As one of Kotaku’s resident Pokémon guys, I’ve seen quotes from developers at Game Freak and creatives at The Pokémon Company floating around for decades. Today I’m thinking back on one from James Turner, the newly crowned Creative Director of Pokémon Art and Design at TPC, having returned to the Pokémon world after leaving Game Freak in 2022. Turner’s return is either exciting or controversial, depending on how you feel about the various Pokémon and other characters he designed during his many years at Game Freak. But regardless of whether you have a crush on Scarlet and Violet’s hot professors or you harbor a strong dislike for the infamous ice cream Pokémon Vanillite, most Pokémon fans know that Turner knows (Poké) ball, and I want to highlight how he spoke about designing these critters in a 2019 interview.

Big news! I’ve started a new role as Creative Director of Pokémon Art and Design at The Pokémon Company International.

It feels great to be working in the world of Pokémon again, with a lovely group of people.

Back in 2019, Game Informer was doing a cover story on Pokémon Sword and Shield , and while the Switch RPGs were a touchy subject for some fans at the time because this was when Game Freak stopped allowing players to catch and transfer every Pokémon in one game, we’re now distanced enough from them that a lot of folks look back on them more fondly. Turner was the art director on Sword and Shield , and designed a handful of the Pokémon that players met in the Galar region, as well as alternate forms of old favorites like the big Gigantamax Pikachu that harkens back to the electric mouse’s rounder days in the early years of the series.

Source link