles as possible, we're planning to have a wider range of border colors as well. 

Here’s a taste of the 3rd Edition borders, in comparison with the 2nd edition borders. Note that artworks inside the borders are from 2nd Edition and are placeholders only. Final appearance may vary from these preview images. 

So that's what we have on the 3rd Edition borders. Pretty cool, huh? What do you think? Did the preview get you excited? Let us know what you think – join the discussions on our Discord server!

And speaking of excitement, are you pumped up about KOGs: SLAM? Then you'd want to be part of the beta test. Get a chance to play the game before everybody else! Sign up now!