Nessie!

Colonel Robert Wilson's grainy photograph of Nessie made a big splash. The iconic image of a sea serpent rising out of the water paved the way for the myth of the Loch Ness Monster.

Sketching boats in dockyards was the inspiration for this illustration. Once I'd assemble working cogs as the Google logo, all that was left was to show a cut away and reveal of what REALLY took place under the surface.

The Pony Express

The notion of triumph through adversity is inspirational. So when William H.Russell, Alexander Majors & William B Waddell founded the Pony Express on April 3rd, 1860, they set in motion a wonderful yet daunting method of communication.

What a concept- Riders with letters on horseback racing from California to Missouri and vice versa to deliver mail in 10 days or less! Nearly exactly true to their word, the first mail arrived on April 14th.

The Pony Express felt like a great game concept to us at Google. We've made time based games in the past so our new idea was simple. Collect letters, avoid obstacles and aim for the ultimate 100 letter delivery!

The Pony Express needs YOU. And ultimately, whatever happens in life, what's more important than earning trust and respect from a horse?

Play the game HERE

Roll call:

Engineering wizardry- Mark Ivey, Kris Hom, Brian Murray.

Background wonderfulness- Kevin Laughlin.

Project management- Greg Capuano.

Game ideas- Everyone here!

Art direction & character design/animation- Matt Cruickshank.

Below are all my concepts, ideas and animation from development: