SLICE OF LIFE | Justin Amponin

Justin Amponin (pronouns: he/him) is a Filipino-Thai American graphic designer and illustrator. While his main job is to create incredible graphics and visual assets, you can also find him drawing bold cartoons and mascot illustrations. If he’s not wielding his pen and tablet, he’s playing Smash with his friends and posting delicious foods on his Instagram.

Did we mention he’s a big Sonic fan? Because he is. Like, he’s a big fan.

Viv: OKAY

YOU READY?

Justin: yeahhhh

Viv: COOL

LET’S GET STARTED

So you already know that i love your art, especially your art related to the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. From what I've seen, that’s basically your main art style, yeah?

Justin: i would say definitely, yeah, cause it’s inspired by the Sonic art style—specifically the Sonic Adventure style and a little bit of Sonic Battle

But there are some other inspirations that I take for this art style, including graffiti, cel-shaded art, and esports.

Cel-shaded art and graffiti in video games, including Jet Set Radio, are a heavy inspiration.

Viv: Oh I see! it looks like a lot of Sega games have been a big influence in your artwork, and probably has bled into your professional work.

Justin: LOL

Every time I do work, I do leave some sort of video game reference, including SEGA, in every project, whether it's real-life or personal.

Viv: that’s so neat!

Your animation work is super good too!

The amount of skill you have to just start with art and then apply it to everything else is INCREDIBLE

I don’t know how you do it…I don’t know how you juggle that and your job.

Justin: Work-life balance is pretty difficult i would say, especially if you have other events or other things in your schedule outside of your main hobby, but I somehow manage with some inspiration around me.

Art is something I developed over time since I was a child. Ever since i sketched cartoons, like

Just picking up a pencil and sketching something, and that became a whole thing to this day

Viv: were you one of those kids that would doodle in your notes in class?

Justin: yes. 100%.

Viv: OH

Justin: especially in middle school and elementary school, i didn’t even bother taking notes…I just drew pictures LOL

Viv: HAHAHA you just doodled?

Justin: yeah like 

You know those flip note animations?

Viv: yeah the little notepads that you flip?

Justin: yeah

I remember in my early days of school, I’d steal some printer paper or a notebook and I’d just draw animations on there

Cause I saw some game animations online and was like “oh, that looks cool! I wanna do that too!”

Viv: Do you still have any with you?

Justin: Uhhhhhh

It was so long ago, I don’t think i have them anymore

Viv: lol that’s fair

I think it’s one of the more simpler forms of animation since you’re drawing each frame

But now you’re doing animation with your own art!

Justin: yeah! Well i did buy an actual flip book to treat myself, it’s sitting in my office for now 

So when the time is right or when i’m on my lunch break, i’ll try out some animations on that haha

Viv: you and me both, i do a similar thing with my writing

from what i see, a lot of people start young with their creative talent, and then it translates to what they want to do when they go to college. it’s what you end up wanting to do—was that the direction you took?

Justin: It actually wasn’t like that from day 1

Viv: Oh!

Justin: yeah, back then during middle school/high school, my parents knew that i loved video games and that i do a lot of art, so they knew that i didn’t wanna be a doctor or engineer of some sort

they supported me pursuing a career of my choosing, so since i like games, my first career study was game design and animation.

It began in high school during my senior year, where i was selected to be in a high school program. With the bootcamp, you go on a different bus that goes to a different building from your classes to learn STEM stuff. One of my classes was about computer information systems, which basically taught us how to do C++ and programming.

Viv: …fun.

Justin: oh yeah definitely LOL

I mean…i got the hang of it, but i was like, “ugh, i don’t wanna write another line of code again.”

My proudest project from that class was a calculator. I was so happy about it…until I saw other students’ projects. They were…NOT calculators—they were so much more.

I was like “ugh…yeah, this is not my thing.”

Viv: yeah you’re here proud of your calculator and then you see everyone else out here is launching rockets and suddenly you’re like OH NO

Justin: hahaha yeah

But fortunately, I found something else.

During that high school program, there was always a “fun day” on Fridays

So for us, every Friday would be “photoshop friday.” We’d stop coding (or if you wanna code, be my guest 🤷) and just played around with Adobe Photoshop. that’s when i fully dived in to the world of digital art

Viv: that sounds like to was clearly in your forte

Justin: oh yeah lol

And i like it very much. I liked it so much that my teacher told me to host a seminar-workshop on Photoshop for the class.

