a
Jeff Agala
Creative Director
Klei Entertainment
V
ideo game creator Jeff Agala,
creative director for Klei
Entertainment, admits the
hardest part of his job is being
original while still referencing the past.
"Every game has to be different," he says.
"Everything I do has to make me feel, bring
up emotion and bring me back to a certain
era." The winner of two Canadian Video
Game Awards, Agala comes by his fanboy
approbation honestly: as a youngster he
dulled his pencils and sharpened his skills
tracing his older brothers' superhero serials,
copying the styles of iconic 1990s Marvel
Comics artists like Art Adams and Jim Lee.
(For the record, Wolverine was, and still is, his
favourite character.) While he was lauded for
his unique use of light and shadow in 2012's
critically acclaimed Mark of the Ninja, it's the
Tim Burton-inspired graphics of 2013's Don't
Starve that have powered up his company
financially. With pastiche being the video
game medium's pop art, Agala is inspired by
Renaissance artists like Raphael, Leonardo,
Michelangelo and Donatello, as well as the
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles who carry their
names. kleientertainment.com
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