Ti-Ning Kwa , a 3D artist who previously worked at LucasArts and Sims developer Maxis, passed away last week, according to an email from his former coworker Gaurav Mathur. Per Mathur and Kwa's family, Kwa got his start in games at Dynamix, where he provided artwork for 1998's Starsiege Tribes and 2001's Tribes 2. When the studio went defunct that year, he and other Tribes team members went over to LucasArts.
There, he did concept and world art for Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds and Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles . In 2003, he left LucasArts for There Inc. , where he did art for its short-lived, titular MMO.
In 2004, Kwa settled down at EA subsidiary Maxis. Beginning with 2004's The Urbz: Sims in the City , he provided character and object model work for mainline entries Maxis' life simulation series, from their base games to various add-ons and expansions. Per his MobyGames profile, Kwa's most recent game contribution was character models for The Sims 4's "Moschino Stuff" pack.
Outside of games, Kwa was involved in the fashion scene, and in 2011, co-founded the high-end luxury eyewear brand Rigards with Jean-Marc Virard. Kwa's work won several awards, including the Red Dot Design award in 2018 and 2022. One of his designs was featured in an episode of Netflix's Cowboy Bebop series.
According to Kwa's family, he was preparing for a fashion show in Japan later this month prior to his passing..