It was a good skill to learn, because before photoshop, people in the class were using MS paint for coding reasons

Viv: Oh no

Every artist I talk to, when I mention that I use MS paint for rough sketches, is like “bless your heart”

Justin: hahaha

Despite me not liking the coding portion of the class, I had tons of fun and continued the pursuit of game design and animation.

around 2014, when i started community college, i started the game design and animation and…oh man

I think it was just my mindset back then, but i did not enjoy it as much, so around early 2015, I came to the conclusion that I’d rather keep games as a hobby. I can’t see myself being some sort of game developer or animator in the future, so i need to start a career change

Fortunately, my backup plan was graphic design. What inspired me to change was two things: one was my sister Emily, who is deaf. when she was starting college at RIT she started doing graphic design, and I was very impressed by her works.

all the things she made were great. She did a lot of banners, logos, etc — the branding stuff. i was like “this is so cool!”

Surprisingly, I was also introduced to graphic design within the esports industry as I was watching my cousin play Super Smash Bros. Melee on a high level. I didn’t know there was a competitive scene going on, but when I dig deep through the melee scene on Twitch, I was very amazed at how streaming worked (not how it technically worked, but how it’s displayed on stream)

Like the twitch overlays, the transitions from players to commentators to the match, etc. that sparked my interest and made me want to become a graphic designer.

So i asked my counselor about switching careers, and ever since then, i stuck to design.

As of now, i am currently a junior graphic designer for an advertising agency. 

Viv: jeez, that’s a whole journey to follow

Justin: yeah LOL

Viv: which is so cool to follow! Cause with graphic design, it’s still under the art umbrella

Like it has more of a…practical use to it, I guess?

Justin: yeah, and graphic design is all about visual communication and problem solving. Adding art to that adds more personality to it, which is why i enjoy graphic design so much.

Viv: I think you just answered a question i’ve always had in my head about graphic design vs. art

because I don’t think people know the difference between “graphic designer” vs. “artist”

Like graphic design leans more towards…functional? 

Not to say art can’t be functional, but like…it does so more than art

…am I hitting the mark?

Justin: yeah you’re hitting the mark haha

Viv: okay COOL

what your parents think about your hobby of playing video games btw

‘Cause for some people their parents are super supportive, but other people like, hide their Gameboys under their pillows and play at night LOL

Justin: so in the beginning, my introduction to video games was when my parents and sisters — basically my whole family — went on a trip to Canada, which we’ve been to before

I hated long trips as a little kid

Viv: same

Justin: Before the ride to Canada, when me and my sisters were little, we begged our parents to get a video game console—specifically, a Nintendo Gamecube. Our parents bought it, and it was a good deal: $99!

Viv: and now they’re in museums LOL

Justin: yeah and now they’re in museums

So we got a gamecube, a copy of “Mario Kart: Double Dash!!,” and three controllers. me and Isabelle (my other sister) and Emily would play it together in the car ride since we had a little TV in the van

Viv: I WAS GONNA ASK

“What do you MEAN bring your Gamecube in the car?!”

Justin: hahahahaha

It was one of those vans that has the seats in the opposite direction. We used one of those seats to hook up the mini TV and Gamecube. 

Viv: But TV in the van makes sense

Justin: yeah

So we played until we got to my mom’s friend’s house. Their son is also into video games, so we just played Mario Kart all together

And that’s how I came to enjoy video games, you just grab people and play it all together

Viv: yeah, and who better to play games with than your family and friends?

Justin: yeah!

Okay so what my parents really noticed about my love for video games as a kid was definitely putting a lot of hours into it. It was so much to the point where I stopped caring about my grades and doing my homework

my mom got really mad, and had a three-strike system put in place for me from what i remember.

First strike meant that I could only play video games on Fridays. The second strike meant getting my Gameboy or Gamecube confiscated

So I was like “ughhh okay fine”

Viv: yeahh….

