The Photoshop Tennis was invented by Jim Coudal,
founder of Coudal Partners, a Chicago advertising and design agency,
one summer before the September 11 terrorist attack. He and a friend
“whacked” a file back and forth to kill time. Then he invited
designers he knew to play in official matches.
Photoshop Tennis is an on-line game in which players are
mostly web designers. The object of the game is to add one layer of
design on an image document that is sent back and forth by two players.
Only one image document is used. Players are allowed to put different
layers of designs such as background and foreground. Results are posted
on a website in real time. The game ends whenever the players decide
to end it or if it takes hours the decision will be based on the number
of votes.
After the four test matches and four official matches
were completed, designers from ad agencies and design shops visited
his site. Some of them contacted Coudal for a chance to play in a match.
The book PhotoShop: Secrets of the Pros is all about this
type of competition. It is the first book to feature such game. As explained
by the author of the site http://photoshop.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=22104,
in Photoshop Tennis in this book, two designers take on one another
over the internet over a ten round or volley period. In each volley,
the designer either creates a new theme (in the initial volley), or
they take what has been sent to him or her and start playing off of
what was previously created. The competition results to a different
appearance each time out. Programs used in this competition range from
Illustrator and Freehand to Flash to 3D Studio Max and Maya. The designers
used the basic tools and the basic commands like, brushes,
and fills instead of shortcuts.