MOO or BOOM!
Background
To the MOO is a Telegram mini game where players place cows that are later abducted by aliens. MOO or BOOM was developed as a new mode built on top of this game, aiming to further promote and showcase the potential of Telegram-based gaming. It retains the core brand identity while introducing new gameplay, updated visuals, and thematic elements to expand the overall experience.
Role & Scope
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Role: Visual & UI Designer
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Collaboration: Designer Lead, Developer, Product Manager
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Deliverables:
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Game UI system – Including tile set, leaderboard, history, and result screens
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In-game animations – Flip, shuffle, and pre-explosion shake sequences
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Marketing visuals – Event banners, game tutorials, and teaser assets
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Motion demos – CodePen prototypes showing animation flow for engineers
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Goal
To create a new game mode, MOO or BOOM, within the existing To the MOO game, with a UI/UX system that is clear, engaging, and optimised for quick Telegram gameplay.
Problem
The original To the MOO game already had an established visual style and UI/UX. For the new MOO or BOOM mode, the challenge was to make players quickly understand and adapt to the new gameplay while maintaining visual consistency with the existing style and story theme. At the same time, the design had to work within Telegram mini games’ strict size and performance limits, plus a small viewport, keeping the UI compact, engaging, and focused on quick decision-making.
Solution
The new mode integrated gameplay, visuals, and narrative. Unlike the original To the MOO, where players placed cows to be abducted by aliens, MOO or BOOM flips the perspective — players become the aliens, capturing cows via a tile-flipping mechanic. To match this shift, the visual style moved from farm to spaceship while staying consistent with the brand, and the interface was made clear, engaging, and optimised for Telegram’s fast-paced gameplay.
Design Highlights
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Interaction motion – Flip and shuffle animations support a smooth and engaging user experience
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Risk-reward highlight – Bombs are revealed with a red alert to signal danger to the player instantly
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Tile system – Illustrated tiles designed with distinct scores or effects, enhancing gameplay and storytelling
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Extended Screens – Leaderboard, history, and result screens designed to support gameplay flow
Visual Development
The game's visual style is bold, playful, and cartoon-inspired, designed to match the Web3 aesthetic and fast-paced gameplay on Telegram.
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Color & Theme – Bright palette balanced with high-contrast states for accessibility
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AI-Assisted Scenes – Spaceship and farmland settings were AI-generated and refined into final visuals
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Marketing Assets – Event banners, social videos, and teaser visuals
Technical Collaboration
To bridge the gap between design and implementation, I used ChatGPT to generate a CodePen demo showcasing the card animations. This helped engineers understand the motion timing more accurately during handoff.
Reflection
MOO or BOOM combined casual game UI design with the constraints of Telegram’s mini game platform. This project showed how to create a visually rich experience that loads fast and communicates gameplay clearly even on small screens.
Key Takeaways
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Designing within strict platform constraints while keeping strong brand personality
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Translating playful concepts into compact, functional UI
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Collaborating closely with developers to ensure animations and assets perform smoothly