Justin: BUT

I had the discipline and followed those rules

Viv: oh so it worked out

Justin: yeah it worked out

Surprisingly

Viv: I mean when you’re a kid, all you wanna do is have fun and play video games

I think that was also around the time when other consoles were getting popular, like the PS2, so kids were just like, “I want IN on this!” and were playing games

I know I had my fair share of procrastinating and not doing my homework because I loved games so much

Justin: LOL

One of the strategies that my parents used for us to get video games was

Every time we’d go to the dentist…if the dentist reported that we didn’t have any cavities, we’ll get a new game haha

Viv: OMG

So you had to eat well to get a new game?

Justin: YEAH

I mean I wouldn’t say eat well, but I had to not eat as much candy lol

Viv: Were you a sweet tooth kind of person?

Justin: I was lol

Viv: I MEANNN

Kids like sugar so..what else can you say, right?

Justin: yeah

Viv: that’s so funny because I’ve never heard anyone use cavities as a tool of discipline

But here we are

Justin: LOL

Viv: also I didn’t know that you went to community college after high school, because I also went to community college

Justin: yeah, when I was in high school during my senior year, we actually had a tour of our community college. 

All of the advertisements were like “this college is the BEST way to start, and you should start HERE at College of DuPage!”

So during the lunch break, I got to talk with other students, and I also saw that they were playing with their 3DS consoles/ We kinda clicked a little bit, and we had our street passes and stuff

So at that point I was like “Yeah, I’ll go here!”

It was also a time where both of my sisters had already selected a college, so I was the last one to pick. 

Viv: did you go based off of their selections or did you pick it yourself?

Justin: I picked it on my own

Viv: I feel that

I’m one of the oldest children in my family, so I had the pressure of picking the first college and applying to ones that I ended up not going to

the other option was to go to community college, and back then if you chose that route you were shamed for “not doing enough” or “lazy”

Justin: Oh my gosh

Viv: yeah, but it ended up being the best decision ever

I told my parents I wanted to go to a specific college that was a bit far, and they were like “why would you pick that, it’s so far!!”

But I told them it was worth the distance, so I made them go with me all the way there. and once they saw how gorgeous it was, they were like “okay you can go here” LOL

I was like I TOLD YOU

So yeah, best decision ever, you also save a lot of money

Justin: yeah, especially Gen Eds (general education)

Viv: YEAH it’s SO affordable

Justin: yeah

Like after my community college phase, when i got my associate’s degree, i knew I wanted to pursue further for a bachelor’s degree at a different school

And during my bachelor’s program, most general education courses (“gen eds”) were transferred, but I had to do more at my art school…and OH MY GOD IT WAS SO EXPENSIVE

Viv: IT WAS YEAH

Wait so when you went to community college, did you go in planning to transfer? Or did you decide that after you went?

Justin: it was about a few weeks before graduation, so i didn’t have a post-grad plan

i was like “I’m not too confident with the real world.” I compared my portfolio to everyone else’s and I was like “ehhhh”

So i made the decision to pursue a bachelor’s degree

Fortunately, my sister came across a school panel advertising a college campus called “Flashpoint Chicago, A Campus of Columbia College Hollywood” which shut down recently (RIP)

What I liked about that school was that it’s small, it makes connections a lot easier

And since my career path was clear, I figured I just continue with art school

Viv: yeah small schools are nice

It’s why I liked taking gen ed at community colleges vs. university

Because in university when you’re a freshman, you’re in a hall with like 300 other people, Whereas in my case, it was me and about 30 other people.

So that makes talking to people so much easier

Justin: yeahhh!

At College of DuPage, I had an average of about 20 students in the class (including me).

I will say that I did have to take developmental classes because my classes were…slightly low

My score on the placement tests were low though, and I was required to take extra classes.

Viv: MOOD

I mean I took a placement test too and scored pretty high, but then I walked into the class that I was assigned to and the professor was like “this class is for those who almost did well.

So I was like “how am I supposed to feel about that???”

Justin: LOL

Viv: i thought i passed with flying colours, ‘cause the lady that was giving me the test was like “oh you’re so good at this!”

Btw she was Vietnamese and she found out through the test records that I was also Vietnamese

So it became that moment where an older adult realizes they share the same ethnicity as you, and they immediately start treating you like you’re family

So she saw that and was like “OH MY GOD” 

And I was like “oh my god” LOL

Justin: LOL

That’s exactly like me with Filipino people around

Viv: RIGHT??

