🚨
#Lynked
Early Access is NOW LIVE 📷
What a day! 3 and half years in the making! And we're not done yet!!!! The pride I have in this game, in this team, in this studio cannot be understated. Truly the privilege of my career to be a part of this game!
TEN years ago today DKC Tropical Freeze came out in the US. It still to this day remains one of my proudest work. I made great friends, learned much both about my craft and about myself. Truly an honor be a part of Nintendo's history. Let's take a look at some art 🧵
Unless Retro has grown to a two game studio since I left, I guess this means the game I was working on when I left in Aug 2015 is't happening anymore? I honestly have no clue. Excited for everyone there though! I know they'll do an amazing job!
Its odd when people say From Software games should have difficulty settings. If we’re to truly treat our medium as art then by all means critique the technique and call out problematic subject matter. But you shouldnt tell an artist to change their idea and intent to suit yours.
I fucking hate people. Seeing a movie in the theater is hands down the worst experience. Also who brings a toddler to a 3 hour movie that starts at 9pm!?
@GameXplain
@YouTube
Glad it was found! Everyone on the team took a vow of silence to never reveal its existence we wanted it found naturally no matter how long it took. Props to
@oracrest
as the artist who came up with this easter egg!
On this day FIVE years ago Donkey Kong Country Tropical freeze released on the Wii U. It remains one of the game I am most proud to have been a part of.
Autumn Heights is probably the game world I worked the most on, I did a ton of pre-vis work with Ted Anderson to come up with the architecture idea of using Owl/Feather motifs. Windmill Hills might be one of my favorite levels that I worked on.
Speaking of Easter Eggs, not many mention it but i hid the entire level 1 from Donkey Kong 3 in the Fruity Factory Level. Complete with Stanley the Bug Man Bug Spray!
One awesome factoid Is that I was asked to update the Rocket Barrel from DKCR. I added some new embellishments and details to it. Which to my delight made it into the Mario Movie. Also 9 years before the movie we bridge Mario and DK by hiding the SMB3 tank in one of the levels!
As excited as I am about
#UnrealEngine5
I still stand by my opinion that solid art direction outshines technical bells and whistles anyday. I.E. Wind Waker STILL looks amazing today on hardware that came out almost 20 years ago.
DKs Island was an interesting challenge because we had to reinterpret level themes from DKCR in HD. It was fun to go back into those files and see how meticulously they were crafted. Although it's a hidden level and many don't get to see it Dynamite dash was super fun to make.
Even if I didnt make a level I would contribute art in other ways. I made this giant Steam Ship for Mangrove Cove which ended up becoming the building blocks for all the metallic objects in those levels. I also made the ancient civilization statues and texture for Sea Breeze Cove
Well that's enough memory lane for now! If you want to hear more check out this podcast I just did with
@kiwitalkz
and Ted Anderson about our experience working on the game!
If you're a stylized character artist and affected by the any of the myriad of layoffs. Please reach out
@FuzzyBotGames
is looking for a contract character artist.
Today is a pretty huge milestone. I finished the last piece for my book. 35 unique weapons with stories attached spread across 3 ages. Still work to be done but it feels good to hit this point. Below is the final image in the book.
Ah! So here’s something people aren’t explaining: NFTs don’t have to be jpgs.
Imagine taking your favorite skin from Valorant, and using it Fortnite. And not paying extra, because you own it. Then using it in CoD, Minecraft, even Twitter, IG.
So many possibilities, no?
Yo fuck. This. If a company I worked for handed me this shit I’d quit on the spot. This bullshit obsession with data and productivity has to fucking stop.
@trintran
I would love to know what the eff is going through that fish’s mind as it hurtles through a tube. There HAS to be some sort of confusion... even for a fish!
My girlfriend got me a one of a kind handmade blacked out copy of my favorite book, the Neverending Story. This might be one of the best gifts I’ve ever gotten!
@jwaaaap
In Dinkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze I hid Cranky’s gramophone from DKC1 and the entirety of the level from DK3 as well as Stanley the bug mans bug spray.
I am so completely tired of the competitiveness of art. To go online everyday and see people post stuff and feel like I got to get better, I should be better. It is exhausting. Do people in other fields feel this way. This constant self loathing that you're not good enough?
Oh hey a self promotion hashtag!
#MeetTheDev
I'm Eric Kozlowsky, Art Director at Defiant Studios!
I've been doing this for a long time and have gotten to work with some amazing people on amazing games (and a few not so amazing ones!)
Mario Movie was a lot of fun.
- Mario’s voice, better than I thought!
- 35 years of amazing music to pull from/remix and you use pop music!? Lame.
- Mario’s extended family? Unnecessary, focus on Mario+Luigi
- super cool to see the rocket Barrel which I made in DKCTF show up.
I love that these concepts are stylized when compared to how realistic the game is. I had trouble presenting concepts to one of my CDs because some were stylized. He couldn't look past the drawing style and took the art too literally. Sometimes it's the idea, not the execution.
Concept art for Horizon: Zero Dawn’s lead character Aloy! This art, plus lots more, will be on display at Storyworld, a new museum in Groningen. Official opening is saturday the 11th and I’ll be there to give demos and sign books! Come say hi!
tickets:
Last night I lost my best friend, my constant companion for 12 years. Together experienced so much that life throws at you, from the highest highs, to lowest lows. I will miss him the rest of my days. RIP Myu.
Slowly but surely Substance Designer is starting to click. Daniel Thigers videos have been a huge help. I need to figure out how to make Roughness maps next!
Tears of the Kingdom is incredible…. But it’s time to make Link talk. It just takes me out the game when someone directly speaks to him and he just blankly stares back at them.
When I was 17 I played SotN. While the Japanese box art is far superior, the darkened image of a realistic Draculas castle captured my imagination. I much later learned it was a photo of a real place. Today I fulfilled a lifelong dream of visiting “Dracula’s Castle”.
@AndreSegers
I like curated, designed spaces. The reason I'm not huge on sandbox games is I'm not a "find the fun" type of gamer. I like experiences that are presented, and thoughtfully placed before me. It's why I tend to stick to story driven games mostly.
@darrenkerwin
@MyNintendoNews
They probably always intended the underwater shot, but had to wait for the reveal. We had 2 versions of DKCTF one with and without Cranky.
For very personal reasons. I’ve turned down the position at Gameloft. It wasn’t an easy choice but it is definitely the right one for me mentally and emotionally. That being said I am currently looking for remote work. I would very appreciate any leads.
#WorldMentalHealthDay2019
Stoked to see visually creative and interesting games announced today. I've been in this industry a while and it has been frustrating pitching ideas to my bosses Ive constantly been told that idea is too niche or it will never sell. Encouraging to see that isn't the case for some
@jjmahoney3
I'm sorry but that's just selfish. You're putting your "Need" to see a movie ahead of 100 other people's enjoyment. If you have a kid them's the breaks don't force your decision on other people. Furthermore once your kid starts acting out or talking take them out of the theater!
I'm in a pretty unique spot. I'm fully remote with my job, I'm single, and I don't have kids. I am untethered by anything and I can live anywhere. It's a little intimidating tbh. I'm thinking of doing a 6 month or more road trip to visit different places I might like to live.
21 years ago from today, Final Fantasy Tactics was released in North America for the Sony PlayStation 1 🎂🎉 It's probably the
#1
strategy RPG ever made. What do you think?