DONKEY KONG COUNTRY; TROPICAL FREEZE - CREATIVE DIRECTOR
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DONKEY KONG COUNTRY; TROPICAL FREEZE - CREATIVE DIRECTOR
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DONKEY KONG COUNTRY; TROPICAL FREEZE - CREATIVE DIRECTOR
DONKEY KONG COUNTRY; TROPICAL FREEZE - CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Vince Joly
Throughout my career, I’ve played key roles in shaping multiple AAA franchises, most notably as a Creative Director and Art Director. I began as an artist and animator, honing the craft and storytelling instincts that later propelled me into leadership.
During my 14 years at Nintendo’s Retro Studios—10 of them as Director—I gained a deep understanding of game development, from creating visually immersive worlds to building and guiding high-performing creative teams. I take pride in fostering strong team dynamics and contributing to several critically acclaimed titles.
GAME CREDITS
SENIOR ART DIRECTOR: The Sims 4
CREATIVE PARTNER: Hugo Hup, Coin Hole, 3D Pixel Shooter
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Donkey Kong Country; Tropical Freeze
ART DIRECTOR: Mario Kart 7
ART DIRECTOR: Donkey Kong Country Returns
ANIMATION LEAD: Metroid Prime Trilogy
ANIMATION LEAD: Metroid Prime 3
ANIMATOR: Metroid Prime 2
ANIMATOR: NARC
ARTIST: World Series Baseball 2K3
ARTIST/ANIMATOR: Kill Switch
LEAD ARTIST: Pac-Man World 2
ARTIST/ANIMATOR: Pac-Man World
ARTIST/ANIMATOR: NBA Basketball 2000
ARTIST/ANIMATOR: NHL Powerplay 98
ARTIST/ANIMATOR: NHL Powerplay 96
ARTIST/ANIMATOR: Al Unser Jr's Road to the Top
About Me
CREATIVE PARTNER
I had the pleasure of creating three different iOS game prototypes with an engineering friend, with Hugo Hup being the one we dedicated the most time to—about three months of development.
I produced all of the visuals, including concept art, rigging, animation, and voice SFX. (Fun fact: Hugo’s voice ended up being my daughter’s favorite part of the game!)
SENIOR ART DIRECTOR
As Senior Art Director on The Sims 4, I collaborated with a talented team of concept artists and modelers to guide the development of multiple Kits, as well as the design of the werewolves for the Werewolves Game Pack.
The image above showcases one of the most popular Kits—Courtyard Oasis—which remains a fan favorite for its vibrant design and distinctive style.
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
As Creative Director on Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, one of my goals was to develop a fresh set of enemies full of personality. I wanted baddies that felt at home in DK’s universe, yet clearly foreign to his island. From that vision, we created the Snowmads—a quirky gang of arctic invaders who commandeer DK’s home. Designing them with distinct visual cues so players could instantly read how to engage each enemy was a particularly rewarding challenge.
Another highlight of my work on this title was shaping the story through writing and storyboarding, including the game’s intro cinematic, all boss introductions, and the closing outro. Bringing these moments to life was one of my favorite achievements on the project.
ART DIRECTOR
For this project, our team partnered with the Mario Kart developers in Japan to design and build several new tracks, create new karts, and model multiple player characters. In addition to directing the artists and animators, I also had the opportunity to model the low-res Donkey Kong myself.
Working so closely with our counterparts in Japan reinforced the importance of fine details—the small touches that elevate the overall experience.
And if you get the chance, try to beat the Expert Staff Ghost of 1:58.539 by Ret★Vince on Luigi’s Mansion!
ART DIRECTOR
After years of developing art and animation for the Metroid Prime series, our creative team was challenged to expand into an entirely different visual style for Donkey Kong Country Returns. Guiding the team through this transition was hugely rewarding.
We aimed for a bright, clean look—rich in color, easy to read, and distinct from DK’s darker predecessors. Many textures were painted using marquee selections, then hand-brushed with color gradients, a technique that gave the characters and environments their sharp, vibrant quality.
To help establish the animation style, I also personally created several of Donkey Kong’s early animations, setting the tone for his expressive, playful feel.
LEAD ANIMATOR
As a team, we produced a huge volume of high-quality animations in a short timeframe for Metroid Prime 3.
As an individual contributor, one of my proudest achievements was personally reworking Samus’ core movement set—including her walk cycle, jog, run, idle stance, and improved transitions into and out of morph ball. The cinematic lead from Japan once asked me if Samus’ walk cycle was motion capture—an incredibly flattering compliment given it was entirely hand-animated.
ANIMATOR
Shortly after moving to Austin in 2004, I began working at Retro Studios on Metroid Prime 2, contributing both cinematic and in-game animation. In this video you’ll see several of the cinematics I animated, including the camera work. It was a tremendous honor to be part of such an iconic franchise.
ANIMATOR. CHARACTER MODELER
On Kill Switch, I modeled, textured, rigged, and animated 100% of the main character, Bishop. I also modeled, textured, scripted, and lit the tutorial training facility that opens the game.
We were at the forefront of introducing the “Blind Fire” system, and developing the animation system to support it was both a fun and rewarding challenge.
LEAD ARTIST
Pac-Man World 2 was such a fun project to be part of. I played a major role in the story and storyboards, while also taking full ownership of Pac-Man’s character—responsible for 100% of his animations, model, and rig.
I designed and built the Pac-Village, including modeling, texturing, lighting, and scripting. I also concepted and modeled several characters, including the first boss, Blinky’s Frog, and contributed art and scripting for multiple levels in the first world.