Like if you tell them you’re both the same ethnicity, all of a sudden you’re their child and they start talking to you

Justin: hahaha

Viv: Anyway yeah I scored pretty high but I still had to take some extra courses, especially since I didn’t take any AP classes in high school

Justin: Mine were all regular classes so same

Viv: yeah

But now thinking about I’m kinda glad that I didn’t take AP classes, because it made community college more chill, like I didn’t feel super stressed

Justin: yeahhh

Viv: Let’s reel back into art and video games, because outside of you loving Sonic 

(to no one’s surprise)

You also like Smash as well

I saw that you went to Combo Breaker recently. Tell me how that went!

Justin: It was actually pretty nice!

At first, I knew I wanted to go to Combo Breaker with my friends (this was planned about two months prior.)

However, I completely forgot during the week of Combo Breaker that it was happening

Viv: OH NO

Justin: Yeah I was like “Wait, Combo Breaker 2023 is THIS week?? Do I have time to register?”

Unfortunately, I couldn’t compete, but I could spectate and cheer my friends on

Fortunately, my friend was at Combo Breaker on Friday while I was still at work, and he managed to get me a spectator pass and we were able to go together

Overall it was a good experience, and in my opinion i do enjoy tournaments that feature multiple games, not just Smash

So you know that I love Smash Bros to death, but there would be times where I’d want to find a different game to watch

And fortunately it’s Combo Breaker, so there’s like…20 different games to watch. I ended up watching Guilty Gear, Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Tekken, Under Night: In Birth, and Melty Blood

One really cool thing that happened was during Championship Sunday (or maybe it was Saturday?) 

The director of Tekken 8, Katsuhiro Harada, was on stage, and he was announcing a new character for Tekken 8 and—

Viv: WHAT?

Justin: It was really really nice LOL

Viv: …WHAT??

NO SHO—

Justin: LOL

Viv: …okay listen.

If I had to pick one fighting game in the entire FGC universe, it would be Tekken

So to hear that a new character was released there is BONKERS

Justin: hahaha

Viv: i’ve only been seeing trailers and stuff on Twitter, and of course I react accordingly

But to hear something LIVE and announce it

Is NUTS

Justin: YEAH

I even recorded it too, it was great

Hearing the crowd screaming and cheering, it was breathtaking

Viv: I BET

I’d be speechless

Literally having my breath taken away

…I’m jealous

SO jealous of you.

Justin: hahaha

AND

Other than watching games and competitive matches, i do enjoy getting merch and looking at the artist alleyThe first thing i bought was some Combo Breaker merch, so i got like…a shirt, a coaster, a mug, all that good stuff haha

The artist alley was a dedicated hallway for artists, and some of them were the same artists I saw at Frosty Faustings. I didn’t buy as much since I bought a lot during previous events, but I love seeing what people create there

There was also a second floor

Viv: FOR ARTISTS???

Justin: nah just a second floor of a venue

so one part of it was like a small hallway of arcades, and another part was like a mystery game tournament where competitors had to compete on the more obscure fighting games

Like games that people didn’t know

My friend actually competed in that tournament and reached placed 129th out of 484

He also reached 49th out of 428 on Smash Ultimate

When you compete and win a lot of games, you get this little card for a free entree at Chipotle

Viv: OH

Justin: since one of the sponsors is Chipotle

Viv: OKAY I WAS GONNA SAY 

Justin: hahahahaha

Viv: “did they just BUDGET Chipotle in or something??”

I guess to be fair though, there are people who have Chipotle cards that give them free Chipotle for life…and it’s a quick & filling meal

So I guess free Chipotle entrees are fitting for an FGC event

Justin: yeah and what’s also convenient is that EVO

the most prestigious fighting game tournament event

is ALSO sponsored by Chipotle LOL

Viv: oh so they just KNOW

Granted it’s a bit expensive, BUT it’s filling

Justin: yep

Viv: Chipotle’s pretty good, I like getting a burrito bowl and then getting a tortilla on the side

It’s always funny when I’m in line and people order burritos and try to fill it all the way

And then they watch as workers struggle to wrap them as they break

Justin: LOL

Oh man, when I eat a burrito from Chipotle, I just eat the whole thing and then…drop dead 

Hahahaha

Viv: LOL

That’s such a mood

Justin: yeah

On the topic of Combo Breaker, there’s also a little room where you can just bring your own console

And you can just casually play

Man I had my backpack and my Wii , and i wanted to hook it up and play Sonic Riders, but those monitors…it doesn’t support the Wii resolution 

So I was like “aghh!”

