MLB Tap Sports Baseball | eric-yijiao-zhang

social media promotion

Game Title: MLB Tap Sports Baseball
Skills: Art Direction, Motion Graphics Design, Illustration, Video Editing, SFX
Tools: Photoshop, After Effects, Unity

FINAL DELIVERABLE

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Led the creative execution from initial concept to final export, focusing on onboarding new players by showcasing core gameplay features. The overall art direction adopts a stylized graphic look, utilizing dynamic shape and line transitions to maintain narrative momentum. The visual flow is tightly synchronized with punchy sound effects, driving background music, and rapid-fire pacing to heighten excitement and keep viewers engaged throughout the spot.

CONCEPT

Grounded in a stylized illustrative aesthetic, the visual direction leverages graphic shapes, custom line art, and fluid motion transitions to translate core baseball mechanics into an approachable, visually engaging narrative.

MARKETING STRATEGY

Developed as a high-converting performance marketing asset, this promotional spot uses dynamic motion graphics and modular storytelling to drive new player acquisition across digital ad networks. Grounded in a 3-part acquisition funnel—Hook, Feature Onboarding, and Victory Payoff—the video systematically lowers the entry barrier for casual players. By mapping out simple touch controls ("Tap to Hit") before escalating to core retention drivers like multiplayer competition ("Club vs. Club"), the narrative builds high viewer engagement. Paired with authentic MLB brand colors and high-impact home run footage, the creative maintains visual momentum to drive high install conversion at the final call-to-action end card.

COLORS

The color palette was sampled directly from the official Major League Baseball logo to ground the visual design in authentic league branding. It utilizes high-contrast primary tones to create bold graphic separations across UI elements and motion transitions.

#AF003E

#051C3E

#FFFFFF

ANIMATICS

Developed initial rough animatics using frame-by-frame sketches in Photoshop to establish timing and camera composition, then imported the sequence into After Effects to vector-trace and refine keyframes using the Pen Tool.

AFTER EFFECTS BREAKDOWN: KEY MOMENTS

Device Context Setup:
Animated line-art hands entering the composition to immediately establish the mobile aspect ratio and gaming platform.

Directional UI Separation:
Plotted custom vector motion paths ("out") to choreograph the outward phone separation and reveal core text prompts.

Character Entry Arc:
Mapped camera and entry trajectories ("come in from right") to position the vector baseball player in frame ahead of the pitch.

Depth of Field & Focus Shift:
Keyframed focal blurs ("out of focus") to direct attention toward primary UI elements and guide viewer eye movement.

Cover Screen & Impact Pose:
Positioned the character stance ("baseball cover screen") to lock down motion timing before the ball strike.

transitions

01. Hook & Format Setup:
Kicks off with high-energy kinetic typography to build immediate excitement and focus viewer attention in the center. As the countdown hits "1," a matching rectangular shape wipe transitions into a dual-phone framing, instantly establishing the mobile gaming format.

02. Onboarding Transition:
Splitting the dual-phone frame outward opens up the center composition, bringing the "Tap to Hit" text into focus to guide the player into the interactive onboarding sequence.

03. Interactive Prompt to Gameplay:
Mimicking an invisible user tap on the screen, the "Tap to Hit" text morphs into a baseball and shoots across the field toward the batter, seamlessly transitioning from UI instruction to active gameplay.

04. Dynamic Hit & Feature Reveal:
The batter tracks the pitch and strikes the ball directly toward the camera. The impact triggers a burst transition, opening into the next scene to reveal the "Team Up" feature.

05. Mode Escalation:
Following the "Team Up" reveal, the sequence transitions seamlessly into the "Club vs. Club" competitive mode, expanding the feature showcase directly onto the diamond to demonstrate collaborative play.

06. Climax & CTA Resolution:
The illustrative baseball field shifts into live gameplay capture, culminating in a game-winning home run and a dramatic "WIN" screen before resolving into the final call-to-action end card.

GAME CAPTURE

Recorded in-game character actions and player models against a chroma key green screen background, providing clean alpha passes for seamless integration into stylized graphic backgrounds and UI overlays. Captured key gameplay highlights—including a high-impact home run—to drive transition energy and build player excitement heading into the final call to action.

Eric Zhang

☺

social media promotion

Game Title: MLB Tap Sports Baseball
Skills: Art Direction, Motion Graphics Design, Illustration, Video Editing, SFX
Tools: Photoshop, After Effects, Unity

FINAL DELIVERABLE

COLORS

The color palette was sampled directly from the official Major League Baseball logo to ground the visual design in authentic league branding. It utilizes high-contrast primary tones to create bold graphic separations across UI elements and motion transitions.

