#137 - Eric Kozlowsky Interview (Tropical Freeze, Retro Studios, Art, Metroid Dread, Graphics, Layoffs etc.)

Eric Kozlowsky is an artist who has worked at multiple game
studios and is most well known for his short but important tenure
at Retro Studios on Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze. He is
currently Art Director at Fuzzybot.


 


SOCIAL MEDIA


TWITTER -@vonkoz


INSTAGRAM - @von_koz


ARTSTATION - https://www.artstation.com/vonkoz


WEBSITE - https://www.landofkoz.com/


 


#tropicalfreeze #nintendo #retrostudios


 


TIMESTAMPS


00:00 - Intro


01:00 - Deadlines/Crunch


03:30 - Early Days At Retro Studios


06:00 - Working On Mangroves For Tropical Freeze


07:40 - Intimidation Factor/Camaraderie At Retro


09:20 - Eric’s Collaboration With Ted Anderson On Donkey Kong
Country Tropical Freeze


12:31 - Eric’s Work On Windmill Hills


14:55 - Working On Rodent Ruckus


15:46 - Crunch At The End Of Tropical Freeze/Meltdown
Mayhem/Destructive Terrain


17:29 - Working With Tanabe


19:40 - Tropical Freeze Levels Being Worked On Out Of
Sync/Creating & Working With A Kit


23:59 - Learning From Your Peers/Nintendo Doesn’t Let You Share
RAW Files


27:00 - Why Eric Left Retro Studios


29:10 - Eric Is Gutted He Isn’t Working On Metroid Prime 4/Eric
Wasn’t A DK Fan Until Working On Tropical Freeze


30:40 - Eric’s Thoughts On Metroid Dread/Super Metroid


33:40 - Pacing In Games/Artist’s Should Understand Basic Design


34:40 - Layoffs In The Industry/Why Eric Moved From Studio To
Studio


38:18 - Fans Starting False Rumours When Eric Started At
Retro/Being Adaptable


39:30 - Retro Studios Staff Laughing At Stupid Rumours/Wrong
Expectations Affected Tropical Freeze


40:30 - Differences Between Stylised & Realistic Graphics


45:00 - Eric Struggles To Stay Up With With
Technology/Tunic/Having A Critical Eye


46:50 - Eric Tries To Be Broader Than Just Games/Looking At The
Source


48:54 - Catch The Essence But Not Have Direct Influences/Link’s
Awakening Rip Off Indie Game


50:40 - Trying To Stay Up With Artists He Mentors/Some Artists
Shouldn’t Be Directors


52:40 - Keep Your Skills Sharp As An Artist/Having Tunnel Vision
With Art Sometimes


55:00 - Where To Follow Eric Kozlowsky


55:57 - Eric’s Book Arma