Viv: Oh I know what you mean

The right TV makes a difference and I don’t think you wanna try to play Sonic Riders on the wrong ones

Justin: yeah they were monitors that supported 1080p

State-of-the-art

But i have this little adapter that can convert the component cables into HDMI

So it should work theoretically, but it just doesn’t work

And i did test it before I went, and it worked, but those monitors…it just doesn’t like the Wii

Viv: yeah it was probably a compatibility issue

WELL SINCE YOU BROUGHT UP SONIC RIDERS

You know I can’t do this feature with you WITHOUT talking about Sonic Riders

I wanna hear about how YOU found Sonic Riders, because up until I met you, I had never known anyone else who knew about the game.

I remember your first message to me on Discord was “so I heard you like Sonic Riders”

 And I was like “BOY”

“You can BET that I DO!”

So I wanna hear your story

Justin: LOL

Alright so, I’ve been a big Sonic Fan since 2004, starting with Sonic Mega Collection and Sonic Heroes

Viv: YES I LOVE SONIC RIDERS

Justin: haha yeah

So I was very curious with the internet and I came across the official Sonic site called “Sonic Central,” where you can see like, the latest games, some flash games and fanart

I’d just go there every day after school, see what’s up on Sonic

And one day, I saw that one of the highlights was a game called Sonic Riders

There was nothing about it other than a teaser trailer, but when I saw it I was like “WHOA…Sonic…on HOVERBOARDS? That’s so cool!”

Viv: ON HOVERBOARDS

Justin: YEAH

I played Sonic Gems Collection, and there was this one game called Sonic Drift

it’s kinda like the poor man’s Super Mario Kart

With that game I was like “yeah…I can see Sonic in a kart, but why can’t he just run?”

But when I saw Sonic Riders, I was like, “oh yeah, this fits Sonic’s personality and the overall style. I want to know more about THIS game.”

So every day after school, I’d just wait patiently for any updates, and once the game came out and I got it, I was…confused LOL

Viv: LOL

Justin: Because I saw the tutorials, the characters, and how the game works

But when I play it, I don’t know what to do

Viv: yeah it’s confusing

Justin: yup

I missed ramps, I missed grind rails, I don’t know how to fly and do power, or what the heck Extreme Gears are

But the more I played it, the more I got the hang of it, and the more i got the hang of it, the more i enjoyed it

That game has stuck with me ever since

The graphics, the art style, the overall atmosphere

It’s one of my all-time favorite Sonic games

Viv: and it’s also one of MY all-time favourite Sonic games

Justin: hahaha

Viv: I had the same experience as you did

So when you said it was confusing for you I was like “yeah I can relate”

Especially because the first game doesn’t really have a tutorial, it has uhh

What is it

Justin: A brief video

Viv: yeah a brief video

So it shows you what to do on screen, but there’s no interactivity so you’re just…sitting there confused

But with Zero Gravity (the second Sonic Riders game) there’s a tutorial which makes it easier to understand.

Justin: LOL

Aww man, when I saw Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity announced, I was excited

I knew it was coming to the Wii, but I found out that you had to use the little motion controllers on your Wii remote sideways—that’s a huge deal breaker for me

But later in 2009 or 2010, I found out that you can just play with a gamecube controller. I was like “oh okay! I’ll play now lol”

It was much easier, i enjoyed the story, i enjoyed the atmosphere even more, the aesthetics

But man, i like the original sonic riders better haha

Viv: yeah I think Zero Gravity is a lot more simplified

like the tricks are automated, for example

Justin: it is

Viv: There’s something about leveling up in Sonic Riders that makes the game cooler

TO BE CLEAR

GEAR CHANGE IS A COOL ASPECT 

Because it adds a new mechanic to the racing genre

But there’s something about the air gauge and limiting its supply

Justin: yeah, it’s a small mini-game of risk and reward

Like you could go super fast, but you’re going to lose that air VERY quickly

So it’s a game of how much air can you consume throughout the whole race

Viv: YEAH

You know what’s really funny though

When you’re playing as Sonic and you run out of air, you end up running, but you’re SIGNIFICANTLY slower when you’re running than when you’re on the board

Justin: LOL

Viv: Which is FUNNY because Sonic is meant to be FAST on his feet

But in the game his running is SO SLOW

Justin: Video game logic

Viv: LOL

I’m so glad the game exists though. It was a PS2 Greatest HIts, and for good reason

Justin: yeah

I think for the Gamecube it was Player’s Choice?

