#136 - Ted Anderson Interview (Donkey Kong, Mario Kart 7, Artistry, Nintendo, Texture Libraries etc.)

Ted Anderson is an artist who is most well known for his tenure
at Retro Studios working on both Donkey Kong Country games and
Mario Kart 7. He currently works for Pixel Pushers Union 512 and
recently released the game Tonight We Riot.


SOCIAL MEDIA


Pixel Pushers - @ppu512


Twitter - @pixel_possum


Tonight We Riot - https://tonightweriot.com/


 


#donkeykong #mariokart #retrostudios


 


TIMESTAMPS


00:00 - Intro


00:45 - How Ted Ended Up At Retro Studios


02:45 - Nintendo’s Philosophy On Art/Retro Helped Form His
Artstyle


06:00 - Stylised Art/Warhammer’s Art Helped With Artstyle Of DKCR


08:15 - Dynamic With The Artists At Retro


09:20 - Creating Texture Libraries For DKCR


12:20 - Challenges Of Migrating Over To The Wii U Hardware


15:45 - Why Concept Art Is Needed/Boundaries Of An Artist


17:00 - Designing Grassland Grooves In DKCTF


19:50 - Working On World 5(The Fruit World) 


20:45 - Collaborating With Eric Kozlowsky


22:45 - Ted Struggles With Water Levels/Specialty In Mechanical
Structures


24:15 - Stylised & Realistic Art Challenges


26:30 - Dynamic Between Retro Studios & NOJ/DK Blow Mechanic
Story


28:45 - Ted Got Given All The Assets For The Entire Mario Kart
Franchise While Working On MK7


30:15 - Many Of Retro’s Staff Didnt Want To Work On Mario Kart
7/Early 3DS Development Kits


32:29 - MK7 Tracks Ted Worked On


33:18 - Ted Went Above And Beyond To Make Shy Guy Bazaar Track


36:10 - Ted Is A Quick Artist


36:40 - How Ted Works Fast But Still Maintains Quality


39:30 - How To Work Around Hardware Limitations


41:10 - How To Design Machinery 


45:50 - Ted Worked Off Hours On Shyguy Bazaar To Make It Special


47:12 - How The Metroid Easter Eggs In Donkey Kong Came
About/Crocomire Reference


48:45 - Retro’s Design Team/Artists Killing Some Designers Ideas


50:40 - Collaborating With Designers


52:10 - Foreground & Background Design In DKCR


53:50 - Making DK The Focus In Levels With Destructive Terrain


56:40 - Its A Fireable Offence To Work On Personal Games Well At
Nintendo


1:00:00 - Publishers Should Encourage Developers To Work On
Personal Projects Off Hours


1:01:00 - Certification 


1:03:30 - Ted Shows Off His Retro Mementos 


1:04:20 - Where To Follow Ted Anderson/Pixel Pushers