Studio Merkas and KOSMOS in the World of CATAN

A Joint Project with Great Impact

At Studio Merkas, we are always striving to combine creative and technical excellence to offer our clients tailored solutions. We are therefore delighted to present an exciting collaboration with the well-known game company KOSMOS, which gave us the opportunity to demonstrate our expertise in animation and video production.

New CATAN tutorials in the tutorial app

Our New KOSMOS Challenge

The KOSMOS team is famously talented at creating exciting analogue games, but what even more people should know is that KOSMOS also has a wide range of educational and entertaining quiz and assistant apps. But one app never fails to blow us away: the KOSMOS Tutorial App!

With great attention to detail, it provides a broad range of tutorials for KOSMOS games — both visually and audibly — leaving no room for questions or wishes. The tutorials guide players through the gameplay with ease, without ever having to open a rulebook. The fact that tutorials for all KOSMOS games are so compact and clearly accessible with a single tap on mobile devices is something we truly appreciate!

For one particular great game, the team behind the Tutorial App needed support from Studio Merkas. For: "CATAN – The Game". The most successful board game of all time over 30 years, with an impressive range of expansions, is now part of our mission! With such a game in our hands, we could hardly contain our enthusiasm and motivation.

An Enduring Collaboration

After an excellent collaboration on two animation projects since 2023, it was only a matter of time before the teams at KOSMOS and Studio Merkas would dive into another exciting project together. But when we heard — after only a short time — which tutorial our follow-up project would be, everyone at Studio Merkas was in cheerful uproar at the prospect of what lay ahead.

As always, it was a great pleasure to see familiar faces from KOSMOS in our regular meetings. With each project, the KOSMOS team has grown even closer to our hearts. Like clockwork, we got straight to work and immersed ourselves in the subject matter. We communicated and collaborated at a high level, and faster than ever before we were able to make progress on the project. That is what defines this truly excellent synergy!

CATAN Tutorial – Previous version in the Tutorial App

The Creative Process: From Concept to Execution

The creative process began with intensive coordination between our team and the experts at KOSMOS. From the client, we received the 3D scenes and assets needed to develop tutorial sequences that are both pedagogically valuable and visually appealing.

We then designed the individual scenes and brought them to life using state-of-the-art animation software. A variety of techniques were employed to make the content engaging and easy to understand:

• Motion Graphics: For dynamic transitions and explanatory graphics.
• Icon Animations: For clear visualisation of complex functions.
• Color Design and Styling: In line with the KOSMOS brand identity, ensuring a consistent look throughout.

The entire process was characterised by close collaboration and lively exchange, ensuring that the final product met the high standards of both parties.

Working on the new CATAN tutorials in Unity

The Result: An Engaging, Easy-to-Understand Tutorial Video

The completion of the project went smoothly and very efficiently. Both our teams were delighted to have finished another successful collaboration. The finished video impresses with its clear structure, appealing animations, and accessible narration. It manages to convey complex content in a simple way, guiding users seamlessly through the app's features. The feedback from KOSMOS was overwhelmingly positive, and we are proud to have contributed to this innovative project.

Even if a bittersweet feeling followed — knowing that the project was drawing to a close and with it the enriching time that KOSMOS and Studio Merkas always share — that feeling will not last long. We are confident that our two teams will soon be embarking on new adventures together!

We thank KOSMOS for the trust they have placed in us and look forward to future joint projects where we can bring our passion for animation and video production to bear. Our goal is to continue developing creative solutions that inspire and inform.

Outlook: More Creative Partnerships in the Future

This collaboration with KOSMOS on the tutorial videos for CATAN in the Tutorial App once again demonstrates how valuable creative partnerships are for successfully bringing innovative products to life. At Studio Merkas, we rely on a combination of technical expertise, creative design, and close collaboration to realise the individual wishes of our clients.

Reference

Competent execution of our animation project, friendly communication and flexible adaptation to our needs. Working with Studio Merkas was a lot of fun.

Niklas Wank

Digital Product Designer at KOSMOS