Viv: Oh is that what it’s called?

Justin: Yeah, probably

Viv: RAD

I really hope this becomes a true esport

At the very least remaster the game

Justin: yeah

Either a remake or an entirely new Sonic Riders game

Viv: YEAH

I’m seeing so many remasters and I don’t care about a lot of them, but if a Sonic Riders remaster gets announced, I will flip out

But you already knew that

Justin: haha yeah

Viv: BUT NOW IT’S TIME TO REMASTER AND REMIX THIS CONVO

ARE YOU READY 

TO CHOOSE YOUR OWN QUESTION

Justin: YEAH

Viv: OKAY

Which one do you want to pick?

Justin: Hmm…let’s see

Top 5 caught my attention, so let’s do that. Do I have to create my own topic?

Viv: Yeah you can, or I can think of something

Justin: Let’s see…

Let’s go with…top 5 non-Sonic games.

Viv: *gasp*

JUSTIN

THAT’S SO UNLIKE YOU

Justin: LOL

It’s funny because one of the biggest misconceptions about Sonic fans is that they only play Sonic games

And that is not the case

So i find it surprising and really funny

Viv: It’s because I only think of Sonic when I think of you

So I’m CURIOUS

Alright go for it

Justin: There’s a lot of Sonic games to choose from haha

But I do have a good list of non-Sonic games that I like

These won’t be in order, though, but they will be games I will definitely play

One of them is “The World Ends with You”

Specifically the original DS version

It’s very unique in terms of play style and a story i’ve never heard of before

You play as a protagonist named Neku who died, but you don’t know why you died

So once you die, you’re sent into this game called Reaper's game, and your mission is to do certain tasks for a game week. If you complete those tasks, you get a second chance in life, but if you don’t you will face erasure

In modern terms, you get thanos-snapped

And it’s under a time limit, so…no pressure lol

Viv: that totally doesn’t stress me out thinking about it

Justin: haha it’s pretty cool

one of my inspirations in art was graffiti and of course anime, so the art style of The World ends with You was basically a match made in heaven

The gameplay was very unique too, not only do you play as Neku, but you play as his partner Shiki, and your job is to synchronize attacks on enemies. when you have a good flow of attacking, you can do special attacks and deal massive damage

It’s really cool, you use the touch screen to control Neku and you use the control pad to control his partner, so you gotta multitask when you’re in battle lol

Viv: so it’s like a complex combat design, but it makes for really cool effects

Justin: yeah!

Another game would definitely be Overwatch 2, or Overwatch in general

Overwatch was my first official dive into first-person shooters, and what caught my attention was the characters. They all have their own personalities, and they have ongoing lore that i really like, so it stuck to me

Knowing that my college friends are playing that game too, we all group up and we…lose together LOL

Viv: ME

Justin: haha 

That group continued with Overwatch 2, and even though our play sessions kinda died down, I still enjoy it alongside with my friends and it’s fun

Viv: If I had friends to play Overwatch 2 with I’d definitely play it more

I played the first one and it was fun, but I played with people who were…too competitive, so it ruined the experience for me. I’d feel much better playing with people who’d rather just have fun LOL

Justin: yeah that makes sense

It’s funny, we play a lot of Quickplays and we acted like it was a competitive thing

Viv: YEAH BUT THAT’S FUNNY

There’s no stakes in quickplay, but you make it seem as though there are

Justin: YES

Winner gets bragging rights LOL

My third game would definitely be Super Smash Bros. (as a series)

Even though Sonic is in it, it is a separate franchise so it counts

Viv: yeah

Justin: it was kinda like my introduction to fighting games

When i play more smash brothers, i was introduced to characters that i didn’t know of, and then started to like playing them

An example was when i was playing as Marth or Roy or any other Fire Emblem character, i was very interested in the series, so I got curious, so it brought me to the Fire Emblem games and i really enjoy it

Viv: Would you say then that….any of the fire emblem games are in your top 5?

Justin: Uhm….