#AF003E

#051C3E

#FFFFFF

ANIMATICS

Developed initial rough animatics using frame-by-frame sketches in Photoshop to establish timing and camera composition, then imported the sequence into After Effects to vector-trace and refine keyframes using the Pen Tool.

02. Onboarding Transition:
Splitting the dual-phone frame outward opens up the center composition, bringing the "Tap to Hit" text into focus to guide the player into the interactive onboarding sequence.

03. Interactive Prompt to Gameplay:
Mimicking an invisible user tap on the screen, the "Tap to Hit" text morphs into a baseball and shoots across the field toward the batter, seamlessly transitioning from UI instruction to active gameplay.

04. Dynamic Hit & Feature Reveal:
The batter tracks the pitch and strikes the ball directly toward the camera. The impact triggers a burst transition, opening into the next scene to reveal the "Team Up" feature.

05. Mode Escalation:
Following the "Team Up" reveal, the sequence transitions seamlessly into the "Club vs. Club" competitive mode, expanding the feature showcase directly onto the diamond to demonstrate collaborative play.

06. Climax & CTA Resolution:
The illustrative baseball field shifts into live gameplay capture, culminating in a game-winning home run and a dramatic "WIN" screen before resolving into the final call-to-action end card.

social media promotion Game Title: MLB Tap Sports Baseball Skills: Art Direction, Motion Graphics Design, Illustration, Video Editing, SFX Tools: Photoshop, After Effects, Unity

FINAL DELIVERABLE

COLORS The color palette was sampled directly from the official Major League Baseball logo to ground the visual design in authentic league branding. It utilizes high-contrast primary tones to create bold graphic separations across UI elements and motion transitions.

#AF003E

#051C3E

#FFFFFF

ANIMATICS Developed initial rough animatics using frame-by-frame sketches in Photoshop to establish timing and camera composition, then imported the sequence into After Effects to vector-trace and refine keyframes using the Pen Tool.

02. Onboarding Transition: Splitting the dual-phone frame outward opens up the center composition, bringing the "Tap to Hit" text into focus to guide the player into the interactive onboarding sequence.

03. Interactive Prompt to Gameplay: Mimicking an invisible user tap on the screen, the "Tap to Hit" text morphs into a baseball and shoots across the field toward the batter, seamlessly transitioning from UI instruction to active gameplay.

04. Dynamic Hit & Feature Reveal: The batter tracks the pitch and strikes the ball directly toward the camera. The impact triggers a burst transition, opening into the next scene to reveal the "Team Up" feature.

05. Mode Escalation: Following the "Team Up" reveal, the sequence transitions seamlessly into the "Club vs. Club" competitive mode, expanding the feature showcase directly onto the diamond to demonstrate collaborative play.

06. Climax & CTA Resolution: The illustrative baseball field shifts into live gameplay capture, culminating in a game-winning home run and a dramatic "WIN" screen before resolving into the final call-to-action end card.

social media promotion

Game Title: MLB Tap Sports Baseball
Skills: Art Direction, Motion Graphics Design, Illustration, Video Editing, SFX
Tools: Photoshop, After Effects, Unity

COLORS

The color palette was sampled directly from the official Major League Baseball logo to ground the visual design in authentic league branding. It utilizes high-contrast primary tones to create bold graphic separations across UI elements and motion transitions.

ANIMATICS

Developed initial rough animatics using frame-by-frame sketches in Photoshop to establish timing and camera composition, then imported the sequence into After Effects to vector-trace and refine keyframes using the Pen Tool.

02. Onboarding Transition:
Splitting the dual-phone frame outward opens up the center composition, bringing the "Tap to Hit" text into focus to guide the player into the interactive onboarding sequence.

03. Interactive Prompt to Gameplay:
Mimicking an invisible user tap on the screen, the "Tap to Hit" text morphs into a baseball and shoots across the field toward the batter, seamlessly transitioning from UI instruction to active gameplay.

04. Dynamic Hit & Feature Reveal:
The batter tracks the pitch and strikes the ball directly toward the camera. The impact triggers a burst transition, opening into the next scene to reveal the "Team Up" feature.

05. Mode Escalation:
Following the "Team Up" reveal, the sequence transitions seamlessly into the "Club vs. Club" competitive mode, expanding the feature showcase directly onto the diamond to demonstrate collaborative play.

06. Climax & CTA Resolution:
The illustrative baseball field shifts into live gameplay capture, culminating in a game-winning home run and a dramatic "WIN" screen before resolving into the final call-to-action end card.