Pride, patriotism key themes for MPL PH visual art in M4
MANILA, Philippines — When we visualize esports, one would usually think of futuristic designs, and bright and neon colors with a cybernetic theme. Mountains, monuments, animals and a jeep would be the last thing you would come to expect on a visual art that is part of the Philippine campaign for the coming M4 Mobile Legends Bang Bang World Championship.
But Creative Director Vincent “Chowder” Carbajal and artist Jiggernut “Jiggernut” Taladtad Jr. wanted to move away from the usual esports and gaming look and produce a key visual that was more nationalistic.
Last November 18, the official Facebook page of the Mobile Legends Professional League Philippines posted the key visual art for the Philippine campaign to the coming world championships in Indonesia this January. The key art, referred to as “M4 Pinas Lang Malakas”, showcases Blacklist International’s Jonmar "V33Nus" Villaluna and ECHO’s Karl “Karltzy” Nepomuceno on top of a Philippine jeepney wearing their respective teams’ jerseys, as well as wearing capes and brandishing weapons of their respective MLBB heroes, Estes and Lancelot. The two are surrounded by known Philippine monuments and symbols with a Philippine eagle soaring above them.
“When we were thinking of the key visual for M4 Campaign for the Philippines, we were exploring [elements] like pride [and] patriotism. Usually, pag sinabi mo we need to make a poster [for esports] you'd usually think of neon colors, or something like cyberpunk. Yung ganung vibe, very colorful, very bright, very futuristic. Jiggs had this idea to move a bit out of that spectrum and make it more nationalistic. Something more ours, not closing ourselves to the look of gaming,” Carbajal told Philstar.com.
During the conceptualization of the art, Carbajal and Taladtad just had two agenda item: how to represent the Philippine Mobile Legends scene in art form and at the same time inspire the esports community.
The local artists sought inspiration from the famous mural “Cry of Balintawak” by National Artist Carlos “Botong V. Francisco, which sees Bonifacio leading the Katipuneros in the beginning of the revolution against Spain in 1896.
Like Bonifacio in the mural, Nepomuceno is depicted in his trademark pose but brandishing Lancelot’s weapon in the same manner as Bonifacio is with his “iták”. Meanwhile, Villaluna is also shown with the signature crown pose in one hand while the other arm is raised like Bonifacio in leading his troops to battle.
Monuments and symbols
As for the other elements that featured in the key visual, Taladtad focused on elements that had significant meaning to the Philippine identity.
“Pag-inisip mong ‘jeep’, Pilipinas na agad yung maiisip ng mga tao. Jeep kasi yung hari ng daan dito sa Pilipinas. [Kaya yun yung] naisip kong ibalandra sa harap. Sa likod [naman] is yung eagle. [Siya] nagsisimbolize na kaya natin mataguyod ang sarili natin sa bawat problema. Siya rin yung nagbibigay liwanag kaya eagle yung nilagay sa likod and kulay yellow siya,” explained Taladtad.
Keeping with the colors and layout of the Philippine flag, the different monuments positioned on the side were decked out in blue and red colors, which also represented a certain aspect of Philippine culture.
As Carbajal and Taladtad put it, the monuments on the blue side, namely the Quezon City Memorial, Manila City Hall Clock Tower and Rizal Monument, represent peace or structures that were built as the country ventured into calmer times. The symbols on the red side, Mt. Mayon, the Rice Terraces and the Carabao, allude to the strength of the Filipino people in overcoming disasters, as well as how they were able to provide for their livelihood with farming.
Both gamers themselves, Carbajal and Taladtad were grateful for the opportunity to be part of the M4 campaign and were glad with the positive reception of the key visual.
“Masaya ako kasi naappreciate ng tao yung work pinaghirapan at pinagtulungan namin. Masaya, sobrang privilege rin ako na kami yung gumawa,” shared Taladtad.
“Ten years ago, esports wasn't as big as it is now. Seeing the community grow, when the whole team came together and worked on this, and now it's out and well-received, it's like: ‘Uy nagandahan rin sila’. It's really fulfilling, as a gamer you are inspiring your fellow gamers to support our athletes,” added Carbajal.
The M4 World Championships will fire off January 1, 2023, with the country’s representatives Blacklist International and ECHO hoping to earn the Philippines’ its third Mobile Legends World champion title.
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