I would say so, yeah

My favorite fire emblem game so far is probably…fire emblem echoes: shadows of valentia

Viv: …that is the one FE game that I haven’t heard of LOL

Justin: Exactly

It’s one of the those underrated FE games, in my opinion

It is a remake of Fire Emblem Gaiden for the NES.

I enjoyed the characters, I enjoy the combat system, and the exploration there too

Okay so that’s…four games right?

Viv: yeah four

Justin: Okay

Oh man this is tough

Viv: I can imagine you’re scrolling through a list in your head and it’s like 

“Sonic game, Sonic game, Sonic game…”

Justin: YEP

In my mind I just have a bunch of tabs with Sonic so I’m like 

Swipe, swipe, swipe

LOL

Viv: LOL

Justin: Oh! So here’s a recent one that I like

It’s called Shadow of the Colossus. it was a gift from a friend back in 2018, but i didn’t start playing it until 2022

Sonic Frontiers was coming out at the time, and there are giant titans in the game

So I needed to prepare myself

Viv: LOL

Justin: so I grabbed the game, ripped off the seal, and just played it

Viv: So you used it as training for Sonic Frontiers

Justin: yes LOL

Viv: oh my GOD

Justin: yup

Oh my gosh, knowing that it was a remake of a playstation 2 game, it was really impressive

The story was simple, there’s a girl in a coma and in order to wake her up you have to defeat the titans, it’s so cool

Every boss is unique, so every experience is different

It’s kinda like an open-world game, but there aren’t people around — just titans, so the atmosphere was very quiet, but it was like, breathtaking

Viv: I mean yeah, open-world games are meant to be breathtaking

And that’s exactly what I thought too when I was playing Sonic Frontiers

Which is very different compared to different Sonic games

Justin: Mhm

Viv: Like in Sonic Heroes you just go in different levels, but you don’t really get the chance to stop and like, look at the ocean or something lol

Justin: Yeah!

That’s one of the things I liked to do as a kid in Sonic games

There would be one time where I just walk through every single detail of that level and appreciate it

Viv: that’s what I like to do too!

Justin: hahaha!

But yeah, I’d say Shadow of the Colossus is cool, the art is really nice

Viv: I’ve only ever watched it, but from what I’ve seen it looks gorgeous

Justin: Well, it’s an old game, so it’s cheap

Viv: haha yeah!

Or it’s on sale

Alright, I think that’s five!

This is probably one of the coolest answers to this question

Justin: haha! It’s unique I would say

It’s funny, that idea of top five non-Sonic games was inspired by a time where 

When i was at school, I had a project going on and my teacher knew that i was a gamer and that i love Sonic the Hedgehog

So he gave me restrictions when it came to making my projects

The rules were that it can’t include illustrations, you can’t use the color blue (because my portfolio had a lot of blue), and it can’t be video game or tech related

So I was like “Urgggg!”

Viv: So you made nothing LOL

Justin: Yeah…I couldn’t have fun. LOL

But it was a nice little challenge and I managed to make a fun brand out of it

Viv: So the strategy is that you switch to yellow

Because then you can feature Tails

Justin: EXACTLY

Viv: and then if they put a restriction on that, just switch to red

Seriously speaking that sounds really fun and it’s nice to go out of your comfort zone sometimes

A lot of your good work tends to have those parameters set in your favor, so if it is blue, if it can be illustrated, if it is game related, you can be like “THAT ONE’S A SONIC PIECE!”

Justin: hahaha

Viv: we’re reaching the end of the feature, is there anything else you want to mention? Advice, last words, etc?

Justin: umm, let’s see…

So as I gain more experience in graphic design and art, I always think about new artists or someone that’s new to the art/design industry

And there will be times where they start doubting themselves and their skills

it happens to me too, like when i compare my portfolio to other peoples’ portfolios or their work skills and lifestyle, I think to myself, “damn, I have to step my game up”

But I always like to remind people that everyone has their own pace of success and their own pace of skill. you can’t be a great designer overnight.

Remind yourself that you are a creative and that we all have different ways of doing things creatively or finding a solution to a problem.

Just a reminder for people out there

Viv: yeah, the beauty of creativity is that it’s not something that can’t be rushed, the journey is in taking your time and finding your style

Like you probably took a while before finding your style, and that involves experimentation and error

It takes time and you gotta put work into it

That’s great advice! Thanks for sharing 😀

Justin: yeah! No problem

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